Castellanos and Rojas rescue Phillies with jacks in 9th inning originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
ANAHEIM – Nick Castellanos raised his right hand high and pointed toward the seats in right-center field, knowing exactly where the ball he threw in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday night would go.
“I’m really excited,” he said shortly after his game-tying home run. “I got it right, I had a really good feeling it was going to end and it just happened.
“Being able to get through because I feel like there have been so many places so far this season where I haven’t been able to, just being able to pick them up is great.”
Runner-up Castellanos’ solo home run of the year set the score to zero against Angels closer Carlos Estevez. Bryson Stott followed with a double and Johan Rojas drilled a low-and-in slider over the wall in left for a game-winning two-run shot, his first of the year.
The Phillies won 7–5 to even the series and avoid what would have been a frustrating loss after blowing a three-run lead for the second night in a row.
“I thought it was one of the best wins of the year, actually, just because of what happened last night when we got out to a 3-0 lead, they came back and we didn’t recover,” said coach Rob Thomson. “Tonight we bounced back and came through. The guys kept fighting.”
Trea Turner’s error and Yunior Marte’s ineffectiveness in the bottom of the sixth almost cost the Phils the game.
Spencer Turnbull dazzled again but was at 98 pitches, so he was pulled after 5⅓ innings when Taylor Ward singled. Brandon Drury, not a fast runner, hit a hard ball to Turner for a custom-made 6-4-3 double play, but Turner tried to work too quickly and missed the shot. No outs were recorded on the play, and Luis Rengifo hit a three-run home run off Marte on the very next pitch.
Marte allowed well-hit balls to Rengifo (homer), Cole Tucker (double) and Mickey Moniak (single) in the inning. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits in his last 3⅔ innings after giving up one run on five hits in his first 9⅔ innings.
This is where the ripple effect of bullpen performance is felt. Had Seranthony Dominguez not been scrambling, the sixth-inning relief appearance might have gone to Jeff Hoffman, the right-hander the Phillies typically use in “dirty innings” with runner(s) aboard. But since Dominguez doesn’t pitch well, Hoffman is more important as a right-handed option in the eighth or ninth inning.
“Winning is always better when you face adversity and manage to triumph,” Castellanos said. “I think it was also a good test of the team’s character. We had a game where we were ahead, they went ahead, we could have given up and, ‘Ah, well, we’ll be back tomorrow’, but we were able to finish the right way and have the chance to win a series tomorrow.”
Turnbull gave up just one earned run on four hits in 5⅓ innings and his ERA actually rose to 1.39. Their opponents are 17-for-115 this season, batting .148.
It could be the last one for a while. Taijuan Walker is back in the rotation, and with days off May 2 and 9, the Phillies don’t want to use a six-man staff for the next 10 days because they feel it would give pitchers too much rest between starts. .
However, it won’t be Turnbull’s final start in 2024. It could make sense for the Phillies to return to a six-player rotation during the next stretch of games. They play 19 in 20 days from May 10-29, so maybe Turnbull will start once or twice during that time. They could also skip a match sometimes. They are aware of Cristopher Sanchez’s workload and don’t seem to want to push him into around 175 innings. Thomson said over the weekend that the Phils could also piggyback on Sanchez and Turnbull at times.
Turnbull said after the game that the team had not explained to him what would happen next.
“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I just focused on getting started tonight and enjoying the win. Doing my normal routine for the next few days, I have Thursday off. I’m sure they’ll talk to me.”
However, it was a very good first month with his new team.
“Definitely very pleased and excited,” he said. “The team is rolling and it’s a lot of fun. I think the biggest confidence booster is that I was able to delve deeper into games. That was the only question mark, as a starter, I think it’s the most important. But in terms of things and getting results, the confidence is there. It’s obviously good to see my hard work pay off, but it’s so early in the season.
The Phillies scored first for the ninth consecutive game when Kyle Schwarber tattooed a 421-foot three-run shot in the second inning. It was the eighth home run of his career in April.
The Phils finish April 20-11 with the most wins in franchise history in the opening month. Despite not suffering defeats in the first two weeks, he ended April leading the National League with 40 home runs.
They look for the series win on Wednesday at 1:10 pm ET with their ace, Zack Wheeler, on the mound. The Phillies face the ineffective but occasionally suffocating Patrick Sandoval. Their opponents’ .193 career batting average against lefties means Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott won’t be in the starting lineup.
“We’re just getting stronger and playing good baseball,” Castellanos said. “We are showing up every day with the intention of winning. The guys are doing a great job of not taking something bad that happened in the game and letting it affect them later. pitching well, competing well at the plate, I think we’ve cleaned up our plate lately.
“We’re a really good baseball team. So now the trick is to stay consistent and healthy.”
