Nick Castellanos hits two more homers as Phillies chop down Braves and reach the NLCS again
The Phillies flexed their depth with Castellanos, Trea Turner and Johan Rojas all having signature moments to set up a matchup with the Diamondbacks with a return to the World Series on the line.
Nick Castellanos celebrates after winning Game 4 of the NLDS and advancing to the NLCS for the second straight season.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
In a quiet moment before the roaring thunder of Phillies home playoff games, Rob Thomson will sometimes grab the lineup card off his desk, wander into the coaches’ room adjacent to his office, and take a poll.
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“We’ll joke around,” the manager said. “Who’s the pick to click?”
Most days across these last two Octobers, there hasn’t been a bad choice. In becoming the best postseason team in the National League, the Phillies are also the deepest. Star turns come from every corner of the roster.
If the coaching staff played their parlor game Thursday, before Game 4 of the divisional round, Nick Castellanos would have been a popular pick. Trea Turner? Probably not as much, given his hitless history against Atlanta Braves starter Spencer Strider. What about Johan Rojas? Maybe if defense counts.
Yet there they were, hitting and slugging and leaping at the warning track to push the Phillies into the NL Championship Series for the second year in a row. Castellanos became the first player ever with back-to-back two-homer games in the playoffs; Turner solved Strider and finished with four hits, including the go-ahead homer; Rojas made a lead-saving catch.
Add it up, and you got a 3-1 Phillies victory that ran the 104-win Braves out of the playoffs, just like last season — and on the same Citizens Bank Park turf where Atlanta danced and celebrated a division title last month.
Now mark your calendar: The NLCS starts Monday night — in South Philly, no less — against the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks.
“We rely on everyone in this clubhouse, 1 through 25,” said Bryce Harper, bare-chested, drenched in beer, and showing no wear from banging his surgically repaired right elbow against onrushing Matt Olson on a play at first base in the eighth inning. “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, how many years you’ve got [in the majors], how many years you don’t have. We do not care. That’s how we are as a team.”
Is there a better symbol of that than Castellanos?
Signed before last season to a five-year, $100 million contract, he was never comfortable in his new surroundings and had the worst season of his career. Philadelphia isn’t for everyone. It certainly didn’t seem to suit Castellanos, a South Floridian whose preference was to sign with his hometown Marlins.
But instead of chalking up Castellanos as a poor fit and trying to move him last winter, the Phillies figured out ways to put him at ease. One idea: Inviting his 10-year-old son, Liam, into the clubhouse for most of the summer.
Liam returned to Florida last month to start school but has been back in town this week. And with the Phillies trailing 1-0 in the third inning of Game 4, he raced to the front row behind the on-deck circle before his father stepped to the plate, per their season-long custom.
“He just looked at me with an excited face and said, ‘Let’s go!’” Nick Castellanos said.
Sure enough, Castellanos tied the game with a homer to left field on a slider from Braves starter Spencer Strider.
Two innings later, after Turner (0-for-17 against Strider before getting three hits) homered to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead, the Castellanos Boys repeated their ritual. The result: Another homer, this time on a 100 mph fastball. Nick flicked his bat like a toothpick and pointed at Liam, who, mouth agape, put his hands to his head as 45,331 paying customers went ballistic, eventually demanding a curtain call.
As father-son moments go, it was just about perfect.
“It’s cool,” Castellanos said after single-handedly outhomering the Braves, 4-3, in the series even though Atlanta tied a regular-season record with 307 homers. “Baseball is my job, and it takes me away from him more than I would like it to. For him to be able to come and be next to me and be a part of this and witness all of it, I think is good for his maturation. As close as I can keep him to me is always going to make me happier.”
And a happier Castellanos is clearly more productive, with 29 homers and 106 RBIs in the regular season followed by a 7-for-15, four-homer series to slay the Braves.
“He can hit,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who drafted Castellanos in Detroit in 2010. “He always been able to hit. It just took him a little while to get in that comfort zone. I didn’t think the fit was wrong. I just thought he needed to take a step away in the wintertime and come back and regroup, which he did. And his family’s much more comfortable.
Said Turner: “I don’t know if I’ve met anybody like him — and I mean that in a good way. He’s different. And he can really, really hit.”
In watching Castellanos this week, Thomson described him as “very calm” at the plate. He’s also the hottest hitter on the planet — save perhaps Harper, whose two-homer tour de force and stare-down of loose-lipped Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia in Game 3 is the enduring moment of the series.
