The Phillies trailed by multiple runs in the fifth inning or later in five of the seven games of a difficult homestand but just kept coming back, beating the Braves, 3-2, in 11 innings on Sunday Night Baseball to finish off a 5-2 week in dramatic fashion.
Nick Castellanos tied the game with a two-out double on an 0-2 count in the bottom of the sixth and walked the Phils off with a two-out single in the 11th after again starting the count 0-2.
It sent the sellout crowd of 43,249 home deliriously happy, just like after Bryce Harper’s walk-off hit Monday, Castellanos’ huge game Tuesday, the four-run comeback Thursday and the Zack Wheeler-led shutout Saturday.
“It definitely feels like October’s around the corner,” Castellanos said.
The Phillies took three of four from the Braves after winning two of three over the Astros. It was their best week in months. They’re seven games ahead of Atlanta without a head-to-head matchup the rest of the season, which will make closing the gap extremely difficult for the Braves.
“We don’t get cold feet, that’s what it looks like and that’s what it feels like,” Carlos Estevez said when asked his first impressions on the Phillies-Braves rivalry.
“Really important. We were kind of struggling, and stepping on the gas and doing this, taking a bigger lead, that’s more insurance and feels really good.”
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils are 81-56 with 25 games to play. They’re a game behind the Dodgers for the 1-seed in the National League and lead the Brewers by a game for the 2-seed.
Aaron Nola and Spencer Schwellenbach engaged in a pitchers’ duel for most of the first six innings and the back of the Phillies’ bullpen locked things down from there.
Orion Kerkering, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Estevez followed with five zeroes and combined for 15⅓ scoreless innings this week. Estevez retired all six hitters he faced with the auto-runner in scoring position in the 10th and 11th. It was a stellar homestand for the Phillies’ top four relievers against high-caliber competition.
“Unbelievable,” manager Rob Thomson said of Estevez’ performance. “He’s landing his slider and throwing strikes, going right after people. He was a big pickup.
“We’re not to October yet, we’ve still got a long ways to go but we’ve got to keep those guys healthy and as fresh as we can.”
The first run of the game scored on a Michael Harris II home run off Nola with two strikes and two outs in the top of the third. To that point, Nola had retired eight of the first nine with five strikeouts.
Nola then threw 31 pitches in a plodding, stressful fourth inning but allowed only one run, nearly wiggling his way out without damage. With one away and runners on the corners, Whit Merrifield grounded a ball softly to shortstop. The Phillies initially appeared to turn an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play but Merrifield was ruled safe after Brian Snitker challenged.
Nola found his rhythm thereafter, retiring the final seven hitters he faced. It was a strong outing in his 38th career start against the Braves — 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K. He kept the game close enough for his lineup to finally strike the third time through.
Nola and Zack Wheeler started four of the seven games on the Phillies’ homestand and pitched like aces with a 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 28 strikeouts in 26 innings. Pitching led the way in the first half and it was there all week for the Phillies, minus Wednesday’s forgettable 10-run loss.
The Phils are off Monday ahead of a six-game road trip through Toronto and Miami. Tyler Phillips and Cristopher Sanchez will face the Blue Jays, with Ranger Suarez, Wheeler, Nola and Phillips set to start in Miami.
“Now we’ve got to keep going,” Thomson said. “You see a lot of times, you have a big series like this and then there’s a letdown. You can’t let down, you’ve got to keep going, keep fighting.”
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