Young fan nearly snags Marsh's HR, gets souvenir anyway

PHILADELPHIA -- When Stef Kuhner couldn't land four tickets together for Game 3 of the World Series, she did the next best thing -- buy two sets of two in the same section.

She let her two kids -- 10-year-old Ty and 13-year-old Madison -- take the two seats in the front row of Section 103 in right field on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, while the parents settled into the back row.

Little did she know, Ty would find himself at the center of one of the biggest plays of the night in the Phillies' 7-0 victory.

With the Phillies already holding a three-run lead, center fielder Brandon Marsh ripped a high fly ball deep into right field in the second inning. The ball hit what turned out to be Ty's glove and fell back into the field of play.

• World Series ticket information

"I didn't even think it was gone when he hit it," Ty said. "I stood up and was like, 'Is it gone, is it gone?'"

It was.

Marsh temporarily slammed on the brakes as he rounded second, only to break into his home run trot once he saw second-base umpire Lance Barksdale signal it was a homer. The play was reviewed, but since Ty did not reach over the wall, the home run was confirmed.

It still made for some anxious moments for Ty's mom.

"My first response was just, 'Oh my gosh, was that Ty?'" said Stef, whose family had made the drive from Wilmington, Del., on Monday night before the game was postponed as they stood on the concourse. "I couldn't tell from our seats with everyone standing, but I knew it was that area. And sure enough, there he was on the replay."

Unfortunately for Ty, the ball glanced off his glove -- "It hit the sweet spot, but then, just like rolled out" -- and dropped back onto the field. Though he lost out on the home run ball, Ty didn't go home without a couple of World Series souvenirs.

The first came from Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy, who left the radio booth to deliver a baseball that had been autographed by Jimmy Rollins. But on the way to Ty’s seat, McCarthy just so happened to cross paths with Jayson Werth -- so Werth added his signature to the ball, for good measure.

The other souvenir came courtesy of Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos, who tossed a ball to Ty when he took the outfield for the top of the third.

"I was just amazed," Ty said. "That was so cool."

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As it turns out, Castellanos was just as amazed by the whole situation.

“I didn’t know,” Castellanos said when asked about throwing the ball to the kid who dropped Marsh’s homer. “I look for kids. I guess it was just a coincidence that it happened to be that kid.”

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That’s just the way things seem to be going for the Phillies, especially at Citizens Bank Park, where they improved to 6-0 this postseason.

“Well, you know, fate’s on the Phillies’ side, bro,” said Castellanos, who made a sensational sliding catch on the first pitch of the game. “So good for that kid.”

Either way, Ty made sure to squeeze his glove just a little tighter this time around.

"I wasn't dropping that one," he said.