Best Sports Picks MLB Phillies

Nick Castellanos Does it on Offense AND Defense as Phillies Defeat Braves in Game 1 of NLDS

October 12, 2022
financialfreedomllc20

There have been many knocks on Nick Castellanos this season. Many of them deserved. The guy just never seemed comfortable. Either that or he was too comfortable sitting on that pile of money John Middleton handed over to him last winter.

Either way, he became a whipping boy for fans who questioned the team’s ability to be anything more than a mediocre baseball club that would likely flame out in early September and take us all into another offseason of frustration and uncertainty.

But something magical is happening with these Phillies over the past week. Something that tends to happen to teams from time-to-time in sports when things come together at the most serendipitous moment and an unexpected gift emerges from it.

We’ve seen it in this town before.

Some of these magical gifts have been season-long surprises. Some have been thrust on us in a very short time, all leading to wild roller coaster rides that we will never forget.

Take the 1993 Phillies, a collection of woebegone retreads who no other team wanted, deciding that for one season, they were going to eschew the predictions (which included last place finishes, even behind the expansion Florida Marlins) and go out and do what Jake Taylor suggests Cleveland does in the movie Major League after it is learned that the owner is planning to sell the team and/or replace them all at season’s end:

Well, they didn’t quite do that, but for six months, that team took Philadelphia on one of the most exciting non-championship rides in professional sports history. It was awesome,

Then there’s the 2001 76ers, who for all intents and purposes shouldn’t have been anything special, but when you combine a great coach in Larry Brown with a great player in Allen Iverson and a collection of grinders assembled alongside him that refused to lose, you got the magic of a dream season that kind of came out of nowhere, leading to an amazing run to the finals where they lost to the dynasty Los Angeles Lakers in five games, but still had Russ’ favorite basketball moment of his life:

It was a combination of a team that shouldn’t have been good enough to win, led by a player who should’ve been too small to win and the overt cheerleading from owner Pat Croce that got this city in a basketball tizzy for several months. It’s been the best basketball ride we’ve hade in town (professionally), in the last 39 years.

Then there was the 2010 Flyers, who didn’t deserve a playoff spot because they were choking hard down the stretch, only to get into the playoffs and find some incredible magic of their own:

Again, no championship here, but a six week run where hockey captured the heart and breath of the city of Philadelphia that included the above – a comeback from an 0-3 deficit in a series, to win 4-3, and doing so after trailing 3-0 in the deciding Game 7. That’s never happened in sports anywhere at any time.

And then there’s the 2017 Eagles, where all you have to say is two words: Nick Foles.

(Sorry, the NFL and their arcane video sharing rules don’t allow us to share the video here, but we can provide a link for you to go see it on YouTube. They suck.)

But the point is… we’ve seen this before in this town. We should know when the ride begins. When it’s time to secure your personal belongings and make sure you are keeping your arms and legs inside the coaster at all times.

If we didn’t know with an Aaron Nola gem to clinch a playoff berth in Houston last Monday, or we didn’t know with a sixth-run, ninth inning rally on Friday or the intensity of the entirety of Game 2 on Saturday that resulted with a win and the first playoff series victory since 2010, we have to know now, right?

Its why tickets for both Game 3 and Game 4 this weekend were sold out in less than three hours. Because Disney needs to accept that when its Red October, the most magical place on earth isn’t in Orlando or Anaheim, but rather wherever the Phillies clubhouse happens to be located.

Which brings me back to Castellanos.

He’s a guy who got a bit a bad rap because it took a while for him to produce. Then there was the exchange with Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports that went absolutely viral, including yours truly looking like Sergeant Schultz in the video (“I see nothing!”). From that point on, Castellanos was very good for the Phillies, despite missing a few weeks with an oblique strain,

He had 150 plate appearances between the Salisbury argument and the playoff clinching win in Houston. In the course of those 38 games, Castellanos had a slash line of .319/.347/.472 with an OPS of .819.

There were only five homers in there and seven doubles, but there were 34 singles – which had people who still wanted to deride him calling him “Nicky Singles.”

But guess what, friends, singles can win ball games too. Let’s consider Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves, a game the Phillies won 7-6 to take a 1-0 series lead.

In the top of the first inning, Braves ace Max Fried got the first two outs of the game, what followed was four consecutive singles.

J.T. Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm.

The boom or bust Phillies plated two runs on four simple, professional, base knocks. I use the word “professional” because three of them were hit to the opposite field, meaning the batters didn’t try to do too much. They just hit the ball where it was pitched and made something happen. Even if it was small, it kept the inning alive. And everyone having that kind of approach – keeping innings alive and doing little things to help manufacture runs, wins baseball games. It always has. It always will. Especially in the playoffs:

Later, Castellanos ripped a double off the top of the right field wall that should have plated Realmuto, but he got duped by Ronald Acuna, who feigned like he was catching the ball, forcing Realmuto to hold at third.

But then there was the moment the Braves decided to walk Bryce Harper with runners on second and third and two outs to get to Castellanos.

And he wanted Braves manager Brian Snitker to know, that was a bad decision:

That made it 6-1. It was three hits and three RBIs for Castellanos. The Phillies, as it would turn out, would need every one of them.

