Phillies and Nationals Did Something Never Done Before in MLB History

It’s pretty incredible that after a century and a half of Major League Baseball, we’re still seeing firsts.

Even cooler, the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the oldest franchises (incepted in 1883), were one of the teams involved in making history on Wednesday.

Andrew McCutchen hit the Phillies’ grand slam in the fifth inning, and Josh Bell responded with one for the Nationals in the sixth. Cutch’s slam also happened to be the first go-ahead grand slam by a Phillie in over a decade, his first career go-ahead slam, and the first grand slam he’s hit since 2017.

Tell that to people who say baseball is boring.

The first recognized pinch-hit grand slam in the National League was hit in 1902, but the first Phillies pinch-hit grand slam was not until 1926.

Unfortunately, the Phillies blew the game in the ninth inning, losing 13-12 and dropping both games of the miniseries to the Nats. They’ve lost six of their last ten games, and are now 34-37, tied with the Atlanta Braves for third in the NL East, both teams five games out of first. They take on the first-place New York Mets on Friday.

The Phillies should have won this game, but the statistical achievement is still pretty cool. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but the Phillies and Nationals are proving that there’s still uncharted territory in baseball after all this time.