John Kruk provided the first great announcer’s jinx of the young MLB season.
The Phillies analyst mentioned how Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer had not yet hit a grand slam in his career when the utilityman stepped to the plate in the 10th inning with the bases loaded Monday night.
“No grand slams for Spencer Steer, let’s hope that continues,” Kruk said.
Moments later, disaster ensued — and Nick Castellanos wasn’t even involved.
“The 2-1, fly ball, left field, pretty well hit, [Whit] Merrifield going back, it is … gone. A grand slam for Spencer Steer,'” Phillies play-by-play man Tom McCarthy said after Steer’s grand slam proved the difference in Cincinnati’s 6-3 win. “And the Reds have busted it open in the 10th, they’re on top, 6-2.”
Announcers are in damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don’t situations with potential jinxes, and there are plenty of times when a possible jinx doesn’t come to fruition.
But Kruk didn’t have that luck in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park.
As the screen showed how Steer entered the game hitting .300 in his career with the bases juiced, but with no long balls in said spot, he relayed that information to the viewer.
Connor Brogdon had walked two batters to load the bases with no outs before a 92-mph fastball caught way too much of the plate in a 2-1 count.
Steer made him pay with a 383-foot blast, his first of the season, to send the Phillies to their third loss in four games, all at home.
With the grand slam, Steer is now hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a 1.098 OPS and 10 RBIs with the bases loaded in his career.
Cincinnati is now 3-1 after a second straight game involving late heroics.
The Reds trailed the Nationals by two runs entering the ninth inning Sunday before tying the game with a two-run shot and then walking it off in the ninth on a solo homer in their 6-5 win.
