NEW YORK -- It takes a lot to make Zack Wheeler smile on the mound.
But his teammate making a jaw-dropping catch to rob Juan Soto of a home run is enough to do the trick.
Phillies center fielder Derek Hill left his teammates in awe in Friday night's 2-1 victory over the Mets at Citi Field after turning in the latest candidate for the catch of the year. With a runner on first and no outs, Soto drilled an 0-2 fastball to deep right-center field.
Hill, who was shaded slightly toward the left-field side of second base, got a good jump on the ball and raced toward the warning track. Never breaking stride, Hill timed his jump perfectly and corralled the ball high above the wall in right-center-field wall.
The usually stoic Wheeler cracked a smile as he stared toward the outfield -- but he was far from the only Phillie to react.
Right fielder Brandon Marsh, who was converging on the ball himself, immediately took off his hat and dapped up Hill. Marsh was so caught up in the fact that Hill somehow caught the ball that he briefly started to go in for the celebration before Hill had even thrown the ball back to the infield.
Philadelphia's infielders were equally in shock.
Second baseman Bryson Stott, shortstop Trea Turner and third baseman Alec Bohm all lifted their arms in unison. At first base, Bryce Harper -- perhaps waiting to make sure that Hill had indeed made the improbable catch -- eventually raised both his arms high above his head while Bohm continued staring out toward Hill with one hand on his head in disbelief.
It proved to be a crucial play in the eventual one-run victory -- one in which Hill also scored the game-winning run. With the game tied at 1, Hill used that same speed to beat out an infield single to lead off the seventh inning. He later came around to score on an RBI single by Trea Turner, who continued his recent surge with his fourth consecutive multihit game.
Hill’s big night only added to what has been an incredible week for the 30-year-old.
Acquired from the White Sox on June 11, the newcomer hit a go-ahead two-run homer with the Phillies down to their last out in Wednesday's 5-4 victory over the Nationals. He added another two-run homer in the ninth inning one night later as the Phillies continued their historic streak of late-game heroics.
After back-to-back nights of hitting homers, though, Hill made his mark by taking one away this time around.