Brett Phillips, the Tampa native playing for the Rays, gave fans a moment to remember with the first inside-the-park home run of his career. Facing Orioles lefty Paul Fry, Phillips took a slider that caught too much of the zone and drove it into the left-center gap. The ball ricocheted off the wall and out of Cedric Mullins’ reach, setting Phillips loose. He turned on the jets, rounded third, and dove home safely. The dugout erupted. Phillips gave a quick salute to the crowd and kept it moving, waving off his hitting coach’s attempt at a celebration handshake and saying what’s become his signature line: “Baseball is fun.”
Mullins misplayed the carom off the wall, which turned a possible double into a rare inside-the-parker. If the ball had hit the track before the wall, it might have bounced back with a softer angle, but it smacked the wall first and shot over toward center. That gave Phillips just enough time to fly around the bases. The commentary compared this type of run to an art form and raised the question of whether even Usain Bolt could keep up on the basepaths without training, noting that understanding the turns and angles of base running gives baseball players an edge beyond raw speed.
After the play, Phillips admitted he was relieved his legs held up as he made the final sprint. He played to the crowd, who was just as pumped as he was. It was a personal milestone and a reminder of how exciting and unpredictable the game can be.