Thomson’s management of the bullpen was something to see, too.
In Game 1, with Ranger Suárez starting and knowing runs would come at a premium against Strider, Thomson orchestrated a six-reliever relay from the fourth inning through the end of the game to steal a 3-0 victory and control over the series.
Five nights later, in the Suárez-Strider rematch, Thomson was nearly as aggressive. He let Suárez mow through the Braves’ order twice before springing the bullpen into action in the sixth inning.
And for 12 outs — from Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado, to Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto, and finally to Matt Strahm — the Phillies squeezed the life out of the Braves.
Oh, but first, Rojas saved the day.
Kimbrel inherited a two-on, two-out jam from Alvarado in the seventh inning and walked pinch-hitting Travis d’Arnaud to load the bases for Ronald Acuña Jr., the NL MVP front-runner and the player whom Rojas said he most admires.
Acuña fouled off two pitches with two strikes before hitting a line drive to left-center field. Expected batting average on the ball: .470, according to Statcast. But Rojas leaped by the 409-foot sign where the wall juts out and hauled it in.
“If you want to score on me playing center field,” said the rookie, who was in double A until July, “you’re going to have to hit a homer.”
Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The Phillies celebrate a Game 4 win of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, first baseman Bryce Harper and second baseman Bryson Stott celebrates after wining game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Phillies usher Gary Harad celebrates after the Phillies won Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez celebrates after wining Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh hugs Phillies manager Rob Thomson after winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos celebrates after winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm and first baseman Bryce Harper celebrate a win in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Matt Strahm celebrates the final out in the ninth inning to win Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper celebrated after wining game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Fans cheer, fireworks explode when the Phillies win Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Matt Strahm and catcher J.T. Realmuto celebrate a Game 4 win in a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies Trea Turner (left), Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott celebrate winning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper holds his arm after a play at first during the eighth inning Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper gets clipped in the arm by a knee from Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson in the eighth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper gets clipped in the arm by a knee from Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson in the eighth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is safe at third base past Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm in the ninth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas (center) celebrates his catch against the wall with Alec Bohm (left) and Nick Castellanos (right) to end the seventh inning with bases loaded in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas (right) and left fielder Brandon Marsh celebrate getting out of bases loaded in the seventh inning after Rojas made a catch at the wall in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Johan Rojas is congratulated by Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott, and Alec Bohm after catching a long fly ball hit by Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. during the seventh inningGame 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos celebrates a solo home run with Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh in the sixth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider reacts after giving up a solo home run to Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos in the sixth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos hits a solo home run in the sixth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos holds up his ring finger after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos hits a solo home run in the sixth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Fans react to a home run by Phillies Nick Castellanos during Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner reacts after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner reacts after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez reacts after getting the final out to end the fifth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner celebrates a solo home run in the fifth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner tosses his bat after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner hits a solo home run in the fifth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos celebrates a solo home run in the fourth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Nick Castellanos is congratulated at home plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos celebrates his solo home run with Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh in the fourth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos celebrates a solo home run in the fourth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Nick Castellanos touches home plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos flips his bat after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos hits a solo home run in the fourth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott slams his helmet down in front of Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy after striking out with two runners on base to end the third inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley hits a solo home run in the fourth inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper hits a single in the third inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II runs past Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper and makes it to second on an error by Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner in the third inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies' Brandon Marsh bats in the second inning of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy breaks his bat on a foul ball in the second inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner hits a double in the first inning against Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies fans cheer during the first inning of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez throws a pitch in the first inning in Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Phillies fans cheer as fireworks go off ahead of Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Former Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4 of a National League Division Series baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Said Thomson: “This kid is so poised, so good of an athlete, electric in the outfield. I felt like he was going to catch it. He’s been a huge addition to our ballclub. If he does nothing at the plate, just his defense helps the club.”
Indeed, it scarcely mattered that Rojas was 0-for-14 in the series. Or that Strahm began the season as a starter and closed out two games all year. He struck out Vaughn Grissom on a wicked slider to kick off yet another beer-and-stogies clubhouse party.
“I can’t tell you how many at-bats I had in the front yard against my brother that, 3-2 [count], World Series on the line,” Strahm said. “It’s something you dream of.”
So, maybe Strahm was a pick to click, too?
With the Phillies in the postseason, it’s almost impossible to miss.
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