Nick Castellanos had two hits and delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
With the bases loaded and one out, Castellanos stepped up and lined the first pitch he saw from Roansy Contreras over the head of Jack Suwinski in center field to secure the Phillies’ third win in four games.
Contreras was summoned to face Castellanos after Jose Hernandez (1-1) allowed the inning’s first two batters to reach.
Kyle Schwarber led off the ninth with a single and was lifted for pinch runner Whit Merrifield. Trea Turner worked a full-count walk before he and Merrifield advanced on Hernandez’s wild pitch to Bryce Harper.
Hernandez nearly threw another wild pitch but recovered to fan Harper, who finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Alec Bohm was intentionally walked to load the bases, setting up Castellanos’s heroics.
Jeff Hoffman (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Phillies to earn the win. Philadelphia’s bullpen pitched five shutout innings and logged seven strikeouts in relief of Spencer Turnbull, who allowed three runs on four hits over four innings. Turnbull struck out three and walked four.
Schwarber went 3-for-3 with two walks and hit his 33rd career leadoff home run.
Oneil Cruz hit a 2-run home run for the Pirates, while Bryan Reynolds went 1-for-1 with three walks.
Pittsburgh quickly broke through against Turnbull, who hadn’t allowed a run in 11 innings over his first two starts this season. Reynolds drew a one-out walk and scored on Ke’Bryan Hayes’s ensuing double.
Schwarber immediately answered with his blast to left center. Turner followed with a double and scored three batters later on Castellanos’ two-out single to put Philadelphia up 2-1.
Pittsburgh pulled ahead 3-2 in the fifth inning when Cruz stung an opposite-field shot into the left field seats.
Pirates starter Marco Gonzales exited after throwing a season-high 90 pitches over six innings. The left-hander surrendered two runs on six hits while striking out five and walking three. Gonzales has received a no decision in all three of his outings this season.
The Phillies rallied in the seventh inning against left-hander Aroldis Chapman, who struggled to find his command. Schwarber and Harper each drew a walk before Bohm stroked a one-out single to score Schwarber, which tied the game at three and chased Chapman.
–Field Level Media
