There’s no way to sugarcoat how devastating the Phillies fall-from-ahead loss to the Braves in Game 2 of the National League Championship Serries seemed at the time. That was the night at Truist Field that ended with Atlanta’s Michael Harris II making a phenomenal leaping catch in center field and then doubling base runner Bryce Harper off first.
Cut to Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park. Braves scored first, in the top of the fourth. Castellanos tied the score with a homer in the bottom of the inning.
He had done the same thing in the third inning the previous night, homering immediately to offset a run the Braves had just scored. Later in that game he homered again and the Phillies won.
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Darned if the same thing didn’t happen Thursday. His second bomb came in the sixth. The Phillies won, 3-1, to clinch an invitation to the National League Championship Series where they’ll host the Diamondbacks starting Monday.
And in the process, Castellanos became the first player in Major League history to hit multiple home runs in back-to-back postseason games.
Asked about that afterward – Did he prepare differently? Were the Braves doing something to tip their pitches? – he paused a beat.
“I just think that, watching when they celebrated when they doubled off Harper, you know, and seeing everybody jump around and dance on the field as I was coming off, that was a good feeling to get coming back and playing baseball here,” he said.
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Something about taking in that scene when all it had done was tie the best-of-five series at a game apiece clearly nettled him. That was also the game after which he observed that this Phillies team was at its best after being punched in the face.
Another question, then was whether these two straight wins to eliminate the division rival had demonstrated that.
“I feel like our play answered that question,” he said levelly.
Castellanos is a different kind of cat. He doesn’t speak in cliches. This Phillies clubhouse welcomes and accommodates all kinds of personalities and helps them thrive.
“He’s unique, man,” said shortstop Trea Turner, who went 4-for-4 including a home run of his own. “I don't know if I've met anybody like him. And I mean that in a good way. He's different. And he can really, really hit.
“It's cool seeing him just do his thing. And regardless of what people think about him, he's just his own person. He's meant a lot to us.”
Last season, his first with the Phillies, Castellanos struggled. This year he was the team’s only position player to make the All-Star team and ended up hitting .272 with 29 homers and 106 RBI.
Said manager Rob Thomson: “Nick had an unbelievable series. I'm really proud of him. He's had a great year. He's had some struggles at times, but he sure has come up big lately. And back-to-back nights, they score the first run, and he ends up hitting a home run the next half inning to answer, and that's huge.”
Along the way, his devotion to his 10-year-old son, Liam, has made him a fan favorite. The boy usually sits by the Phillies dugout during games and even has conversations with his father when he’s on deck. Nick pointed at Liam as he crossed the plate after each of his four homers.
“It's cool,” he said. “You know, this is what I do for a living. Baseball is my job, and it takes me away from him more than I would like it to. So for him to be able to come and be next to me and be a part of this. . . For him to be able to be next to me and witness all of it, I think, is good for his maturation in the future. So as close as I can keep him to me, that’s always going to make me happier.”