Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)
Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius announced his return from the IL with a jaw-dropping leaping catch against the Padres.
Didi Gregorius has only been back in action for the Phillies for two games. He didn’t need much time at all to start making an impact again.
After missing nearly two months with elbow inflammation, Gregorius started his second game on Saturday. The shortstop made an incredible leaping dive to prevent a hit in the eighth inning.
Even he couldn’t believe how good of a play it was.
Jurickson Profar was pretty stunned too. He thought he’d just put one through the defense and was ready to take a base as the tying run. Instead, he had a long walk back to the dugout and the Padres had two outs in the inning still trailing by two.
Didi Gregorius has made big defensive and offensive plays since his return
The Phillies held onto their 4-2 lead to take the victory in a game twice delayed by the rain.
While the Padres struck first on a two-run Manny Machado home run in the first, Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins homered in the second to tie things up. The deciding runs came in the sixth on a Harper sacrifice fly and a Hoskins RBI double.
Gregorius’ presence was definitely felt at shortstop on Saturday. On Friday, his first game back from injury, he made his mark at the plate. He hit a home run in the fifth inning as Philadelphia won the first game of the series against San Diego 4-3.
The Phillies and Padres will square off again on Sunday to finish up the series. Philadelphia hasn’t managed a sweep in a series with three or more games since taking out the Brewers at the start of May.