With postseason nearing for Phillies, Nick Castellanos is suddenly on fire

Until the champagne bottles are popped, nothing can be taken for granted. But the Philadelphia Phillies may want to get the Dom Pérignon on ice, because with their victory over the New York Mets Thursday, it appears to be a matter of when, not if they are celebrating their second consecutive postseason berth.

And if Nick Castellanos hits anything like he has over the past two days, that may be the first of multiple booze-filled celebrations at Citizens Bank Park in the coming weeks.

A day after he played in the hero in an instant-classic win over the Atlanta Braves, Castellanos came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs against New York starter David Peterson in the bottom of the first inning Thursday. On the sixth pitch of his at-bat, Castellanos singled into center field, plating both Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner.

With the two runs driven in, Castellanos tied his career-high of 101 RBIs in a season, a mark that he also posted while playing for the Detroit Tigers in 2017.

The Mets, though, quickly countered, with both Jeff McNeil and Brett Baty driving in runs off of Ranger Suárez in the top of the second inning, allowing New York to pull even.

Whether you would categorize 2023 as a breakout season for Bohm or not

, he added onto what’s already a career-high in home runs in the bottom of the third inning. Bohm’s 18th home run of the season was of the solo variety, and traveled 404 feet:

Later in the frame, Castellanos set a new career-high by driving in his 102nd run of the season, this time on a sacrifice fly that brought Bryce Harper home.

The Mets would again pull even in the top of the sixth, when rookie Mark Vientos hit a game-tying home run off of Suárez. And again, Castellanos had a counter punch, hitting a 454-foot home run off the facing of the second deck in left field to allow the Phillies to retake the lead in the home half of the sixth:

Suárez would ultimately go 6 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, two walks and four runs, while striking out six. It wasn’t the type of outing that’s likely to win you a postseason game, but against a Mets team that’s playing out the remaining games in a lost season, it was enough.

And the reason it was enough is that Castellanos — who was ice cold during the first half of September — is suddenly one of the hottest hitters in baseball. If the two-time All-Star is able to carry this momentum into the postseason, the Phillies will be able to compete with anyone offensively.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Saturday, Sept. 22 vs. Mets at Citizens Bank Park
• 7:05 p.m. ET
• TV: Apple TV+
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680

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