Nick Castellanos wasn’t invited to the Philadelphia Phillies home run party in the series opener against the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies started with a three-homer inning in the first and finished with a franchise record-tying seven bombs. Kyle Schwarber added four homers on his own in an offensive eruption.
But following the wild 19-4 victory, Philadelphia found itself in a pitchers’ duel Friday where every run counted. And Castellanos, who got a rest day Thursday, made up for missing the home run derby with a clutch defensive effort.
With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the fifth, Phillies All-Star starter Ranger Suarez got into a jam. The Braves had runners on first and third with one out and Marcell Ozuna at the plate. Atlanta’s DH ripped an 87 mph cutter to right field and Castellanos made the grab with his momentum moving forward.
Matt Olson chose to test the veteran outfielder’s arm, tagging up on the play and attempting to score. But Castellanos cut him down, throwing a bullet from right that nailed the Braves first baseman at home. Backup catcher Rafael Marchan did a nice job making the catch in front of home plate and spinning around to tag Olson, completing the double play.
Nick Castellanos nails Matt Olson at the plate! pic.twitter.com/TFjgziyP2n
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 30, 2025
Phillies win defensive showdown after offensive eruption
The Phillies came to Atlanta on a mission after getting swept by the Mets and shut out in the series finale behind a strong performance by rookie Nolan McLean. The team’s offensive outpouring on Thursday appeared cathartic.
The Phillies were looking for a statement game and they got one, pummeling Braves starter Cal Quantrill for nine runs in 3.1 innings. But Atlanta rebounded for Game 2. Bryce Elder was excellent, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over seven innings.
But the Braves replaced Elder with Dylan Lee in the bottom of the eighth and the Phillies took advantage. Schwarber got on base with a one-out single and moved to third on Bryce Harper’s base hit. Alec Bohm then delivered the go-ahead run for Philadelphia with a sacrifice fly to right. Schwarber scored, putting the Phillies up 2-1.
Closer Jhoan Duran came on in the top of the ninth inning and slammed the door on Atlanta. The Phillies have one back-to-back games following the sweep in New York and maintain a five-game lead in the NL East.
