Nick Castellanos lifts Philadelphia Phillies over Braves in 11 innings to increase NL East lead to 7 games
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 single off Grant Holmes.
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.
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.
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.
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 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).