Nick Castellanos powers Phillies to a 3-1 win in Atlanta
The Philadelphia Phillies will leave Atlanta with a series split following a 3-1 victory this afternoon.
Zack Wheeler was dominant yet again, throwing 7 innings of one-run baseball, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out seven.
The Phillies made Charlie Morton look like the frontrunner for the 2022 NL Cy Young. Morton shut the Phillies down, tossing 6.2 innings of scoreless baseball.
It looked like the Phillies were going to leave Atlanta dropping two straight games, then the top of the eighth inning happened.
JT Realmuto beat out a double play ball that would have ended the inning, which allowed Rhys Hoskins to score and tie the ball game 1-1.
Nick Castellanos then stepped up to the plate and mashed a two-run home run to deep centerfield to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.
Castellanos has been slowly but surely returning to form over the past 30 days.
Entering today’s game, Castellanos was slashing .393/.414/.464 with 11 hits and 3 RBI in his last 28 at-bats. Over the past two weeks, he’s slashing .288/.323/.339 with 17 hits in his last 59 at-bats. If Castellanos can get things rolling over the final two months of the season, then the Phillies will almost certainly be punching their tickets to the playoffs for the first time in the last decade.
The new-look Phillies bullpen shut the game down, with Seranthony Dominguez coming in to relieve Wheeler. Dominguez ran into some trouble and was pulled for Jose Alvarado with 2 outs and two men on but the duo were able to work themselves out of the jam to end the inning
Newly acquired David Robertson, back like he never left, closed the door on the Braves in the ninth inning.
The Phillies move to 56-48 on the season, 9.5 games back of the New York Mets in the National League East and 6.5 games behind the Braves in second. They also temporarily took over St. Louis Cardinals for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
The Phillies will finally return home tomorrow and will play the next seven games at Citizens Bank Park against the Nationals (4) and Marlins (3).Â
Noah Syndergaard takes the mound tomorrow with Jean Segura and Brandon Marsh are both expected to return to the lineup.
MLB Sportsbook Promo Codes
Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Phillies
