Nick Castellanos’s Clutch Plays Set Up Thrilling World Series

Before his game-saving catch, Nick Castellanos drove in the Phillies’ first run of the World Series.

Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

Man, oh man, that was fun. At its best, the World Series is the perfect display of what makes our game special, and last night’s Game 1 had everything. The Phillies pulled off the rare World Series comeback of five or more runs to beat the Astros, 6–5, in 10 innings.

Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto was the star of the game. He lifted a two-run double off the wall in left-center field that tied the game in the fifth and lined a game-winning, opposite-field solo shot leading off the 10th. He also made one of the most magnificent throws I’ve ever seen from a catcher when he tried to catch Jose Altuve stealing second base in the bottom of the ninth. Altuve was called safe on the field, and after review, the ruling stood, though that was probably due to the videos not having enough evidence to say for sure that the call was incorrect. I thought Altuve was out, but it was tough to tell. Either way, Realmuto darted a one hopper to second baseman Jean Segura, who caught the ball on Altuve’s leg. The throw could not have been any better, and it was all the more impressive because of Altuve’s great jump.

The stolen base set up the defensive highlight of the night. With the winning run on second, Jeremy Peña blooped a fly ball into shallow right field. Nick Castellanos, a defensive liability who is playing right field only because Bryce Harper can’t throw, charged in and made a game-saving sliding catch. Moments earlier, left fielder Kyle Schwarber motioned both Castellanos and center fielder Brandon Marsh to move in because they were playing too deep. Schwarber’s positioning of Castellanos is the only reason the right fielder reached the pop.

Castellanos, one of the worst defensive outfielders in MLB, made his second sliding ninth-inning catch of the postseason, with his first coming in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Thomas Shea/USA TODAY Sports

The magnificent play surely will overshadow Castellanos’s other key contribution to the win, his RBI single with two outs in the fourth, though this knock was the turning point of the game.

Castellanos stepped to the plate with his team down five. Astros ace Justin Verlander, in his first jam of the night, quickly jumped ahead in the count, 0–2, with two four-seamers that Castellanos fouled off. The Philadelphia right fielder swung more frequently than any player in baseball this season (57%) and had the highest chase rate in the National League (43.6%), per FanGraphs. So Verlander snapped off a nasty slider that dropped below the zone. Castellanos started to swing—he clearly wanted to—and somehow held up before his barrel crossed the point of no return. The next pitch was another slider below the zone. This time Castellanos swung and hooked it into left to drive in the first Phillies run. Verlander unraveled from there, giving up a two-run double to Alec Bohm, and an inning later, the Realmuto game-tying double.

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1. THE OPENER

“All week, Justin Verlander insisted that he cared more about winning Game 1 of the World Series than he did about erasing his legacy of failures in those moments. On Friday, he did neither.”

That’s how Stephanie Apstein begins her column from last night on Verlander, who squandered a 5–0 lead to remain winless in his eight career World Series starts.

Justin Verlander Crumbles Yet Again in the World Series by Stephanie Apstein
The Astros ace couldn’t erase his legacy of failures in the Fall Classic, despite being handed a five-run lead against the Phillies in Game 1.

2. ICYMI

Let’s get you caught up on the two other postgame stories from last night.

The J.T. Realmuto Game Has the Phillies Ready to Shock the World by Tom Verducci
The catcher stunned the Astros with his go-ahead home run in Game 1 to help Philadelphia seize the upper hand in the World Series.

Bold Bullpen Moves Are Fueling the Phillies by Emma Baccellieri
Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson made a set of aggressive decisions that led to the team’s epic Game 1 comeback win.

And if you didn’t get a chance to read yesterday’s newsletter, here it is!

The Phillies Are the Anti-Astros by Matt Martell
Philly made the World Series after failing to replicate Houston’s tank-and-rebuild

3. WORTH NOTING from Matt Martell

Here is yesterday’s trivia question, along with the two answers:

Question: Five players this season hit at least 30 home runs and stole 10 or more bases. The only one whose team didn’t make the playoffs is, you guessed it, Shohei Ohtani. Two of the other four are Aaron Judge and Mookie Betts, as you’d expect. The other two are both playing in this World Series. Can you name them?

Answer: Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (30 home runs, 25 stolen bases) and Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber (46 home runs, 10 stolen bases)

Tucker and Shohei Ohtani are the only two players with at least 30 home runs and 10 or more stolen bases in each of the last two seasons.

David J. Phillip/AP

Last night’s game, then, was quite fitting. Tucker hit a home run in each of his first two plate appearances, a solo shot leading off the second and a three-run blast in the third. Schwarber, for his part, swiped the first bag of the series when stole second in the seventh inning. It was his third stolen base of the playoffs, the most for any player in this postseason. Not bad for a guy who had just 12 career steals entering the regular season.

4. W2W4 from Matt Martell

The promise of a Game 1 pitcher’s duel between Verlander and Aaron Nola didn’t quite pan out, but we’ve got another exciting matchup on tap for tonight.

On the mound for the Astros is lefthander Framber Valdez, who this season set a single-season MLB record with 25 consecutive quality starts. In his most recent outing, against the Yankees in the ALCS, Valdez dazzled over seven innings, allowing two runs (none earned) in a 3–2 Houston win. Phillies righthander Zack Wheeler gets the ball, looking to provide length after manager Rob Thomson used five pitchers in relief last night, including Ranger Suárez, their probable Game 3 starter.

5. THE CLOSER from Matt Martell

This series is ripe with comparisons to the 2019 World Series, when the Nationals upset the Astros in seven games. Like the Phillies last night, Washington also won Game 1 of that series, in Houston, and used its Game 3 starter, Patrick Corbin, out of the bullpen. The road team won every game in the ’19 World Series. If this one follows that same trajectory, at least through the first six games, we’re in for a treat.