Trea Turner leads homer barrage in 6-2 victory over Nationals, but Phillies lose Bryce Harper to back spasms

Nick Castellanos can relate to struggling in the first season after joining the Phillies as a pricy free agent. But he also draws a distinction between his 2022 season and what his teammate has endured this year.

“Trea Turner signed an 11-year contract to play for Philadelphia, right?” Castellanos said. “So when Trea’s playing his last year here, I’m going to be in the bar with Liam having a drink.”

Liam Castellanos recently turned 10.

The point is, Turner will be here a looooong time. Say what you will, then, about the standing ovations before his at-bats last week as a show of support for his struggles. It meant something to the $300 million shortstop — and maybe to the Phillies’ offense, at large.

» READ MORE: Pitch call issues, a grip tweak and HOF-bound Vans: Scenes from Michael Lorenzen’s no-hitter

Turner homered again Thursday night, and the Phillies won, 6-2, to clinch a victorious series over the last-place Nationals. His apparent revival continued with a two-run shot into the left-field bleachers, the first of three two-run homers. Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto went deep in the seventh inning for good measure.

One potential red flag amid the merriment: Bryce Harper exited before the fifth inning with “mid-back spams,” according to the Phillies. He went for further testing and was characterized as “day to day” by manager Rob Thomson.

But while the Phillies wait word on their best player, they have opened a lead in the playoff race. Still riding the high of Michael Lorenzen’s no-hitter Wednesday night, they are in possession of the first wild-card spot, 1½ games ahead of the Giants, and 4½ games clear of the Cubs and Reds for the final wild-card spot.

And they’ve done it in throwback fashion: By hitting home runs.

“That’s really who these guys are,” Thomson said. “They’re a slug team, and you’re seeing it now.”

Indeed, these Phillies were built to mash, with a lineup that inspired all manner of nicknames — Broad Street Bashers? Macho Row 2.0? Sluggers on the Schyukill? — when it was assembled before last season. And they have hit 17 homers in the last six games. Not coincidentally, they’ve won five of them.

None of that would be notable except the Phillies haven’t flexed their power as much as usual. Entering play Wednesday, they were 17th in the majors with 131 homers, a 186-homer pace after last year’s total of 205. In 17 games before this homestand began, they had one multihomer game.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Michael Lorenzen feels ‘10 percent more sore’ a day after his no-hitter

“Early on, we’d have some good at-bats and stuff, but I feel like we were getting beat by the homer,” Turner said. “Now, recently, as a team, we’re hitting a lot more of them up and down the order, and those are game-changers. Those are big momentum shifts. They’re chunks, and that’s good.”

Turner began this homer barrage in the sixth inning. With the Phillies trailing 1-0, Bryson Stott reached on an error by Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin, who missed a toss from the first baseman.

In came reliever Andrés Machado, and Turner teed off on a thigh-high fastball for a 2-1 lead.

Since the Phillies returned home and the fans greeted Turner with a standing ovation, he’s 10-for-27 with four doubles and two homers.

Cause and effect?

“Maybe it’s the crowd,” Turner said. “Maybe it’s a little bit better swing. Maybe it’s better pitches. Maybe I’m relaxed. I don’t know if it’s one specific thing. I think everything as a whole is in better direction, better shape.

“I’d love to keep playing what I think is me and how I’ve played for a while now in my career. Hopefully put those first 100 games behind me and playing baseball like a little kid.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper 'day to day' after exiting with back spasms

And the Phillies want to keep playing home run derby. Castellanos hit his third homer in two games (and fifth in the last seven), while Realmuto went deep to the opposite field.

“That’s where you score multiple runs, and we weren’t doing that early in the year,” Thomson said. “You know it’s in there because of the history of these guys. It’s good to see that it’s finally happening.”

The Phillies went eight years — 2,937 days, to be exact — between no-hitters. Yet the pitcher who started the game after Cole Hamels’ masterpiece in 2015 also took the mound after Lorenzen’s.

It’s an oddity, to be certain. It’s also a testament to Aaron Nola’s staying power within the organization.

But for a third start in a row against a noncontending team, in the final year of his contract, Nola was unable to complete the sixth inning. It’s an uncharacteristic run. Earlier this season, Nola reeled off 18 consecutive starts of at least six innings.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Tom McCarthy delivers pitch-perfect commentary on the Orioles announcer suspension

“I feel like I made some good pitches, but they worked me,” Nola said. “It’s a team that doesn’t really strike out too much. They put the ball in play.”

The defense didn’t do Nola any favors, either, particularly in the fourth inning, when right fielder Weston Wilson dropped two-out fly ball. Nola got out of the jam by striking out Blake Rutherford.

Nola allowed only one run. But he also fell into deep counts and had long innings.