PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Castellanos hit a game-winning single in the 11th and Philadelphia’s bullpen pitched five scoreless innings in relief of Aaron Nola to lead the Phillies past the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Sunday night in the final regular-season meeting between the top two teams in the NL East.
Castellanos provided all the offense for the Phillies, helping them take three of four in the series to extend their division lead to seven games. He tied it in the sixth with a two-run double off Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach, then ended the game with a two-out RBI single off Grant Holmes.
It was his fourth walk-off hit of the season. Both of Castellanos’ hits came in at bats that started with 0-2 counts.
“It makes me want to take (pitches) so I have two strikes more often,” Castellanos said, jokingly. “I think the thing that has gotten me the most comfortable in those spots is all the work I do on the field early. I don’t feel like I’m searching for a swing. I think that since we started doing that in May, it’s just built success slowly.”
Atlanta leads the New York Mets by one game for the last National League wild card.
Carlos Estévez (3-4) pitched the 10th and 11th and retired all six batters he faced, stranding the automatic runner afforded the Braves in both innings. Estevez pumped his fists with excitement and received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd, which was buzzing with a bit of a playoff-like atmosphere.
“It’s really cool, man” said Estevez, who has only faced two batters in the postseason in his nine-year career, that included stints with Colorado and the Los Angeles Angels. “It’s one thing when you see (the Philadelphia crowd) from the other side, but when you live it here, it’s really amazing.”
Only left-hander Matt Strahm faced any trouble out of the bullpen for Philadelphia, loading the bases with one out in the ninth inning. But he got Orlando Arcia to pop out and Luke Williams to fly out to keep the score tied.
Nola allowed two runs and four hits with one walk while striking out nine in six innings. It was his 18th quality start this season, second-most in the majors behind teammate Zack Wheeler.
“His velocity has gone up a little bit and he held his velocity tonight,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Consequently, the breaking ball is better because of the velocity. He was commanding all of his pitches. … He was fantastic.”
Schwellenbach kept the Phillies off balance before the sixth, inducing a lot of soft contact. He did not allow a baserunner to get into scoring position until Bryce Harper blooped a double down the left-field line one batter before Castellanos in the sixth.
By yielding only two runs, Schwellenbach extended the Braves franchise record for consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer to 21 straight.
Michael Harris II hit a 2-2 curveball off Nola in the third inning into the first row of seats in right-center to give the Braves an early lead.
Whit Merrifield drove in the other Atlanta run by beating out a potential double-play grounder with runners at the corners in the fourth. He was initially called out on the play, but the Braves challenged the call and it was overturned upon replay review, allowing the run to count.
Aaron Bummer (4-3) took the loss. He was charged with an unearned run despite not allowing a hit in two-thirds of an inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: 3B Alec Bohm (strained left hand) missed a second straight game, but manager Rob Thomson said Bohm was feeling better. Thomson was optimistic Bohm will play when the Phillies start a six-game trip Tuesday in Toronto.
UP NEXT
Braves: LHP Chris Sale (15-3, 2.58 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night at home against Colorado. LHP Kyle Freeland (4-6, 5.51) goes for the Rockies.
Phillies: RHP Tyler Phillips (4-1, 5.50 ERA) starts Tuesday in Toronto against Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (9-13, 4.27).
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