J.T. Realmuto’s impact on the bases continues with the second 20-homer, 20-steal season ever for a catcher

WASHINGTON — For the sake of posterity, the record will reflect that Rhys Hoskins homered and Bailey Falter tossed six scoreless innings Friday to pause the Phillies’ late-season slide.

But J.T. Realmuto controlled the game.

Realmuto stole three bases, caught two runners attempting to steal, and made history along the way in the Phillies’ 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals. He became the second catcher ever with 20 homers and 20 steals in a season. Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez had 35 homers and 25 steals in 1999.

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“Any time you have something where only two guys have done it ever in the game, I know for J.T. it’s probably pretty cool that he’s coupled in a sentence with Pudge,” Rhys Hoskins said before the second game of the doubleheader got rained out and postponed until Saturday. “Luckily he’s on our team. I’m happy to watch him.”

Realmuto stole two bases in the first inning and another in the ninth. He’s the ninth catcher since 1901 to steal three bases in a game and the first since Pittsburgh’s Jason Kendall on April 19, 1999. The last Phillies catcher to do it: Red Dooin on Sept. 24, 1906.

But here’s what sets Realmuto apart: He’s 21-for-21 in stolen-base attempts. (Rodríguez got caught stealing 12 times in 1999.) He’s the first catcher to steal at least 20 bases without getting caught since the National League began tracking such things in 1951 and the American League in 1920.

Realmuto also has thrown out 41.5% of attempted basestealers (27 of 65). And he’s doing it all at age 31 and despite playing more than 100 innings more than any other major league catcher.

“He’s been everything for us,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “Big hits, controls the running game, the way he runs the game. I’ve said all along that he should be in the MVP conversation for me. That’s how important he is to this club.”

Realmuto won’t win the National League MVP. St. Louis’ Paul Goldschmidt is the frontrunner for the award, while teammate Nolan Arenado and San Diego’s Manny Machado also have compelling cases.

But Realmuto figures to get votes on the 10-player ballot, along with Atlanta’s Austin Riley, the Mets’ Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, and the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Trea Turner.

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“With what he does for our staff, what he does on the bases — first to third, taking the extra base, little things that tend to not show up in the boxscore — that to me is what an MVP does for a team,” Hoskins said. “Whether or not he wins it, it’s pretty cool that we can throw his name in that mix.”

Entering play Friday, Realmuto was tied for seventh among NL players in wins above replacement, as calculated by Fangraphs. But statistics don’t reflect his impact on a game.

“When we think about J.T. when we’re game-planning for a series against the Phillies, there’s a lot of different ways in which he impacts the game,” San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler said recently. “There are not that many players that you have to think about from so many different angles. If any.”

The Phillies switched out a bench spot by recalling first baseman Darick Hall and optioning infielder Yairo Muñoz.

Hall, who hit nine homers and slugged .550 while Bryce Harper was sidelined with a broken thumb, may have rejoined the Phillies earlier in September. But they opted for positional flexibility with Muñoz and infielder/outfielder Dalton Guthrie and kept Hall in triple A to get regular at-bats.

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The Nationals, somewhat amazingly, don’t have a lefty in their bullpen, so lefty-swinging Hall figures to get pinch-hit opportunities in this series.

Hall went 23-for-77 with seven homers and a .994 on-base plus slugging in his last 19 triple-A games and finished with 28 homers, tied for third in the International League.

The Phillies stole six bases in a game for the first time since May 12, 2009. ... With the victory, the Phillies extended their winning streak over the Nationals to nine games. Since 2020, they are 33-11 against Washington, the second-best winning percentage in a head-to-head series after the Los Angeles Dodgers’ .792 mark against the Arizona Diamondbacks. ... Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez was added to the roster as the 29th player for the split-admission doubleheader, which now will be played Saturday. ... Kyle Gibson (10-7, 4.84 ERA) is scheduled to start the first game, weather-permitting, followed by Noah Syndergaard (9-10, 4.12). The Nationals will counter with right-hander Aníbal Sánchez (3-6, 4.06) and Tommy Romero (1-0, 7.71).