Nick Castellanos leads the way as the Phillies beat Cubs again, 8-5

CHICAGO — In two weeks, Rob Thomson will skipper the National League All-Stars. But the Phillies manager doesn’t have a say over which reserves and pitchers will be on the team after MLB changed the selection process a few years ago.

“I’d rather not, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said. “I’ve got a lot of other stuff I need to think about.”

Fair enough. But Thomson has pondered which Phillies players are most deserving of a trip to Seattle, and he keeps coming back to one name: Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos has been the Phillies’ best, most consistent player in one of the starker year-over-year turnarounds in recent history. He continued to strengthen his case Wednesday night with a home run, a double, and four RBIs in an 8-5 victory over the Cubs at smoky Wrigley Field.

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“Sure, it’d be cool,” Castellanos said of possibly making his second All-Star team. “But I know there’s so many decisions and politics and everything that goes into it. Honestly, if we just finish strong going into the All-Star break, I’m going to enjoy the [heck] out of the All-Star break either way.”

The Phillies are finishing strong, all right. They won for the 17th time in 22 games, even as Aaron Nola broke a desirable streak and Bryce Harper continued an unwanted one.

Nola threw 97 pitches in five laborious innings, marking the first time since April 11 — a span of 13 starts — that he didn’t get through six innings.

Harper, meanwhile, extended his career-long homerless spell to 27 games and 122 plate appearances. In the ninth inning, he drove a ball to deep center field, where Mike Tauchman hauled it in on the warning track.

But Castellanos stirred the drink, as he has for much of the season. He keyed a five-run second inning against Cubs starter Drew Smyly with a two-out homer, only the Phillies’ fourth three-run homer of the season.

Then, in the fourth inning, Castellanos reached out over the plate, hit a two-out bloop into left field to drive home Kyle Schwarber, and slid safely into second base with his team-leading 24th double.

“Just touch it and run,” Castellanos said, laughing.

Here, though, is the funniest part: Castellanos is chasing almost as many pitches out of the strike zone (38.9%, according to Statcast) as last season (39.6%), when he struggled profoundly in his first season with the Phillies.

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The difference, it seems, can be found in Castellanos’ hard-hit rate, which has risen to 45.4% from 35.1% last year, according to Statcast. It’s more in line with his 46.9% rate with the Reds in 2021, when the fans selected him to start the All-Star Game.

“He looks like the Nick of old, you know?” Thomson said. “He’s been really our most consistent hitter all year. He’s a big part, no doubt.”

Where would the Phillies be without him? They lost run-producing Rhys Hoskins to a season-ending knee injury in spring training. Harper missed the first 30 games while recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery and hasn’t hit for his usual power. Trea Turner got off to a dismal start. J.T. Realmuto has been inconsistent.

Through it all, they have counted on Castellanos. And he’s batting .314/.359/.498 with 35 extra-base hits, including 10 homers.

“He’s more patient, to me, and I think he’s getting a lot better swings off,” Nola said. “He’s so long with his arms that he can reach pitches on the outside corner as well. He brings his hands in really well also. It’s pretty cool to watch.”

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Thomson said he could see it in spring training. Castellanos walked more often, a sign to the manager that he was recognizing pitches better.

“It’s just more comfort in my surroundings,” said Castellanos, who never felt comfortable in Year 1 in Philadelphia. “It’s understanding where I’m at, making the best of it, creating relationships with the people around me.”

But despite his first-half performance, Castellanos finished eighth among NL outfielders in the initial phase of fan voting. He almost certainly will fare better on the ballots filled out by players, managers, and coaches.

Castellanos has Thomson’s endorsement, for what it’s worth.

“He has put up a fine year so far,” Thomson said. “I certainly think he deserves to be there.”

Once through the Cubs’ lineup, Nola gave up little more than Jared Young’s first major league homer, a leadoff shot in the third inning. He labored more in the fourth, but got Young to ground into a rally-killing double play.

But in the fifth, Nola lost the strike zone. He loaded the bases and walked in a run. And with his pitch count nearing 100, his streak of six-inning starts came to an end.

“Five innings kind of stinks, honestly,” said Nola, whose 13-start run marked the longest streak in the majors this season and the second-longest of his career. “It’s too short for a starter, in my opinion. But the guys came out and gave me a lot of run support and played really well.”

With the Phillies facing a lefty starter for the first time in 10 days, Thomson got Josh Harrison, Edmundo Sosa, and Cristian Pache in the lineup in place of Bryson Stott, Kody Clemens, and Brandon Marsh, respectively.

It worked out well.

Sosa hit a two-run home run against Smyly in the second inning and waged a 10-pitch at-bat in the third. Pache singled and scored in the second inning. And Harrison chipped in a leadoff homer in the fifth to build an 8-2 lead.