John Kruk and Tyrese Maxey stole the show in the stands during dramatic Phillies win

John Kruk and Tyrese Maxey have such good chemistry, they should start their own podcast. Call it Mad Max and the Krukker.

Kruk and the rest of the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast crew — Tom McCarthy, Ruben Amaro Jr., and Ben Davis — called Tuesday night’s dramatic win over the Cincinnati Reds from Section 141 of Citizens Bank Park.

It was the seventh time the broadcast ventured into the stands, dating back to 2014, but the first time the crew set up in left field. As you’d expect, Kruk remained in character as the cranky veteran annoyed by just about everything — including the Phanatic’s gyrations — but hit it off instantly with Maxey, the rising Sixers star.

“Sixers fans don’t like… we love Tyrese Maxey” Kruk proclaimed.

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During the fourth inning, Kruk celebrated the fact Kevin Durant plans to remain in Brooklyn, meaning there was no chance the Sixers would trade away Maxey as part of a deal. Kruk also marveled at the size of the young star’s thighs (“If he hits you with one of those things, you’re done.”) and his quick rise to fame in Philadelphia, considering his age.

“What are you, 23?” Kruk asked.

”I’m 21,” Maxey responded.

“Christ. 21? I believe the drawers I’m wearing are older than that,” Kruk shot back. “So you can drink now?”

“Yeah, but I try to stay away from alcohol,” Maxey said.

“That’s all right. I’ll have them for you,” Kruk said, fistbumping a laughing Maxey. “But I ain’t got to play, I just watch.”

Kruk also wasn’t afraid to poke fun at Joel Embiid, who Maxey said will likely call thanks to the duo’s comments during the game. Maxey said he recently ran into Embiid in Los Angeles after not seeing him for a couple of months.

“Him walking up on me, I’m like, ‘Man, I forgot how tall you were,’” Maxey recalled.

“Still ugly, though, isn’t he?” Kruk joked dryly.

“Very,” a laughing Maxey responded.

“There’s a reason he has to wear the mask. I’m just saying,” Kruk said.

“Exactly. It’s not for a broken face,” Maxey followed.

There were a lot of fun moments during the broadcast. The crew was speaking to a mic’d-up Kyle Schwarber in the second inning when Donovan Solano ripped a double down the left field line past third baseman Alec Bohm. Schwarber hit the wall hard while chasing down the ball, complaining afterwards, “That wall does not move, huh?”

“How’d that feel?” Kruk said sarcastically.

Later in the game, McCarthy showed a clip of Reds play-by-play announcer John Sadak, a Rowan University graduate and Delaware resident who once called games for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, stealing a fan -- the kind that keeps you cool, not the ones that cheer you on -- from the vacant Phillies booth. Considering the Reds’ miserable season, the move was like a fastball up the middle served up to Kruk.

“It’s all right, they don’t have any fans anymore anyway,” Kruk said. “Now they’ve got one. Season ticket holder.”

In the sixth inning, former Phillies outfielder Greg Luzinski, known by his nickname “The Bull,” joined the broadcast. Luzinski was among the members of the Phillies’ 1980 team honored earlier this month at Citizens Bank Park, and it didn’t take him long to remind viewers of Pete Rose’s infamous appearance during the broadcast, which was so blue NBC Sports Philadelphia edited it out of the replays of the game.

“No s---,” Luzinski blurted out. “Sorry, Pete Rose! Seven seconds.”

“Yeah, seven seconds for people to get on Twitter and rip us,” Kruk shot back.

Of course, the humor ended in the top of the ninth inning, when a two-out triple by TJ Friedl gave the Reds the lead. Fortunately for the Phillies, infielder Nick Maton came through in the bottom of the ninth with a walkoff single to give Philadelphia the 7-6 win.

“Now you’re looking at a team that has so much confidence going into the rest of the season, hopefully it means some good October baseball,” Kruk said during the postgame show.

The left field broadcast was a first for NBC Sports Philadelphia, but announcers have previously called games for the network from above the bullpen, behind the Phillies’ on-deck circle, from Harry the K’s restaurant, behind the dugout, and from the outfield, where McCarthy actually snagged a home run hit by Atlanta Braves slugger Freddie Freeman.

It was the first Phillies game called from the stands since 2019, a relatively miserable affair for Kruk, capped by being forced into a poncho when rain began to fall late in the game.

“I would have to venture to guess that we look like three tools,” Kruk said.

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