Phillies win instant classic with Castellanos walk-off, tie NLDS 1-1

PHILADELPHIA – It took one at-bat for Francisco Lindor to figure something out against Phillies’ starter Cristopher Sánchez. After he struck out in his first at-bat, Lindor took Mark Vientos aside and whispered something in his ear. Vientos responded by doubling on a 0-2 count.

While he was stranded at third base to end the inning, the Mets now knew something.

Fast forward to the third inning. With one out, Lindor came up to the plate with a plan. On a 2-1 count, he dropped a single into left-center field. Mark Vientos came up and homered on the first pitch of the at-bat, putting the Phillies in an early 2-0 hole.

The Comeback Begins

The Phillies looked to respond in the bottom of the inning. Johan Rojas blooped in a single to bring Kyle Schwarber to the plate. Schwarber hit one 337 ft. for an out. Where Vientos got a ball to carry out, Schwarber’s blast died at the track.

Cristopher Sánchez would go five innings on the mound in Game 2. He paired that with five strikeouts to go with the two earned runs. José Ruiz entered the game in the sixth inning. On a 1-2 count, he coughed up a homer to Pete Alonso to make it a 3-0 game. Singles to JD Martinez and Francisco Alvarez put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Ruiz got Harrison Bader to line out to end the inning.

Kody Clemens pinch hit to begin the bottom of the sixth inning in place of Johan Rojas. He made some good contact but ultimately flew out to center. With two outs, Trea Turner hit an inconspicuous single to bring Bryce Harper to the plate.

Harper did what he does best: come up clutch in the playoffs. He slammed a ball off the ivy in centerfield to make it 3-2.

“That got everybody going,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson postgame. “Our at-bats got a lot better. We started getting guys back in the zone, attacking and using the field.“

Nick Castellanos tapped into the chaos that Citizen Bank Park fell into and went back-to-back, homering to left field.

“Bryce and Nick getting us going like that, hitting those balls a long way jolted the team, I think. It obviously jolted the crowd,” said Bryson Stott postgame.

It was anyone’s ballgame.

A Phillies Classic

Orion Kerkering was tasked with pitching the seventh inning. After getting strikeouts against Lindor and Vientos, he allowed a solo shot to Brandon Nimmo, giving the Mets another lead at 4-3.

In the bottom of the inning, the Phillies got a leadoff runner on thanks to a Hit By Pitch to JT Realmuto. With two outs, Kody Clemens hit a single to bring up Schwarber. Mets’ closer Edwin Diaz came in to face him. Schwarber had a good at-bat but couldn’t hold up on a 3-2 slider.

Carlos Estévez got the call for the eighth inning. He recorded a much-needed 1-2-3 inning for the Phillies.

Diaz tried to wrap around for the eighth inning and failed. He walked Harper on four pitches (possibly by design). Nick Castellanos laced a single on which Harper hustled to third. Then, the struggling Bryson Stott had perhaps the biggest hit of his young career. He tripled into the rightfield corner. For the first time in Game 2, the Phillies had a lead of 5-4. It came on his birthday, no less.

Diaz was out of the game after that. Tylor Megill was next for the Mets. JT Realmuto hit a weak ground ball to 3B that Mark Vientos couldn’t glove, pushing the score to 6-4.

Matt Strahm came in for the save opportunity. After failing to clean up Jeff Hoffman‘s mess from Saturday, the All-Star looked for redemption.

Redemption was nowhere to be found. After giving up a single to Lindor, Strahm gave up a game-tying home run to Vientos, his second of the game.

Nick Castellanos Wins It

Tylor Megill came back for the bottom of the 9th.

With two outs, he walked Trea Turner. Bryce Harper did the same, walking on a full count. Nick Castellanos would have a shot with runners in scoring position. On a 1-2 count, he got a slider over the plate and didn’t miss it. He walked it off for the Phillies to even the series one game a piece.

“He’s been working every day,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He’s just a workhorse. I’m so happy for him because I know there’s been a lot of talk about chase but he can hit. He can hit.“

“He’s Nick Castellanos,” said Stott postgame. “He’s a professional hitter and he’s hit his whole career. It feels like every walk-off hit is Nick. That’s who he is.“