World Series: Nick Castellanos Saved Phillies With Catch in Game 1
The National League champion Phillies won the National League pennant, the World Series and it was a good thing for Castellanos too.
After he was picked off by J.D. Martinez in the eighth inning of Game 1 and ended up batting a dismal.186, the Phillies went to the bullpen to make the game closer. They put Castellanos at the top, but he couldn’t get anyone out of the game, so he was sent in as a pinch hitter and had his chance.
Here’s where he caught it
With two outs and the bases loaded, he lined a simple one-hop single to right field in a tense 1-0 game. The ball landed in the back right field bleachers, where the fans couldn’t be happier to see their team succeed in the World Series.
He even got a little extra help.
The Phillies went into their bullpen that night, and Castellanos was brought in to pinch hit in the ninth inning of Game 2.
He got a lot of help.
With no one on, he took a lead off walk to second. Second baseman Jonathan Villar, who had thrown out Castellanos’ previous ball two innings earlier, stepped in on this one too. He made a great play on the ball, throwing Villar out of the way in the process.
Villar would get no closer to the play as he picked up his first World Series victory in 15 years.
In the third inning of Game 3, after he hit a leadoff single, David Ortiz hit a double, scoring Ryan Howard and Brian Jordan. In the process, Ortiz became the first player to hit three home runs (a record). And with two outs and the bases loaded, J.D. Martinez walked and sent a throw to catcher Jonathan Niese, who made the play.