J.T. Realmuto returns after taking a ball to the throat, leads Phillies to a series victory vs. Cardinals

Realmuto shook off a headache and got right back in the lineup with two hits and two runs. He also helped Aaron Nola pitch six strong innings.

by Scott Lauber

Published April 10, 2024, 1:32 p.m. ET

ST. LOUIS — J.T. Realmuto went to sleep late Tuesday night with a sore throat, but that was expected. He did, after all, take a bouncing curveball off the right side of his neck, forcing him from the game in the seventh inning.

No, what concerned the Phillies catcher wasn’t the bruised Adam’s apple. It was the pounding in his head.

“I got dizzy right away and then a headache behind my right eyeball,” said Realmuto, who tested negative for a concussion. “It was only on the right side. And that kind of persisted when I was in the training room. Going to bed, I wasn’t sure if the headache was going to continue through the night or if it was going to go away.”

It went away. And when Realmuto awoke Wednesday, he texted athletic trainer Paul Buchheit to say he felt ready to play. And that’s how he wound up banging two hits, scoring two runs, and helping Aaron Nola navigate six solid innings in the rain in a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

“That guy’s a gamer, man,” Nola said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen J.T. come out of a game. To get that guy out of a game, I guess you’ve got to hit him in the throat.”

Well, that’s one way to put it. Here’s another:

“He’s a tough son of a [gun],” manager Rob Thomson said. “He really is.”

If you missed it, Realmuto slid to his right to knock down Zack Wheeler’s dirt-diving curveball Tuesday night in a 3-0 loss to the Cardinals. The ball struck him squarely underneath his mask, near the collarbone, causing him to stagger before going to his knees.

The sight of Realmuto leaving early from a game was almost as jarring as the injury itself. Since 2021, he has played nearly 300 more innings — the equivalent of 33 games — than any catcher in baseball. And that doesn’t include the 30 postseason games that he started over the last two years.

Surely, Realmuto must have woken up with some lingering symptoms.

“Just the sore throat,” he said. “And my head’s fine. They said it was normal with where the ball hit me in the neck for me to get a headache.”

So, Realmuto assumed his usual place in the batting order — cleanup, behind Bryce Harper — and hit a fly ball to center field in the first inning. Victor Scott II appeared to lose it amid the drizzle for a two-base error, and Kyle Schwarber scored from first to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

Consider it a tone-setter. The Phillies notched eight hits — all singles — and eked out a victory because the base hits were well-timed. They had three in a span of four batters in the tiebreaking sixth inning against Cardinals reliever Andre Pallante, a rally started by Realmuto, naturally.

Realmuto stroked a single the other way to right field, and after Alec Bohm walked, Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos delivered opposite-field singles to drive in the go-ahead runs.

“We have to be OK with taking a single with guys in scoring position and not trying to do too much,” Realmuto said. “The worst thing you can do when guys are in scoring position is strike out. It’s easier said than done. We did a good job of taking our singles and putting the ball in play and letting it fall [to] our side.”

But that was only half of Realmuto’s contribution. For the third time in as many starts, he helped Nola pitch through the elements. Nola dealt with rain in his first start against the Braves, cold temperatures in his second in Washington, and this time, steady rain through six innings against the Cardinals.

It was difficult for Nola to get his footing on a slippery mound and grip the wet ball, causing him to forgo his typical velocity in order to achieve any semblance of command. It changed how Realmuto called the game, too.

“You can’t pitch them how you normally would because the stuff’s not as sharp, the command isn’t there,” Realmuto said. “You kind of have to bite off bigger parts of the plate and just trust that they’re going to hit it at guys. You try to get them to swing the bat more often because he’s not going to be dialed in on the corners.”

Nola allowed solo homers to Ivan Herrera in the second inning and Brendan Donovan in the third. Otherwise, he sidestepped three walks and kept the Cardinals off the board.

“If I’m going out there and the ball does feel a little bit damp, I’m not going to try to throw it as hard because it’s really going to get away from command,” Nola said. “I just tried to make pitches and grind it through and try to get early outs.”

The rain persisted throughout the game, turning the infield into a Game 5 of the 2008 World Series-level mess. (Google it, kids.) Nola also had a nominee for the star of the game: the Cardinals’ grounds crew.

“I’m sure they’re going to be tired tonight,” he said. “They were busting their butts. They were in our tunnel right there, and they were on top of it in between every single inning. They did a really good job.”

The Phillies emerged with a winning road trip — 4-2 to Washington and St. Louis — and evened their record at .500 yet again (6-6).

And they breathed a sigh of relief that their iron man catcher was, well, himself.

“It feels good to come out with a win today, for sure,” Realmuto said. “We needed that one. Wanted to win the series. It wasn’t ideal conditions, but good to come out on top.”