Well, that's one way to lose a game. The Philadelphia Phillies were doing a good job holding down the Cleveland Guardians. In the sixth inning, though, disaster struck. Zach Wheeler induced a routine pop-up into center right field. Three players converged towards the ball… but none of them were able to come down with it. Instead, the ball dropped… and a run was scored.

That run, unfortunately, was the only run scored by both teams in the game. After the game, a couple of Phillies players talked about this costly blunder. Rob Thomson and Nick Castellanos confirmed what everyone suspected: it was a bad case of miscommunication that led to the error, per The Inquirer.

“Manager Rob Thomson called it a miscommunication. Castellanos and Stott agreed. Stott thought he heard Castellanos say something just before the ball reached the ground and interpreted that as a sign to back off. Castellanos said he assumed Stott was under it and didn’t call him off. Regardless, Thomson said it was up to one of the outfielders to make the play.”

Fly balls require communication from all fielders involve to make the right play. Catching the ball is the easy part: the hard part is figuring out which player is going to make the play. The Phillies outfielders (Castellanos and Brandon Marsh) assumed that second baseman Bryson Stott would field it. On the other hand, Stott misheard Castellanos and though he was getting the ball.

While that was a brutal mistake from the Phillies, it's also worth pointing out that that mistake could've easily been nullified if they got a run of their own. Philly was shut out by the Guardians' elite pitching staff, with Castellanos and co. faltering in the few RISP opportunities they got during the game. It was a rough outing, and here's to hoping they bounce back after two dreadful showings.