The Nick Nurse era in Philadelphia got off to a rocky start to close out August.
While the Philadelphia 76ers won’t be taking the court with their new head coach until October, fans got to see Nurse during Wednesday’s Phillies game. Ahead of the Phillies final game in their series against the Los Angeles Angels, Nurse had the honor of throwing out the first pitch in front of the home crowd.
And before his first pitch, Nurse gave Phillies fans his best Craig Kimbrel impression, imitating the closer’s iconic spread-arm stance before tossing a pretty solid ball to the Phillie Phanatic.
Nick Nurse did his best Craig Kimbrel impersonation on the ceremonial first pitch before the Phillies game. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/wSNNVXMgcL
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 30, 2023
Unfortunately for Nurse and Phillies fans, Kimbrel came into Wednesday’s game but blew a save in the top of the ninth after giving up a home run that allowed the Angels to take an 10-8 lead.
This makes sense dramaturgically 👏#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/W9akcRcIbU
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 30, 2023
Naturally, Phillies fans looked for someone to blame for the rough loss and turned to Nurse and his imitation of Kimbrel’s stance that cursed the closer before the blown save.