5 Best individual Phillies’ performances of 2021
By Bryce Turner
While the Philadelphia Phillies failed to make the playoffs once again, there were still memorable moments, including five big individual performances.
The Philadelphia Phillies finished the season with an 82-80 record, 6.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, and eight games back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card standings.
While the team failed to make the postseason for the 10th straight year, they did finish with a winning record for the first time since 2011. And, there were many highlights and noteworthy moments from a club fielding All-Stars, the NL MVP, and award hopefuls.
Here are the five best individual performances from Phillies games this season…
#5 Philadelphia Phillies individual performance: Luke Williams walk-off
Luke Williams, a third-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2015, started this season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley before making his major-league debut on June 8, at home against the Atlanta Braves, where he singled in his lone plate appearance, pinch-hitting against Drew Smyly.
As impressive as that was, his big individual performance came the following day against the Braves. He started the game in center field, striking out in his first at-bat against Tucker Davidson, in the second inning.
Williams’ next chance to face Davidson came in the fourth inning, where he hit his first career major league double on the second pitch. He moved from center field to third base in the seventh inning, before striking out to reliever Tyler Matzek in the bottom of the frame.
The Phillies entered the home half of the ninth inning trailing 1-0. Rhys Hoskins struck out, Andrew McCutchen walked and Brad Miller popped out to second base. This brought Williams to the plate with the team down to its final out. On the second pitch from Braves closer Will Smith, Williams hit his first career home run to left field, a walk-off two-run blast.
Luke Williams stat line: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI