Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos spark 9th inning comeback against the Fish, win second straight in Miami 3-1

The Philadelphia Phillies, led by Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos stormed back against Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins to win 3-1 last night, take the first two of four games in Miami.

Ranger Suarez was on the mound for the Phillies and while letting up 10 hits over 6.2 innings, he only surrendered one earned run and walked two while striking out three. Suarez let up the only Marlins run of the game on a double to right field courtesy of Avisail Garcia that scored Luis Arraez.

At the plate, the Phillies had zero answers for Sandy Alcantara. The reigning NL Cy Young winner dominated through eight innings, allowing just four hits and walking one while striking out five.

In the top of the ninth, former Phillies reliever David Robertson entered the game to close out the game for the Marlins, but the Phillies had different plans.

With one out and Jake Cave on first, Harper roped a double to deep left field, just out of reach of Bryan De La Cruz’s glove as Cave scored from first to tie the game 1-1.

Bryce Harper Game Tying Double Scores Jake Cave

With one out and an 0-2 count, Nick Castellanos stepped up to the plate.

In case you weren’t aware, Castellanos, the Phillies’ lone All-Star selection, has been absolutely horrendous since returning from the All-Star break.

My apologies to Michelle Castellanos, Nicks mom and friend of The Liberty Line. Skip over the next few paragraphs because things have been DARK for your son over the past month.

Let’s all take a moment to remember that the MLB season is filled with massive highs and crushing lows. Any baseball fan knows that, right…?!

the massive highs, and crushing lows of a Major League Baseball season.

romantic, really.
— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) July 23, 2023

Before the All-Star break, Castellanos slashed .301/.344/.496 with a .840 OPS. He had 26 doubles, 13 home runs, a triple, and 55 RBI.

Post All-Star break was a different story. Castellanos entered last night posting a MISERABLE .123/.162/.169 slash line with a .331 OPS. He had managed just one home run and 5 RBI entering last night’s game against the Fish.

To pour some more salt in the wound, in the month of July, Castellanos hit .162 with 16 hits, 4 home runs, 11 RBIs, and 5 runs scored in 24 GAMES.

It’s been very hard to watch Nick at the plate, who acknowledged time and time again his struggles over the past month and how he was doing his best to work through it.

I said it last week and I’ll continue to say it. Castellanos needs to just swing through it and things would eventually make a turn for the better.

Ahh Nick. Keep swinging buddy. We’ll get through this together.
— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) July 30, 2023

Last night however, Nick stepped up to the plate in the ninth inning 1 FOR HIS LAST 22.

Nick Castellanos hadn’t hit a home run in 20 GAMES!

So of course, I had my doubts that Castellanos would deliver when the Phillies needed him most. I was fully prepared for fans on social media to jump down his throat while criticizing the Phillies organization and Dave Dombrowski for not making a major deadline move.

I don’t write this often, but I was so happy to be wrong.

With one out and an 0-2 count, the Florida native Nick Castellanos absolutely DESTROYED a 2-run home run to deep left centerfield to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.

Nick Castellanos Go-Ahead 2-Run Home Run

Castellanos’ home run, sparked by Bryce Harper’s game tying RBI before him, handed the Phillies a comeback win against the Miami Marlins to start the month of August.

Nick Castellanos Post Game

“We’re a resilient group,” Castellanos said. “I still think there’s a lot of guys in this clubhouse that haven’t particularly performed the way they personally have wanted to, but everybody does such a good job of being a professional, showing up to work and caring about the right things. We’re able to squeak things out like this.” via MLB.com

The Hunt for Red October

The Phillies have now won two straight games and are 6-4 over their last 10. At 58-49 on the season, they currently sit in the second NL Wild Card spot, a half game up on the Milwaukee Brewers in third and a half game behind the San Francisco Giants in first.