Nick Castellanos walks it off in the ninth to complete Phillies’ comeback against Padres

With the Phillies trailing — by a 3-2 margin, no less — and running out of outs, Bryce Harper walked to the plate against Padres reliever Robert Suarez and a sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park roared.

Hmm, where had we seen this before?

But this time, 604 days later, the Bedlam waited, if only for a few batters. Instead of parking a homer in the left-field seats against Suarez, Harper singled to right field, the first of four hits in a row in the ninth inning to fuel a walk-off 4-3 victory Tuesday night before 43,021 delirious paying customers.

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“When we have the heart of the lineup coming up and we’re only down one, we’re in it. Right?” Nick Castellanos said after dunking a double in front of sliding Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. for his fourth hit of the game and third walk-off hit of the season. “Hat’s off to Bryce for being able to get the inning going.”

OK, so it wasn’t as meaningful as Harper’s go-ahead two-run home run against Suarez that clinched the pennant in 2022. But Harper dashed from first base to third on Alec Bohm’s single, then scored the tying run on Bryson Stott’s base hit to left.

With Castellanos’ final flourish, the Phillies’ broke a two-series skid and set up a potential sweep with major-league ERA leader Ranger Suárez (1.77) on the mound in a Wednesday matinee. And for his trouble, Castellanos received an ice-water shower aided by his 10-year-old son, Liam.

“Considering I haven’t had the best year,” Castellanos said, “to be able to come through when the team needs it, it feels good.”

And about Liam’s role in the celebratory dousing?

“It’s up there, man,” Castellanos said. “It’s up there.”

Castellanos entered the game with a .622 OPS, 137th among 148 major-league hitters who qualify for the batting title. The Phillies know he’s prone to extreme highs and lows. But every time he appears poised to get on a roll, a cold spell follows.

To wit: Remember Castellanos’ walk-off hit and two-run homer in back-to-back games two weeks ago against the Brewers? He chased it with a 5-for-36, 12-strikeout funk in the next eight games, including three hitless games last weekend in Baltimore.

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The Phillies have imagined how a productive Castellanos would boost the offense — and maybe influence their approach at the trade deadline in six weeks. So, maybe this will be the game that jumpstarts him. Or maybe not.

“I don’t know,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Nick can be very streaky, as we know. But he’s had pretty good at-bats here the last couple days. Hopefully he keeps it going.”

Said Harper: “That’s Nicky, man. Good swings the last two days, which has been huge for him. I know he’s feeling good. Trying some new things also. Being able to see him go out there and do his job, it just lengthens our lineup that much more. It’s a good thing to see.”

The comeback followed typically stellar work from Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm, and Jeff Hoffman in relief of Aaron Nola, who began the game by retiring 13 consecutive batters and had his wickedest curveball for five innings before giving up three runs in the sixth.

And it began with another homer from Kyle Schwarber, who followed his two homers Monday night with a blast off the facing of the second deck in right field in the eighth inning. It cut the Phillies’ deficit to one run and forced the Padres to turn to Suarez before the ninth even began.

Suarez was 17-for-17 in save chances and had yielded only two runs all season. But in his first appearance against the Phillies since Game 5 of the 2022 NL Championship Series, it was impossible not to think about Harper’s iconic homer.

Even Harper acknowledged as much.

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“Big moment, obviously,” Harper said. “So, whenever he’s on the mound, you feel like you’re going to think about it or go back to that moment.”

Harper’s mission was different this time. Leading off the ninth inning, he said he was trying to merely “get that rally going.” He got a changeup over the plate from Suarez and stroked it to right field.

“That’s one of the best closers in the game,” Harper said. “He’s got great numbers, and obviously a big fastball, good changeup. Thought we had some pretty good at-bats right there to jump on him.”

All it took were seven pitches. Bohm lined a first-pitch fastball to center field and Stott — 2-for-20 in his last five games and 14-for-86 in his last 24 — tied the game with a single to left before Castellanos skied a first-pitch fastball down the right-field line.

“I knew by the way that the ball was coming down, I knew it was going to stay fair,” Castellanos said. “It was all about if he was going to catch it or not.”

And just like that, after stranding 12 runners through eight innings, the Phillies cashed in.

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“It was quick,” Nola said. “It happened real quick. And then Casty with another walk-off hit, it was awesome. We’ve got a really good lineup, and you never really know what can happen. All’s it takes is the leadoff guy getting on. Harp got on right there.”

This time, in the Harper-Suarez rematch, that was all the Phillies needed.