Nick Castellanos shares walk-off with his son

Nick Castellanos was drenched in water his teammates splashed on him as he rushed toward the stands at Citizens Bank Park. In the midst of the cheers of 45,679 fans and the friendly ambush from his teammates, Castellanos turned to his son Liam, who awaited him behind home plate.

Following his walk-off hit to even the best-of-five National League Division Series at one against the Mets at one game apiece. The Hialeah, Fla., native shared the moment with his son. Through the mesh nets that protects fans from foul balls, the Castellanos cheered together. They nudged their heads together.

Castellanos, who led the majors with four walk-off hits in the regular season this year, made the fans reconsider booing him Sunday night. 

“He’s Nick Castellanos, he’s a professional hitter” Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said. “And he’s hit his whole career. He came up big for us a lot this year. It feels like every walk-off hit is Nick, and that’s who he is. His heart rate doesn’t get up, stays the same, and gets the swing off.”

Late-game heroics

Castellanos whiffed at two of Luis Severino’s sliders out of the zone in the fourth inning. This cued the boos of the many in the stands. Severino tried to get him to swing on a slider once again. Castellanos didn’t swing, prompting a sarcastic cheer from the crowd. 

The 6-foot-4 slugger answered by following Bryce Harper’s home run with his own blast to tie the score at 3 in the sixth inning. Castellanos had seen plenty of pitches to hit because New York seems to not throw many strikes to Harper. 

This moment between Nick Castellanos and his son Liam is everything ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6947bAxYRA

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 6, 2024

The Phillies regained the lead in the eighth before the Mets responded with a two-run home run by Mark Vientos in the top of the ninth. With the game tied at six, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper drew walks to give Castellanos a chance to end the game. 

More from Our Esquina

Mets ‘Candelita Jose Iglesias has ‘OMG’ vibes

OMG! New York Mets, Pete Alonso stun Brewers

Los Jefes: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza

All the fans in the stadium were on their feet. The 2021 Silver Slugger Award winner saw three sliders before smashing the fourth one to left field to put all of Philadelphia in a frenzy.

“Yeah, like I said, it was back and forth there towards the end,” Stott said. “Bryce and Nick getting us going like that, and hitting those balls a long way jolted the team, I think, and it obviously jolted the crowd. They got loud. It was electric out there.”

Prior to his three-hit performance on Sunday, Castellanos had struggled in the postseason. He had a .197 batting average and a .638 OPS. In last year’s National League Championship Series, Castellanos mustered only one hit in seven games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

He’s a workhorse

The two-time All-Star continued those struggles into 2024. In the first half of the regular season Castellanos hit .233 with 91 strikeouts. However, with all the extra work he puts in behind the scenes, Castellanos turned his season around. 

In the second half, he had .287 batting average and a 132 wRC+. He finished the season with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs. He’s been a crucial part of the Phillies lineup. 

“Yeah, I feel great for him,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Castellanos. “I mean, he’s been working every day. He comes in early, hits one-on-one on the field. I don’t know how he’s done it and played 162 games because he’s just a workhorse.”

The Mets’ plan seems to be to avoid Harper and force Nick Castellanos to be the difference maker. Despite Castellanos’ recent postseason struggles, Thomson is confident in Castellanos.

“Yeah, he doesn’t let anything bother him, really,” Thomson said. “If he’s struggling, it doesn’t really bother him, he just keeps working. He’s an experienced guy. He knows he’s going to come out of it at some point. And that stays with that end game, as well. He just keeps fighting.”