Nick Castellanos got the full Philadelphia experience on Sunday as he delivered a walk-off hit to beat the New York Mets in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
After going 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in Game 1, Castellanos started 0-2 in the second game of the series and was starting to hear it from Phillies fans. In the bottom of the 6th, he hit a game-tying solo home run, then singled in the 8th to help set up Bryson Stott’s go-ahead triple.
After the Mets rallied in the 9th, however, Castellanos delivered his biggest hit yet. After two-out walks to Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, the Phillies right fielder stepped in and delivered his third hit of the day, a single down the left field line to win the game and walk off the Mets in the bottom of the 9th.
NICK CASTELLANOS WINS IT FOR THE @PHILLIES!!! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/vM14etkamy
— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2024
Needless to say, no Phillies fans were jeering Castellanos after that. In fact, there might be some reason to believe they even fired him up a little bit.
One could certainly argue that Castellanos’ heroics saved the Phillies’ season. Had they lost Game 2, they would have had to win three games in a row to advance, including two at Citi Field in New York. While the split at home is not exactly ideal, it means the Phillies only need to get one in Queens to bring the series back to Philadelphia for a decisive Game 5.
