Nick Castellanos ripped a winning two-out single off Tylor Megill that scored Bryce Harper and sent the Philadelphia Phillies to a dizzying 7-6 win over the New York Mets on Sunday and evened the NL Division Series at one game apiece.
Castellanos tossed his helmet and was mobbed by teammates on the infield as a game that seemed to slip away one inning earlier turned into one more comeback for the NL East champions.
Megill retired the first two batters of the ninth and walked Harper, who also homered and scored twice. Castellanos, who also homered, followed with perhaps the hit of his Phillies’ career and sent the towel-waving crowd at Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.
“Unbelievable. Unbelievable,” Castellanos said. “If he blows a fastball by me so be it. I’d rather that than swing at something in the dirt. It was incredible but the series is even. Now we go to New York and there’s a lot of baseball left.”
Game 3 is Tuesday in New York, the Mets’ first home game since Sept. 22.
“Punch for punch the whole game,” Harper said. “That’s a big win going 1-1 into New York. I expect that to be a pretty hostile environment and we’re looking forward to that.”
In just the second postseason game between the NL East rivals, the Mets and Phillies were pushed from pillar to post over the final four innings, each game-changing swing topped by one even more emotional.
Mark Vientos hit a pair of two-run homers for the Mets, who got solo shots from Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.
Source Agencies
