Phillies

Phillies Vs. Nationals Delayed by Outrageous Net Malfunction

The Phillies game was already a ball of chaos before the eighth inning began - and then everything fell apart.

Phillies game delayed by outrageous net malfunction originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

To paraphrase the great comedian John Mulaney, I thought I knew most things that could realistically happen at a sporting event.

And then the netting behind home plate collapsed during Sunday's Phillies vs. Nationals game.

The Phillies and Nationals were already in the belly of a bizarre, four-hour-long battle in swampy South Philly before the stadium fought back in the top of the eighth. But around 4:44 p.m., the net behind catcher J.T. Realmuto decided it'd seen enough from Trea Turner and tumbled towards the seats:

What followed was 20 minutes and 21 seconds of absolute chaos at Citizens Bank Park.

The poor Phillies grounds crew jumped into action to try and rectify the situation with a combination of physics lessons, an engine, and sheer determination. They had to figure out how to get the fencing back up - and then how to keep it there.

At one point, a John Deere tractor was employed to solve the nightmare:

Totally normal baseball stuff happening to a totally normal baseball team.

At one point, Archie Bradley - who walked two in a 20-pitch appearance Sunday - couldn't help but laugh at the insanity of it all:

We're right there with you, Arch.

Between the Sixers taking one on the chin from the upstart Hawks across the street, and the Phillies' series-ending game vs. the Nats descending into performance art, who knows what was floating around down at the Stadium Complex on Sunday afternoon. It certainly wasn't just thick, humid June air.

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