The third installment of the Field of Dreams game was held Thursday night in Dyersville, Iowa.
It’s a shame that not all Major League Baseball teams get a chance to play in the game. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Minnesota Twins, 7-1, to claim bragging rights.
Philadelphia designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hit a home run into the cornfield in the game’s first at-bat, and the slugger hit another one into the proverbial field of dreams later in the game.
Brandon Marsh drilled a two-run homer to give the winners a 7-1 lead, and the Phillies never looked back.
Philadelphia starting pitcher Aaron Nola pitched five strong innings, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning to earn the win.
But the game was much more than a game. It was an experience for all.
Based on the 1989 film by the same name starring Kevin Costner, who provided the narration prior to the game, players from both teams emerged from the outfield, as did a host of Hall of Famers.
The game was televised live on Netflix using Fox network announcers.
Perhaps no team could have used this game to boost morale like the Phillies, who have been reeling of late. No offense, weak bullpen pitching, even a subpar starting effort from Zack Wheeler in a 7-1 loss to St. Louis on Wednesday.
Time will tell if they will use Thursday’s win as a springboard to their fifth straight postseason appearance. Philadelphia improved to 65-58 after the win and currently occupies the third Wild Card spot.
The Phillies continue their three-game series with the Twins on Saturday in the Twin Cities. They’ll come home to face Miami in a three-game set Monday through Wednesday, followed by another three-game series at home against St. Louis before making a nine-game road trip against Seattle, the Los Angeles Angels and Arizona.
The 2008 World Series championship team wasn’t far off from this year’s version after the same number of games. But the vibe is much different, in real time at least. You would think the presence of three solid starting pitchers (Cristopher Sánchez, Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo) would tilt the meter toward another postseason appearance.
But the offense and the bullpen have struggled. The one thing that is essential to any pennant run is consistency across the board. Last season, Philadelphia lost a total of 66 games, just eight more than the team has already lost.
Is the honeymoon over for interim manager Don Mattingly, who replaced Rob Thomson in April after the Phillies fell to 9-19?
Again, time will tell.
