“That felt good. We needed that. Shit, I needed that. It was a beautiful moment.” – Nick Castellanos, seconds before Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh dumped a tub of water on his head.
Technically, each of a baseball team’s 162 regular season games counts the same as any other. But some games certainly feel a little different. The Phillies’ 4-3 win over the Pirates on Saturday was one of those games that felt more important than just a notch in the win column.
Right from the get-go, Phils players picked each other up in this one. Spencer Turnbull allowed a run in the top of the first, but Kyle Schwarber hit a 424-foot Schwarbomb to lead off the bottom of the inning. Trea Turner doubled, Castellanos singled him home, and the good guys were quickly ahead 2-1.
Turnbull, who entered the game with a perfect 0.00 ERA, lasted just four innings and allowed three runs. But the Phillies bulllpen dominated the final five frames, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Matt Strahm, Gregory Soto, Jose Alvarado, and Jeff Hoffman kept mowing Pirates batters down to keep the game close and set up the walk-off hit from Casty.
“They were electric today,â Turnbull said to reporters after the game when asked about the bullpen. âThey were nails tonight.”
At the plate, Schwarber hit a couple singles after his HR and is now sporting an uncharacteristic .259 batting average. Several players chipped in as the Phils collected nine hits. And the ninth hit, off the bat of Castellanos, ended the game.
“[Castellanos] has been grinding,” said Rob Thomson afterwards. “That was a big hit. Iâm happy for him, I really am.”
Assessing the state of the Phillies after 15 games, things are looking pretty good. The team is 8-7, just a game behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Their bats are starting to warm up, their starting pitching has been fantastic, and after a rocky start their bullpen is looking phenomenal.
It’s just one win. Against a Pirates team that’s expected to struggle this season. But again, the game felt like something a little bigger. It was one of those days where you can see the vision for this Phillies team. They can pitch, they can hit, and they can close it out.
Fans can go to sleep Saturday night a little more confident in their Fightins.
Oh, and Cy Young favorite Zack Wheeler takes the mound on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Hopefully the Phillies have a few more beautiful moments waiting as the season kicks into high gear.
