Odubel Herrera's return to the dugout was so slow that home plate umpire Nic Lentz had to clap to speed him along. Herrera obliged, accelerating to an effortless jog until he left Lentz's sight. Then he went back to a hung head and a crawling pace as he reached the steps. Boos met his ears through it all.
Herrera was picked off at third base by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina for the second out of the fourth inning on Thursday. It didn't matter much as the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 5-1 (see Instant Replay), guided by Aaron Nola's the best outing in a long time.
However, Herrera made a base-running blunder at the same spot Wednesday night, when he blew through a Juan Samuel stop sign and was out by a mile at home plate to make the final out in the 9th inning of a tie game. And later on Thursday, while on second during a running count and Maikel Franco behind him at first, Herrera didn't run on the pitch.
These are mistakes any big-leaguer should avoid. And when he's the only player a team has signed to a long-term deal, which is supposed to last into a new era that involves winning games, the mistakes sting a bit more.
"I'm not pleased about it," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
Had Wednesday night's gaffe been avoided, maybe the Phillies could have gone on to win. Thursday's was more embarrassing than damaging. While displeased, Mackanin, who said he thought about giving Herrera Thursday off, understood what happened this time around.
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"He was running contact. And when you're running contact, you're susceptible to getting picked off by a catcher, especially with a left-handed hitter up," Mackanin said. "You have to be aware of that. They're taught to be aware of that. He just didn't take that first hard step back. And that deters the catcher from throwing to third base. It happened."
The Phillies have been picked off eight times this season. Entering Thursday, only four teams had been picked off more.
The Phillies own a run scoring percentage (percentage of base runners that eventually score) of 28.0, which puts them in the bottom third of the league. While much of that can be attributed to bad bats, mistakes like Herrera's are not helping the cause.
At 25, Herrera is still figuring this whole thing out. But he was the Phillies' only All-Star last year and is supposed to be a consistent presence in the lineup.
Andres Blanco, on the opposite end of the spectrum, first saw major-league action in 2004, and should be providing a consistent presence in the Phillies' clubhouse. Yet on Thursday, starting at second base instead of Howie Kendrick, Blanco's contribution on the base paths felt like the remedy to Herrera's mental lapses.
In the bottom of the fifth, with two outs and Blanco on second base, Freddy Galvis grounded a ball up the middle. Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz sent and errant flip to second to get the final out, and Blanco was smart enough to round third after the ball got loose in the infield.Mackanin called it a heads-up play.
"That's the kind of players you're looking for, the guys that are going to look for those kinds of things to happen," Mackanin said, "and they don't assume a play is going to be made and assume they might be able to take an extra base.
"He's a veteran. I'm glad he paid attention."
