It’s been a few weeks, but the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night rekindled the buzz of earlier in the season when the Phillies were firing on all cylinders.
Facing a Hall of Famer and extending their winning streak to four games with a 5-0 victory during one of their most crucial homestands will do that.
The offense struck early against Justin Verlander, setting a commanding tone. Trea Turner delivered an RBI single in the third inning, scoring Austin Hays, who had doubled earlier. Nick Castellanos followed with a three-run homer into the left-field seats, pushing the Phillies' lead to 4-0.
“I had a pretty good idea I was going to see an off-speed pitch,” Castellanos said. “I saw the curveball early and hit it well.”
After struggling through the first half of the season with a .233 average before the All-Star break, Castellanos seemed to benefit from manager Rob Thomson's confidence. Since then, Castellanos has hit .298 with an .831 OPS and a 128 OPS+.
“The consistency of my work has put me in a good spot,” Castellanos said. “I’m just taking what the game gives me.”
“I trust him,” Thomson said. “It would be one thing if he didn’t work at it, but he cares and he works hard. I’m glad to see him turn it around.”
After Castellanos's blast, Aaron Nola took over. He delivered seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits, walking one, and striking out six. It was the 25th time in his career he’s pitched at least seven shutout innings. With this win, Nola secured his 102nd career victory, surpassing Curt Schilling to move into seventh place on the franchise’s all-time wins list.
“It’s pretty cool,” Nola said. “I didn’t realize it until after the game. Curt [Schilling] was an unbelievable pitcher, so it’s nice to be up there with him. But really, I just want to win for the team and get back to where we want to be—the World Series.”
The win pushed the Phillies to an impressive 30-1 record this season when their starting pitcher goes at least seven innings. This streak of 30 consecutive wins is the longest in franchise history and the second-longest in MLB history, trailing only the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals' 42-game streak.
Asked about the importance of finishing seven innings, Nola smirked.
“It’s been a while since I’ve finished seven, so it was much needed,” he said. “It felt good to get through the seventh and only use two pitchers in the final two innings.”
Alec Bohm added insurance in the seventh inning with a popup that fell between three Houston defenders behind second base, allowing Hays to score from first after leading off the inning with a single.
Jose Ruiz and Tanner Banks each tossed a scoreless inning in relief to seal the victory.
Verlander, who surrendered four runs over five innings, took the loss. Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez extended his on-base streak to 20 games with a single in the eighth.
The Phillies turn to Taijuan Walker on Wednesday to go for the sweep—a striking turnaround from where this team stood just a week ago.
“I think we’re playing better baseball, and I’ll leave it at that,” Thomson said.
