Weston Wilson drove in the deciding run with an infield single down the third base line and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Rays 3-2 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game winning streak.
Nick Castellanos hit a home run and Zack Wheeler struck out nine batters in six innings, helping the Phillies reduce their magic number to nine and secure their first National League East title since 2011.
Wilson’s hit came with two outs in the sixth and traveled a full 70 feet, but was perfectly placed, allowing Castellanos to score from third base. It was the third straight game that a Philadelphia bench player had made the go-ahead hit.
Wilson was added to the lineup late for Philadelphia, replacing Kyle Schwarber, who was scratched after feeling discomfort in his left elbow during batting practice. Schwarber was pulled from Tuesday’s game after overextending his elbow while diving into first base on a pickoff attempt, but was still expected to play until just over two hours before the game.
With several regulars out of the lineup injured, the Phillies got game-winning hits from Kody Clemens and Cal Stevenson in the first two games of the series. Wilson held on.
Castellanos gave the Phillies an early lead when he hit a 1-1 slider into the front row of left-field seats. The two-run shot was his 20th home run and marked the sixth time in his career that Castellanos reached the 20-home run plateau in a season.
It was his first at-bat against the Rays since Tuesday’s incident, when he was intentionally hit by a pitch from Tampa Bay reliever Edwin Uceta during an eighth-inning rally. Major League Baseball suspended Uceta for three games and Tampa manager Kevin Cash for one game Wednesday afternoon.
Castellanos was hit again by Kevin Kelly in the eighth inning on Wednesday, but this time it did not clear the bench.
Wheeler (15-6) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings to earn the win. Carlos Estevez threw a scoreless ninth inning for his 25th save.
The Rays scored their two runs against Wheeler on an RBI single by Taylor Walls in the second inning and a solo home run by Jonathan Aranda in the sixth.
Drew Rasmussen (0-1) suffered the loss in relief of Shane Baz, who allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
NEXT
Rays: Start a four-game series at Cleveland on Thursday. RHP Ryan Pepiot (8-6, 3.66) pitches for Tampa against RHP Gavin Williams (3-8, 5.25) for the Guardians.
Phillies: Host the New York Mets for a three-game series beginning Friday. RHP Aaron Nola (12-7, 3.41) pitches for Philadelphia against LHP Jose Quintana (8-9, 4.09) for New York.
