The Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets in Game 2 of the NLDS

PHILADELPHIA – Over 128 minutes, the most perfect encapsulation of the Philadelphia baseball experience unfolded on Sunday. Earlier, Nick Castellanos, whose inconsistent play makes him an easy target for frustrated fans, was booed and muttered derisively about it during a playoff game. The ending was a lesson in how quickly contempt can turn to delirium – and how a series that seemed lost can be found again when a team suddenly finds itself.

Between that low point and the high point when he hit a walk-off single to secure a 7-6 victory over the New York Mets and even their National League Division Series in a game, Castellanos lived the life of a Philadelphia Phillie. Just 43 minutes after fans cheered at 5:15 p.m. in the Bronx for laying off a slider after swinging through too many, he picked up a hanging one from Mets starter Luis Severino and deposited it into the left field stands, to end the game 3-0.

It wasn't until 7:23 p.m. that Castellanos stamped Game 2 as his personal showcase, a reminder that for all his foibles and failures, he's cleaning up after Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper because he's the guy who's made it in now missed five games this season, and the Phillies are still here because the Mets don't have a monopoly on comebacks.

The latest was an instant classic, with the Phillies struggling with the moxie and determination that New York has frequently displayed this postseason. The Mets had adopted Philadelphia's never-say-die attitude of recent postseasons, showing that they weren't just a playoff team. Phillies fans who had seen the Mets storm to a 6-2 victory in Game 1 with a five-run eighth-inning win allowed the disillusionment to carry over into Game 2 on Sunday. Castellanos found himself a target, and his teammates struggled to score throughout the game, distilling the fans' reactions into fuel.

“I was just a little frustrated,” Castellanos said, “so I guess I did more.”

An incarcerated Castellano's powers are evident in his ability to punish baseball hits at the most opportune moment – and, quite often, it seems, at the worst possible moment. Coming into the sixth, Phillies star Bryce Harper had just hit a fastball from Luis Severino to center field to thwart the Phillies' first two runs. Two throws later, Castellanos followed with his game-winning shot.

The Mets regained the lead with a home run by Brandon Nimmo in the seventh inning that made it 4-3, and when they ran into trouble in the bottom of the inning, New York manager Carlos Mendoza called in closer Edwin Diaz. He secured the final in the seventh round and returned in the eighth to face the heart of Philadelphia's lineup. Harper walked, Castellanos sent him to third with an inside-out single to right field and Bryson Stott, celebrating his 27th birthday, weathered a pair of 99 mph fastballs and three sliders before Diaz hung a slider and Stott sent it to right field. Field corner for a three-pointer that gave Philadelphia a lead that would expand to 6-4.

“Hitting a hundred is no fun,” Stott said. “But if you only prepare for a hundred, you have more time to adapt. His slider is still hard, and hopefully it stays that way.

He did, and with it Philadelphia was positioned to secure its first postseason win and end a three-game losing streak at Citizens Bank Park. Of course it was the Mets. The team that seems to come from behind every day. The team that tagged All-Star reliever Matt Strahm in Game 1 and did the same in Game 2.

With one out in the top of the ninth, Francisco Lindor singled in the middle. Six pitches later, Mark Vientos, a 24-year-old third baseman playing in his first postseason, hit his second home run of the game, ripping an out-of-zone fastball into the left field stands, tying the game at 6. Once again they were the late innings the Mets' playground.

“From top to bottom, every shot I’ve seen is a selfless shot, and they pass it on to the next player,” Strahm said. “That’s what they talk about when they smell blood in the water. They change their approach and when batsmen do that, they become a little more difficult to bat against.”

Philadelphia wasn't ready to collapse. The Phillies advanced to the World Series in 2022 and played like the Mets. They made it to the NLCS last year until their return ended another run. This was the litmus test Philadelphia needed, even if it didn't start well in the bottom of the ninth. Tylor Megill, normally a starter, took care of Austin Hays and Kyle Schwarber in six pitches and had Turner take a full count before walking him. Harper, also at full capacity, remained disciplined and also made a move.

Castellanos also found himself in a two-strike count, swinging over a slider and fouling off a sinker, both outside the zone. He thought better of it and didn't bite on a slider in the dirt before Megill gave him a gift: a coat hanger on his belt on the inner half of the plate. He punished it to his left, leapt off the fence and, after celebrating with his teammates, ran just behind home plate to his 11-year-old son Liam and yelled, “Let's (bleep) go.”

When asked how Liam reacted, Castellanos said: “Same thing but without the swear word.”

Liam is now used to such celebrations. There was the ball up the middle to leave Atlanta in the 11th inning, and the shot down the right field line to send San Diego home, and the pea to center field with the bases loaded that ended Pittsburgh's night, and the laser in the game in right field against Milwaukee. Sunday produced four playoff teams. Castellanos is out this year, which would bring some grace elsewhere.

Not Philly.

“You live and die by results, and I completely understand that,” Harper said. “So. That's just how they are. If you sign here, if you play here, that's it. And I respect her for that.”

When the smoke cleared – the smoke machine in the Philadelphia clubhouse leaves an opaque haze over the room after victories – the Phillies emerged as they want to be seen. They are not weaklings. They won't be bullied by a team that finished six games behind them in the standings. They respect the Mets – and not in a grudging way, but in a real, tangible and earned respect. They also want to win a ring, and that's what makes days like Game 2 so enjoyable, Castellanos said.

“Just the energy,” he said. “Come together, make history, however it ends.”

And how, he was asked, does he think it will end?

“I have no idea,” Castellanos said, “but I’m excited to find out.”