Castellanos and Marsh change the pace in Phillies’ big comeback in series opener Originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
They fell behind by four runs, walked off the leadoff hitter in four of the first five innings and briefly looked like they were headed for a second straight shutout loss, but the Phillies’ lineup came roaring back in the bottom of the sixth and seventh to beat the Braves, 5-4, and start a crucial four-game series on a high note.
For the second time in three games, Nick Castellanos hit a game-changing home run. On Tuesday, it was a three-run shot off Justin Verlander. On Thursday, it was a two-run shot that gave right-handed reliever Grant Holmes the win with two outs in the seventh inning.
Castellanos has been a hit since the All-Star break. Over his last 40 games, he’s batted .293 with 12 doubles, one triple, seven homers and 30 RBIs. Going back even further to Memorial Day, he’s batted .286 with an OPS well above .800.
The Phillies entered Thursday’s game with a five-game lead over the Braves and knew their lead would be one, three, five, seven or nine games depending on the outcome of the series. Now they know that, at worst, they’ll end the weekend with a three-game lead.
“I was down 4-0 in this type of series and the guys kept attacking,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I thought the at-bats were pretty good all night. We got (Charlie) Morton to a good pitch count, I don’t think we looked that hard, six walks. They just kept fighting.”
Brandon Marsh was as instrumental in the win as Castellanos. The Phillies’ offense was lifeless for five innings, stranding four baserunners, three of whom reached scoring position. When Marsh stepped to the plate in the sixth inning, the Phils had gone 63 consecutive at-bats without an extra-base hit and 14 consecutive innings without a run.
But after a brief visit to the mound, Morton finally paid for his lack of control. He walked four and hit a batter early in the game and left them all on base until Marsh finally broke through with a three-run homer to cut Atlanta’s lead to one and make it a game again.
“There really wasn’t much life and that kind of set everything in motion,” Castellanos said.
Marsh hit a home run and a double, both to the opposite field. Thomson has talked all season about that being the key for him when he’s in a slump.
“He’s just using the field,” Thomson said. “I know he’s missing a little bit, but he’s using the field and that’s what makes him so good. When he does that, it’s really good. It was huge, it got us back in the game, it got the stadium back in the game.”
Orion Kerkering recorded four important outs to keep the momentum going after Marsh’s homer and before Castellanos’. Kerkering retired the last batter of the sixth inning with two men on base, then went 1-2-3 across the top of the Braves’ order in the seventh.
The Phils pushed Cristopher Sanchez back a day to start Thursday’s series opener. Sanchez was up to par for the Braves last week, with a strong start at Truist Park, and the team also wanted to give him extra time, as he’s already surpassed his career high for innings pitched with at least a month of baseball left.
Coming off a full week of rest, Sanchez had a crisp fastball and his best changeup against the first seven batters he faced, but he allowed a two-out RBI double in the top of the second and a monster 450-foot homer over the ivy wall in center field to Matt Olson in the third.
The runs weren’t earned because Trea Turner led off the inning with an error on a hard grounder hit by Whit Merrifield. Two games in a row, middle-infield defense cost the Phillies multiple runs. On Wednesday, Bryson Stott grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, extending the inning for a Yordan Alvarez homer.
Olson homered again off Sanchez to start the sixth inning. He had hit more homers in a three-inning span than left-handers have hit off Sanchez in his entire major league career (1) entering the night.
But Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman didn’t let the Braves generate any more, retiring 10 of the 11 batters they faced.
The Phils are 79-55 with 28 games remaining. The Braves are 73-61. Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are on track to start the next three nights against Reynaldo Lopez, left-hander Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach.
Thanks to the positive shift in momentum midway through Thursday’s series opener, the Phillies have a chance to beat the Braves if they do their job right this weekend.
“It’s fun, man. It’s a rush,” Castellanos said of the feeling of hitting a late, go-ahead homer in front of a frenzied crowd at Citizens Bank Park. “It’s a great feeling when everyone stands up and shows their love for you.”