Castellanos and Marsh change momentum in Phillies’ huge comeback in series opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
They fell behind by four runs, left their leadoff man in four of the first five innings and looked set for a second straight shutout, but the Phillies lineup came back strong in the sixth and seventh innings to beat the Braves 5-4 to open a crucial four-game series on a high note.
For the second time in three games, Nick Castellanos had the game-changing swing. On Tuesday, it was a three-run homer by Justin Verlander. On Thursday, it was a game-winning two-run homer by right-handed reliever Grant Holmes with two outs in the seventh inning.
Castellanos has been money since the All-Star break. In his last 40 games, he’s batted .293 with 12 doubles, a triple, seven homers and 30 RBI. Go back even further to Memorial Day and he’s batting .286 with an OPS well above .800.
The Phillies entered Thursday with a five-game lead over the Braves, knowing that their advantage would be one, three, five, seven or nine games depending on the outcome of the series. They now know that, at worst, they will end the weekend with a three-game lead.
Brandon Marsh was equally instrumental in the victory. The Phillies’ offense was lifeless for five innings, with four leadoff baserunners on base, three of whom reached scoring position. When Marsh came to bat in the sixth inning, the Phils had gone 63 consecutive plate appearances without an extra-base hit and 14 consecutive innings without a run.
But after a brief visit to the mound, Charlie Morton finally paid for a lack of control. He gave up four hits and hit a batter early in the game, leaving them all on base until Marsh finally broke through and cut Atlanta’s lead to one and made it a game again.
Orion Kerkering got four key outs to keep the momentum going after Marsh’s longball and before Castellanos’. Kerkering retired the final batter of the sixth with two men on base, then went 1-2-3 through the top of the Braves’ order in the seventh.
The Phils have moved Cristopher Sanchez back a day to start Thursday’s series opener. Sanchez was a good fit for the Braves last week, getting off to a hot start at Truist Park, and the team also wanted to give him extra time because he has already surpassed his career high in innings pitched with at least a month of baseball remaining.
After a full week of rest, Sanchez hit a quick fastball and his best changeup against the first seven batters he faced. But he surrendered a two-out RBI double in the second and a monster 450-foot home run over the ivy wall in center field to Matt Olson in the third.
The runs were unearned as Trea Turner led off the inning with an error on a hard-hit groundball to him by Whit Merrifield. In two straight games, middle-infield defense has cost the Phillies multiple runs. On Wednesday, Bryson Stott fouled off a sure 4-6-3 double-play ball to extend the inning for a Yordan Alvarez homer.
Olson hit another home run against Sanchez to start the sixth inning. He had more home runs in the three-inning span than lefties had against Sanchez in his entire major-league career (1) prior to the night.
But Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman didn’t allow the Braves to score again, retiring 10 of the 11 batters they faced.
The Phils are 79-55 with 28 games remaining. The Braves are 73-61. Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are slated to start the next three nights opposite Reynaldo Lopez, lefty Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach.
Thanks to the positive shift in momentum midway through Thursday’s season opener, the Phillies have a chance to beat the Braves if they do their job this weekend.
