Phillies news and rumors 10/24: John Kruk to throw out first pitch prior to Game 7

For the first time in franchise history, the Philadelphia Phillies will play in a Game 7 on Tuesday as they host the Arizona Diamondbacks with a trip to the World Series on the line.

The crowd at Citizens Bank Park will surely factor into the game as it has all postseason. And in order to get the crowd fired up even more before the winner-take-all contest, the Phillies are turning to a familiar face to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Former Phillie, and current member of the organization’s broadcast team, John Kruk, will handle the honors of throwing out the first pitch.

Other former Phillies to have thrown out the first pitch at CBP this October include two members of the 2008 World Series championship team in Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton, a member of the 2009 NL championship team in Raúl Ibañez and 1980 World Series champion Larry Bowa. Even current Phillie Rhys Hoskins threw out a first pitch, doing so prior to Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.

Kruk, a member of the beloved 1993 NL championship team, played parts of six seasons with the Phillies, hitting .309/.400/.461. He was inducted into the organization’s Wall of Fame in 2011 and has helped call Phillies games on television since 2017.

The Phillies are going all hands on deck for Game 7. Having someone like Kruk throwing out the first pitch should certainly help fire up the 45,000-plus fans in attendance before the game even begins.

Must-read (or watch) Phillies content

• The Phillies lost Game 6 on Monday 5-1 after Aaron Nola looked shaky while the offense went silent. Here’s Phillies Nation’s Nathan Ackerman’s recap of the loss.
• As mentioned above, Tuesday night will be the first time the Phillies will play in a Game 7 in franchise history and Phillies Nation’s Tim Kelly has the latest on the winner-take-all scenario.
• Left-hander Ranger Suárez will get the ball to start Game 7. Our own Destiny Lugardo has all the details on that and more.
• Reliever Jeff Hoffman could very much be an X-factor on Tuesday night. He had a very good regular season and has continued that during the playoffs. Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo thinks the right-hander should be rewarded for his efforts with a contract extension.

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