But it wasn’t just at the plate that Nicky Singles did his damage. Nope, the oft-derided right fielder, who gets slammed for his poor routes on fly balls and general malaise defensivel,y balled out in the ninth inning after the Braves had trimmed the Phillies lead to 7-6 to make what could well have been a game-saving catch. The Phillies were basically out of reliable relievers, and if this ball gets past Castellanos, well… there would have been trouble in River City:

This is that magic..

And it wasn’t just Castellanos. Harper had three hits and a sacrifice bunt, starting to look like he’s finally back into form. Seranthony Dominguez pitched not one but two dominating innings, which the Phillies desperately need out of the back end off the bullpen.

Jean Segura had two more clutch hits, Edmundo Sosa was a stellar addition to the lineup not just because of defense, but he hit a double and a sacrifice fly that turned out to be the game-winning RBI. And Alec Bohm continued to produce with an RBI single and a sac fly of his own.

And then there’s Ranger Suarez – who didn’t have a great performance, but who bore down, when the Phillies needed it most, and got the important outs that kept Atlanta at bay.

Suarez only lasted 3 1/3 innings, but he threw 86 pitches. He allowed three hits and five walks. The walks are no bueno. But he also had five strikeouts, which were key.

In the bottom of the first, he loaded the bases with one out before getting William Contreras to bounce into an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the second, after allowing a solo homer to Travis d’Arnaud, he retired the side in order. In the bottom of the third, he loaded the bases again around a pair of strikeouts. d’Arnaud stepped to the plate again, and Suarez returned the favor for m the second inning:

The most noticeable thing about this strikeout was Suarez’s reaction. He was pumped up buy that strikeout. For a guy who never shows any emotion, positive or negative, he let that one fly. And good for him. When the chips were down, in a sub par outing, he came through huge, and maintained the lead.

With the win, the Phillies assured that Friday’s game at Citizens Bank Park won’t be an elimination game – at least not for them. And now one has to wonder with Zack Wheeler pitching Game 2 and Aaron Nola pitching Game 3, if the Phillies aren’t suddenly turning into a favorite to knock off the defending World Champs?

Probably not just yet… and that’s because there remain some concerns – most notably in the bullpen.

As reported earlier Tuesday, David Robertson was left off the NLDS roster because of a strained calf muscle suffered while jumping up and down in the dugout to celebrate Harper’s home run in St. Louis on Saturday.. It put the already leaky Phillies bullpen further behind the 8-ball as one less reliable option is now gone for at least this series.

Zach Eflin continues to walk the tightrope as a brand new closer. He hasn’t blown a lead yet, but he’s appeared in each playoff game and gotten into trouble in each one. Against Atlanta he gave up a three-run homer to Matt Olson that cut the Phillies leads to 7-6.

Eflin has allowed seven hits and a walk in three playoff innings, which have led to four runs, all earned. he has a 12.00 ERA in this role.

One might think the Phillies might return to letting Dominguez close since he’s pitching well, or give Jose Alvarado a crack at it, but Dominguez may not be available in Game 2 because he threw two innings and Alvarado and Eflin have each appeared in every playoff game so far.

Things have gotten worse as Connor Brogdon, who struggled down the stretch, had another poor outing, allowing a pair of runs on a pair of hits in relief in Game 1 and might not be usable in any sitcuation other than very low leverage at this point.

If the Phillies are saving Noah Syndergaard for Game 4, as a potential starter, that means all that’s left in the pen who hasn’t been used either Tuesday or in multiple appearances is Kyle Gibson and Nick Nelson.

The Phillies could turn to Andrew Bellatti and/or Brad Hand, but they both pitched in Game 1, albeit in limited use, and both were fine, but it’s obvious who manager (so glad I no longer have to write the word interim in front of that) Rob Thomson trusts and doesn’t trust, and right now the bullpen isn’t in the best of places.

Still, teams have overcome worse. And this Phillies team refuses to lose right now.

So, as the sun sets, and we look forward to Game 2 Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies magic also exists n the form of some numbers: TWO – wins from the NLCS. SIX – wins from the World Series. And where’s J.T.?

“Ten wins, Topper!”

That’s 10 wins from a World Championship.

Now, there’s only one thing left to do.

CUE THE MUSIC!!!

The post Nick Castellanos Does it on Offense AND Defense as Phillies Defeat Braves in Game 1 of NLDS appeared first on Crossing Broad.

https://www.crossingbroad.com/2022/10/nick-castellanos-does-it-on-offense-and-defense-as-phillies-defeat-braves-in-game-1-of-nlds.html

#fantasyfootball #Sports #Betting #sportsbetting #sportsbettingadvice #freepick #freepicks #sportsbettingtips #handicapping #predictions #sportspredictions #NFL #esports #espn #NBA #NHL #sportsprediction #ncaa #mlb #WNBA #prediction #nhl #nhlplayoffs #nhlpicks #nbapicks #NBAPlayoffs #NFLPlayoffs #espnsports #bettingsports #bettingtips #bettingonline #bettingexpert #basketball #football #soccer #hockey #sportspicks #ncaabasketball #foxsports #cbssports #soccerpredictions #sportingbet