John Crook provided the first great announcer jinx in MLB’s young season.
Phillies analysts noted Monday night that when Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the 10th inning, he had yet to hit a grand slam in his career.
“Spencer Steer never had a grand slam. Let’s hope that continues.” Kuruk said.
Shortly after, disaster struck, and Nick Castellanos wasn’t even involved.
“2-1, fly ball to left field, it was a pretty good ball. [Whit] When Merrifield returned, it was… gone. Spencer Steere’s grand slam,” Phillies play-by-play man Tom McCarthy said after Steere’s grand slam proved the difference in Cincinnati’s 6-3 win. “Then the Reds took the lead in the 10th inning and took the lead 6-2.”
Announcers are in a situation where jinxes such as “if you do it, it’s no good” and “if it doesn’t work, you’re no good” can occur, and these jinxes often don’t materialize.
But Crook didn’t have that luck in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park.
The screen showed how Steer, who had a career batting average of .300, entered the game with the bases loaded but the long ball didn’t go in that spot, and he shared that information. informed the viewers.
Connor Brogdon walked two batters and loaded the bases with no outs, but with the count 2-1, his 92 mph fastball hit the at-bat too wide.
Steer made him pay the price with his first 383-foot blast of the season, handing the Phillies their third loss in four home games.
With the grand slam, Steer has a career batting average of .364 (4 hits for 11) with the bases loaded, a 1.098 OPS, and 10 RBIs.
Cincinnati is now 3-1 after two straight games with late-inning heroics.
On Sunday, the Reds trailed the Nationals by two runs in the ninth inning, tying the score with two runs, then hit a solo home run in the ninth inning to take the lead and win 6-5.
