Mic stop! Turner's defense fires up Phillies' All-Star infielders

ARLINGTON -- The Phillies’ delegation at Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field had a night befitting the excellence the club has shown in 2024.

Philadelphia has the best record in baseball at 62-34, and if all you had to go on was what the three Phillies All-Star starters -- Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm -- did during the 94th Midsummer Classic, you wouldn’t be far from the notion that this is the best team in baseball.

Those three made some All-Star Game history, and one of them made what was dubbed on the FOX telecast “the greatest play by a player that has worn the mic.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Phillies trio of Harper, Turner and Bohm became the first group of three infielder teammates to have each member record at least one hit in the All-Star Game since 2004, when the Yankees and Cardinals each had a trio accomplish the feat at Minute Maid Park.

Harper got things started with a double down the left-field line in the first inning off American League starter Corbin Burnes. In the three-run third inning for the NL, Turner delivered an RBI single to left off Tanner Houck. And Bohm grounded a single into right field in the fourth inning off Garrett Crochet.

“I thought it was pretty cool, all of us having a little bit of success in the game,” Turner said. “Especially for [Bohm], it’s his first All-Star Game. I think Bryce, for sure, has had plenty of hits in All-Star Games, and I’ve had one or two.”

Turner has had hits in All-Star Games, but until Tuesday night, neither he -- nor anyone else, for that matter -- had ever made a defensive play quite like his gem in the second inning. With a runner at first and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate, Turner and both of his Phillies teammates were mic’d up with FOX broadcasters Joe Davis and John Smoltz.

Just as Turner uttered the words, “at all costs,” he made a spectacular play worthy of the phrase. Guerrero hit a ground ball up the middle that was headed for center field and Turner made a full-extension dive to his left to grab it. From the ground he then flipped the ball to second baseman Ketel Marte for the forceout. While Marte’s relay wasn’t in time to get Guerrero at first, it was a thrilling moment -- particularly for the three Phillies on the infield.

“Let’s go!” a joyous Harper yelled. “Are you kidding me?!”

“How good did that feel?” asked Bohm.

“That felt brutal,” Turner said with a smile, after landing on his custom All-Star belt. “That’s why I don’t wear these things. I need my Little League belt.”

Harper just wished they could’ve been on the mics together more.

“I wish we could have done it for a little bit longer,” he said. “I think they kind of got a sense of what type of team we are and how much fun we have and the camaraderie. Being able to kind of show that on a national level is pretty cool.”

The moment encapsulated the fun the Phillies have been having this season. It’s a feeling that seems to run throughout the Philadelphia clubhouse, along with a confidence that one way or another, this team is going to get the job done.

The hits were there in front of a national audience on Tuesday. The defense was there. And lest we forget about the pitching, allow Turner to remind us.

“All of our pitchers pitched great today,” he said. “We’ve just got a really complete team, a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things and win ballgames.”

Three Phillies pitchers appeared in the game -- Cristopher Sánchez, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman. They combined for 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Turner had the right word to describe both Tuesday’s Phillies showing and what 2024 has been like for Philadelphia: “complete.” Bohm had another: “deep.”

“I think just the amount of people we had selected, it just kind of shows the group success we’ve had,” Bohm said. “Because it’s not just a guy or two that’s carrying the load. Each and every night, it’s someone different chipping in and making a big play or driving in three or four runs or something like that.

“It’s just such a deep team and it’s a super-talented group. It’s been fun to be a part of.”

There’s that word again -- “fun.” The Phillies are having it, whether at Citizens Bank Park or at Globe Life Field. Playing at the home of the defending World Series champions in the All-Star Game, the Harper-Turner-Bohm trio demonstrated why the Phils believe they have what it takes to take that mantle this fall.

“I think we have good, talented players, but we also have baseball players as well,” Turner said. “And I think tonight, you saw that.”