Aaron Nola and Nick Castellanos deliver in Phillies’ 5-0 win over Astros

When Nick Castellanos stepped up to the plate against Houston’s Justin Verlander in the third inning Tuesday night, he was expecting to see an off-speed pitch.

It was a fair assumption. According to Statcast data, the Phillies right fielder has seen the most breaking balls in the major leagues this season. He watched Verlander’s four-seam fastball for a strike, and on the next pitch spotted what he’d been waiting for.

Verlander hung a curveball, and Castellanos capitalized, launching it 397 feet to the left-field seats to plate three runs.

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“Usually with how hoppy [Verlander’s] fastball is, my approach was just to make sure that I’m on time for his heater,” Castellanos said. “This was the first time that the heater was probably secondary to his off-speed stuff. And it worked out.”

The three-run blast, in addition to a stellar outing from starter Aaron Nola, propelled the Phillies to a 5-0 victory over Houston on Tuesday. Nola didn’t allow a runner beyond second base over seven innings as the Phillies secured the series victory over the Astros in their first visit to Citizens Bank Park since the 2022 World Series.

“It’s a really good lineup,” Nola said. “I’ve faced them several times the past few years, and I know them as hitters, and they know me, what I have as a pitcher. So it just came down to executing my pitches and really trying to stay out the middle of the zone.”

Nola was dominant, holding Houston to four hits and striking out six. He generated 12 swing-and-misses from Astros hitters, six coming on his knuckle curve. His performance helped a somewhat taxed Phillies bullpen after Carlos Estévez and Matt Strahm pitched on back-to-back nights.

“It’s been a while since I finished seven,” said Nola, who hadn’t gone seven innings since June 24. “I felt like it was much needed.”

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Austin Hays got things going in the third inning with a double that marked his 200th career extra-base hit. He came around to score on a Trea Turner single, giving the Phillies an early lead they wouldn’t surrender.

Bryce Harper kept the line moving with a single to left field, before Castellanos brought him and Turner home with his big swing.

After a slow start to the season, Castellanos has cemented himself as one of the most consistent hitters in the Phillies’ lineup of late. Since the All-Star break, he is batting .298, and is currently riding a five-game hitting streak.

“I trust him. I know he can hit, and it’d be one thing if he didn’t work at it, show me that he didn’t care,” said manager Rob Thomson, who kept Castellanos in the lineup throughout his April struggles. “He cares. He works at it. And I know that there are times when he doesn’t look good, but there are times when everybody didn’t look good. So he really works at it, and I’m happy for him that he’s had this turnaround.”

It seemed like trouble could be brewing when Nola allowed a pair of singles to lead off the fifth inning, but he induced three straight flyouts to strand both Astros baserunners.

“In the fifth inning, I thought maybe he was not attacking the hitters like he normally does,” Thomson said. “And I went down just to see if he was OK, and he said, ‘I gotta get ahead. I gotta attack these guys.’ And that’s what he did in the sixth and seventh.”

The Phillies tacked on an insurance run in the seventh. Three Astros fielders converged on a pop-up from Alec Bohm in shallow center field, but the ball dropped between them, allowing Hays to score from third.

José Ruiz took over for Nola in the eighth inning, and while he allowed a pair of singles, he escaped the jam with a strikeout. Tanner Banks retired the side in order in the ninth.