Just how strange was the end of the Phillies-Red Sox game? It featured something we haven’t seen since 1971.
Here's the situation: It's 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning, with Brandon Marsh on second base. Red Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks walked Otto Kemp, then both runners advanced on a wild pitch, leading to an intentional walk to load the bases.
And then…
*To the tune of “That’s Amore”* “Whennnnn thaaaaa bat hits the mitt, it’s the same as a hit: in-ter-ference.”
Edmundo Sosa’s bat hit the glove of Carlos Narváez. That’s catcher’s interference. Free base. Run scored. It was, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, the first walk-off catcher’s interference since Aug. 1, 1971, when Johnny Bench made the mistake against the Dodgers.
I did a little digging on that one … wanna learn some real baseball sicko information with me?
The Dodgers trailed by a run going into the 11th inning of that game, scoring the tying run when Bill Buckner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. After a forceout at home plate, the box score shows the pitcher (Joe Gibbon) balking with the bases loaded, but the runners did not advance. Then came the catcher’s interference, allowing the run to score.
Wait, what? Why didn’t the Dodgers score on the balk?
Here’s the answer, thanks to the folks at Baseball Toaster (h/t Retrosheet). The runner at third (Manny Mota) attempted to steal home on the play. Bench stepped in front of the plate, triggering Rule 7.07:
If, with a runner on third base and trying to score by means of a squeeze play or a steal, the catcher or any other fielder steps on, or in front of home base without possession of the ball, or touches the batter or his bat, the pitcher shall be charged with a balk, the batter shall be awarded first base on the interference and the ball is dead.
So both a balk and catcher’s interference were called! Mystery solved.
HOUSTON — Never did Nick Kurtz consider this, not as a young boy learning to swing left-handed in Lancaster, Pa., or during the charmed collegiate career that catapulted him into baseball’s consciousness. He harbored the same fantasies of so many budding ballplayers, but believing in immortality felt irresponsible.
Then, on a nondescript Friday night in downtown Houston, Kurtz launched himself into baseball lore. He played one of the best games in Major League Baseball’s 150-year history, hitting four home runs and collecting six hits during a 15-3 shellacking of the Houston Astros at Daikin Park.
“Having a game like that is stuff you don’t even dream about,” Kurtz said, “because it doesn’t really happen.”
Kurtz is the 20th man to hit four home runs in a major-league game. None of the other 19 were younger than 25. Kurtz did it at 22 years and 135 days old during his 66th major-league game.
Nick Kurtz.
Four home runs.
Historic. pic.twitter.com/7oqrgdi23v
— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2025
Kurtz is the first player in baseball history to finish a game with at least six hits, six runs and eight RBIs. The Baseball Hall of Fame will receive one of Kurtz’s bats, a scorecard and photograph to commemorate the occasion.
“It’s arguably the best game I’ve ever watched from a single player,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who played parts of 17 major-league seasons.
“Tonight was special. This kid continues to just have jaw-dropping moments. To witness that tonight was pretty special for all of us.”
The 19 total bases Kurtz accrued matched a single-game record Shawn Green set on May 23, 2022. Green, like Kurtz, finished his night 6-for-6 with four home runs, a double and single. Green drove in seven runs. Kurtz chased home eight.
“This is not normal,” said A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson. “He’s playing a different sport than us right now. It’s not baseball. It’s T-ball what he’s doing out there right now.”
Thirteen months ago, Kurtz had just completed his third collegiate season at Wake Forest. The A’s selected him fourth during last July’s draft and, after just 33 minor-league games, summoned Kurtz to the major leagues on April 23.
Kurtz’s performance on Friday raised his season slash line to .305/.374/.686 across his first 271 major-league plate appearances. His first 66 games have featured 43 extra-base hits. Only Joe DiMaggio had more.
“The way guys are pitching him already in the league, he’s like a 10-year vet,” said A’s starter Jeffrey Springs. “They pitch around him. The respect is already there and it’s definitely well-deserved. The kid is really unbelievable. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that, just how locked in he is.”
Added Luis Severino: “The closest thing I can (compare) it to is Aaron Judge, playing with him.”
Since the day Kurtz debuted, only Judge has a higher OPS than his 1.060 mark. Friday’s performance all but cemented Kurtz as the front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year — an award Judge also won in 2017.
“He’s got a lot of confidence. He feels great about his approach,” Kotsay said. “In terms of being a rookie, I’ve said this from day one when we got him, he’s an advanced hitter. His approach is one of the best approaches I’ve ever seen from a young player.”
A’s rookie Nick Kurtz greets his parents and godparents after the game of his life. It was the first time his godparents had seen him play a big league game. His parents flew in today to attend. pic.twitter.com/7FSVUbj8XW
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 26, 2025
The Astros are aware. Kurtz hit two walk-off home runs against them in June. One came against six-time All-Star closer Josh Hader. Kurtz pulled one home run and hit another to dead center field, but Friday showcased perhaps his most prolific trait: easy opposite-field slug.
Each of Kurtz’s three hits off Astros starter Ryan Gusto went to the opposite field, including a 384-foot home run during the second inning. A double two frames later traveled 381 feet and banged off a center-field facade. According to Baseball Savant, it would’ve left six of the 30 major-league ballparks.
“I thought I got that one (for a home run), too,” Kurtz said with a smile. “It’s OK.”
“When he hits the ball the other way, it’s like hitting it right-handed and pulling the baseball,” Kotsay said. “I don’t know very many guys in the game that can hit a breaking ball that’s backdoor 109 (mph off the bat) and make it look like a line drive from a right-handed hitter.”
In the eighth inning, Kurtz pulled a first-pitch fastball from Houston reliever Kaleb Ort into the third deck of right-field seats. His blast gave the A’s a nine-run lead and guaranteed an Astros position player, Cooper Hummel, would pitch the ninth inning.
Kurtz’s spot in the batting order was five spots away. He stood a triple away from the cycle, too, and had already informed third-base coach Eric Martins that “if I hit the gap I’m going three.”
Hits from Lawrence Butler, Gio Urshela and Carlos Cortes off Hummel brought Kurtz back to the plate to attempt it. Kurtz had only taken one other major-league at-bat against a position player.
“When you’re that locked in, I feel like, to really good arms and then a position player comes in there, typically guys don’t really hit well,” Springs said. “They either strike out or pop up. We were just in here hoping he pitched to him.”
Hummel did. Neither of the first two pitches reached 80 mph or landed anywhere near Kurtz’s strike zone. A third at 77.6 mph nicked the outer half. Kurtz took it the other way into the Crawford Boxes.
“Everybody knew he was going to do something,” Severino said. “That’s regular BP for him and he rakes in BP. We knew something was going to happen. He was going to hit the ball hard.”
The blast left a half-empty ballpark in a state of shock. Delirium and dumbfoundedness enveloped an A’s dugout full of players, wondering what they just witnessed. A celebratory postgame clubhouse only furthered the wonder.
“Their reaction is similar to mine,” Kurtz said of his teammates, “they all just kind of can’t believe that happened.”
Look at this Jung Hoo Lee catch:
In case you’re still not clear on what you just saw: He caught the ball between his knees.
