There are back-and-forth affairs, and then there’s what just transpired at Citizens Bank Park.
With the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets battling for a key Game 2 win, both teams traded blow after blow, with stars on each side rising to the occasion, treating baseball fans to an instant classic on Sunday.
The lead changed hands in the seventh, eighth and twice in the ninth inning, capped off by Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos providing the heroics with a walk-off single to score Trea Turner and even the series at 1-1 heading to New York.
It was a reversal of fortunes for Castellanos, who was booed during an at-bat in the fourth inning before turning in a 3-for-5 night, two RBIs and a sliding catch in the outfield.
The game got off to a relatively quiet start, as the Mets broke out to a 3-0 lead behind a pair of home runs from Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso, while starter Luis Severino quieted Philadelphia’s fans and bats through five innings.
But as has been the case at Philly’s home field in recent seasons, it’s tough to keep these Fightin’ Phils down.
The chaos started in the bottom of the sixth when Bryce Harper and Castellanos combined for 856 feet on back-to-back homers, tying the game. The Mets responded with a Brandon Nimmo homer in the seventh before Bryson Stott erased the deficit again with a two-run triple off New York’s closer Edwin Diaz in the eighth.
However, with the ‘OMG’ Mets in the building, things weren’t done there. After the Phillies’ bullpen crumbled in Game 1, All-Star reliever Matt Strahm faltered again, allowing Vientos’s second homer of the game, another two-run shot to even the score.
In the end, though, Philadelphia’s veterans prevailed. Back-to-back walks to Trea Turner and Harper brought Castellanos to the plate, and down to his final strike, the 32-year-old ensured the Phillies wouldn’t hit the road down 2-0.
As soon as the winning hit touched down in left field, the baseball world took to social media to crown one of the best post-season contests in recent history. Here are some of the best reactions: