'He had first dibs': Marsh thanks fan for aiding with Superman-esque catch

PHILADELPHIA – Out in Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies have a rock climbing wall where kids spend the pregame trying to get to the top in order to ring a bell above a replica of City Hall draped next to the Phillie Phanatic mascot.

Hey, why should kids have all the fun?

That might have been the thought of Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh when he brought the children’s climbing adventures to the field of play in the eighth inning of Philadelphia’s 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.

With one out, runners on first and second and the Phillies holding a three-run lead, Miami’s Xavier Edwards lofted a pop fly into foul territory in left field that was hugging the wall that juts out a little more than halfway between the infield dirt and main wall.

Marsh hustled to the wall. Seeing that the ball was closing in on the fans in the stands and out of play, he determinedly planted his right foot halfway up the wall and grabbed for the top of the wall with his right hand to catapult himself up higher. He then reached skyward with his left glovehand while now planting his left foot into the wall higher than his right foot.

Just as the ball neared Marsh’s glove, a fan wearing a replica Phillies jersey pulled back the hat he had taken off his head in order to grab a coveted souvenir just enough to allow Philadelphia’s left fielder to make a sensational rock – err, wall – climbing catch.

“It was a good one, yeah,” said Marsh, who had never climbed a wall to make a catch before. “It was fun. I gotta thank the guy standing over there for pulling away at the last second because I think he had first dibs on it before me, I feel like. He moved over a little bit and helped me have the room to catch it.”

Interim manager Don Mattingly had a great view of the play from his perch in Philadelphia's dugout. In fact, he saw Marsh make a pair of stellar plays, including the sliding catch for the second out in the seventh that robbed Esteury Ruiz of a hit.

“The line drive I thought was big; that’s a tough play,” Mattingly said. “The other one is a little bit more dramatic from the standpoint of getting up on the wall. That was another big out.”

Aaron Nola, who earned the victory with seven strong innings, was appreciative of Marsh’s effort. The first catch helped Nola get through the seventh inning for just the second time this season, and the second one helped the Phillies win their season-best sixth straight game.

“That’s a hard catch, ball kind of sinking down,” Nola said of the one in the seventh. Of the eighth, he said, “That was awesome. You don’t see that too much.”

Well, you do see that kind of climbing effort from fearless kids in Ashburn Alley. Marsh just couldn’t let them be the only ones.