Nick Castellanos returns to the lineup, makes game-ending catch in Phillies’ 4-2 win over the Marlins

MIAMI — A day after Nick Castellanos was benched for an incident that started with him being removed from a game for his defense, he made a game-saving catch in right field.

“It’s an amazing game, isn’t it?” said manager Rob Thomson.

On Monday, Castellanos was lifted in the eighth inning of a two-run game against the Marlins for Johan Rojas, whose calling card is his outfield defense. Castellanos was frustrated at the defensive substitution, and made what Thomson described as an “inappropriate comment.”

In response, the manager held him out of the lineup the next day, ending a streak of 236 consecutive games played. After Castellanos returned to the lineup on Wednesday, Thomson said he still would use a defensive substitution for him going forward, if the situation called for it. But not on Wednesday.

» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos returns to Phillies lineup after a night on the bench. ‘We’re good,’ Rob Thomson says.

So when Matt Strahm, facing a pocket of right-handed hitters to keep the Marlins’ dangerous lefties on the bench, gave up three hits in the ninth to bring the winning run to the plate, Castellanos was still in right field.

And when Nick Fortes hit a sharp fly ball, Castellanos was the one making the leaping grab a step away from the wall to seal the Phillies’ 4-2 win over Miami.

Castellanos, who was unavailable for comment postgame, also finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a double. He did commit a baserunning mistake in the seventh inning. On second base with Alec Bohm on third, Castellanos broke early on a groundout from Max Kepler and got caught in a run down.

“We were in a read [called play], but he thought we were in contact. And sometimes that happens,” Thomson said.

» READ MORE: Marcus Hayes: Rob Thomson was right to punish Nick Castellanos, who then had a great game. He should bench more Phillies more often.

While starter Ranger Suárez mowed down the Marlins, all four of the Phillies’ runs came in the fourth inning. Castellanos scored the first one, driven in by a single from J.T. Realmuto. And Bryson Stott, who entered Wednesday hitting .135 and slugging .154 in June, was responsible for the other three.

Stott had not homered since May 17, but this week he thought he was on the verge.

“Maybe a couple years ago, I would be mentally in a pretzel and trying to change every part of my swing and things like that,” Stott said. “But just as I’ve kind of gotten older and talking to Kevin [Long], it’s all luck. You take your best swing, and once you take your swing, you have no control over that. And as long as I’m swinging at the right pitches and not chasing and my swing feels there, I have all the confidence in the world.”

» READ MORE: Hayes: Rob Thomson was right to punish Nick Castellanos, who then had a great game. He should bench more Phillies more often.

During his slump, Stott said he felt like he had been using his legs too much, leading him to get under the ball. After striking out his first time up against Marlins pitcher Adam Mazur, he connected with a four-seam fastball, sending it over the center field wall for a three-run shot. He later singled in the eighth.

Suárez, meanwhile, continued his stretch of dominance with one earned run over seven innings. He did not allow a hit until the third, on a softly hit ground ball just 63.6 mph that Suárez rushed the throw on, sailing it over first base. He was charged with an error, but he retired the next two batters.

Suárez had pinpoint location with his sinker, which he threw for 16 called strikes. A solo home run from Connor Norby in the fifth on a poorly located cutter was his only mistake. Suárez allowed just four hits while striking out eight.

“I feel like this is the time where all my pitches are working the way I want them to,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “Tonight was just one of those outings where I could locate every single pitch that I wanted to. Except for the home run.”