PHILADELPHIA — Catcher J.T. Realmuto battled the tiniest of wounds during the Phillies’ bout between National League heavyweights against the red-hot Dodgers.

The umpires had to briefly stop the game during the top of the ninth inning as Realmuto dealt with the blood coming out of a cut on his finger. A few batters later, the veteran backstop gripped the ball and fired a strike to second base to throw out a runner to end it. He finished the eighth inning the same way, making two huge plays with his arm in a 3-2 Phillies win to deliver Los Angeles its first loss of the season on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Two innings, two Dodgers caught stealing for the third out. When things looked shaky for the Phillies, Realmuto was there to stop the bleeding.

“The two throws he made were game-changers, really,” manager Rob Thomson said, “especially the last one.”

Realmuto cut his finger opening a bottle of water during the game. Later on, the nick needed to be glued shut on the field. The catcher maintained that it didn’t affect him, and his throws served as evidence.

“It was literally just like the smallest cut,” Realmuto said. “I can’t even feel it. It was just bleeding.”

The Phillies (6-1) led by three runs in the top of the eighth inning when superstar Shohei Ohtani ripped a single into right field off left-hander Matt Strahm to put runners on first and third for the Dodgers (8-1). Thomson summoned righty José Ruiz out of the bullpen to face the next batter, Mookie Betts, with two outs.

It was a big spot for Ruiz against the former MVP, but the reliever didn’t even have to finish the at-bat. To the surprise of Realmuto, Ohtani raced toward second base and took the bat out of the hands of Betts. Realmuto’s throw was on the money.

The next inning, reliever Jordan Romano was struggling to close it out. He allowed a home run to Tommy Edman to make it a one-run game, and the Dodgers put the tying run at first base via a Will Smith walk. Pinch runner Chris Taylor entered and tried his hand at stealing before Realmuto nabbed him on a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play to seal the win.

Second-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt originally called Taylor safe, but the call was overturned after a replay review. Romano, who utilized a slide step on the pitch since he’s usually slow to the plate, embraced Realmuto.

“It was awesome,” Romano said. “I was grinding out there for sure. J.T.’s been doing it all year, so that was definitely nice to see.”

Realmuto’s heroics salvaged a win for lefty starter Jesús Luzardo after he dominated for seven scoreless innings in his home debut with the Phillies. The newcomer struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits against an elite Dodgers lineup. Following the game, Luzardo spoke highly of working with Realmuto as his new battery mate.

“He’s incredible back there, obviously,” Luzardo said. “I’ve enjoyed watching him from a distance for a while. And now being able to work with him, it’s awesome just seeing all the homework he does and all the preparation he does. And then going out there and doing that, throwing two guys out in that situation.”

At age 34, Realmuto may no longer be at his peak performance. He’s not going to be able to catch as often as he has in years past, and his offensive numbers probably won’t rival those of his best seasons. But Realmuto continues to be useful and valuable to the Phillies in a multitude of ways.

He proved that on Friday, cut and dried, as he made a pair of the crucial plays to take down the Dodgers.