PHOENIX – The big picture for the Phillies as they wind down this regular season is to make sure a first-round bye is gotten by either being the first or second seed in the National League.
The smaller one is for manager Rob Thomson to tweak and shuffle and have his players in just the right frame of mind heading into the postseason. Most seem to be. One may not.
Friday night at Chase Field, the Phillies checked both those boxes with an 8-2 thumping of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With the Milwaukee Brewers losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies are now two games back in their quest for that No. 1 seed. The Phillies have now won 12 of their past 16 games and improved to 92-62 on the season.
Thomson designed Friday to be a pitchers’ piggyback game with Taijuan Walker getting the start and Walker Buehler scheduled to replace him during a clean inning. If he could have gotten eight innings or so out of the duo, the manager deemed before the game that it would be ideal. He pretty much got it.
After giving up two runs in the first, Walker didn’t allow another during his four innings before giving way to Buehler, who was nothing short of terrific in his 3 2/3 innings of work.
Buehler, whose fastball got as high as 96 MPH and hovered around 94 during his stint, was in complete control during most of his 60-pitch outing. He did load the bases in the eighth on a single and two walks, but Tanner Banks came in and got pinch-hitter Jordan Lawlor to pop out to short to end the threat. For the night, Buehler allowed two hits, two walks and struck out three.
“It was good. Both those guys,” said Thomson. “Taijuan I thought threw the ball really well. He gives up the home run in the first inning to Marte and really after that they didn’t hit a ball hard in the first inning and scored a run. And then he settled in. Fourth inning was really good.
“And then Buehler came on and was really effective until that last inning, the last two hitters. Had to go to Banks and Banks gets the popup and we get out of the inning.”
The Phillies got their first run on the board in the second when Brandon Marsh got a one-out single and scored on a double to right-center by Alec Bohm, who was making his first start since September 7th after coming off the IL earlier in the day.
A two-out home run to left by Harrison Bader in the fifth tied the game before the Phillies took the lead in the sixth inning.
Marsh led off with a single and stole second with two outs. Weston Wilson then brought him home with a single to left for a 3-2 lead.
Marsh had a chance to do more damage in the seventh when he came up with the bases loaded and two outs. But lefthander Philip Abner, making his major league debut, got Marsh looking with a fastball. It really didn’t matter, though, as the Phillies combined to score five more times in the eighth and ninth.
Nick Castellanos, who put on a home run hitting show in batting practice before the game, drilled a two-run shot to left off Jake Woodford in the eighth for a 5-2 lead. Castellanos entered the game in the sixth when he pinch-hit for Max Kepler against lefthander Jalen Beeks. He stayed in the game and provided those huge insurance runs for the Phillies.
“It’s very difficult. It really is,” said Thomson of Castellanos’ new role of platoon outfielder. “For a guy that’s played every day since he’s come to the big leagues and even in the minor leagues to take on this role is difficult. I think he’s trying to adjust, and I think after tonight that tells me something that he’s starting to get a feel for it.”
Like any player, sitting does not sit well with Castellanos, whose home run was the 250th of his career. He let it be known following the win that he will do whatever is asked, but there is no doubt he’s not a fan of it.
“I don’t know, man. It’s still brand new,” Castellanos said. “I’m just making stuff up as I go along. I hit batting practice today, maybe I’ll hit it again tomorrow. I think anything that I do more often I’ll get better at it, for sure. I’m here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring. So whatever role that looks like, just do the best I can with that. Any time that I step into the box there’s a chance that something good can happen.”
Asked if he knew why his role has changed, Castellanos said, “I don’t really talk to Rob all that often. I play whenever he tells me to play and I then I sit whenever he tells me to sit. Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience. But also, I grew up communicating with somebody like my father which was really blunt and consistent.
“There’s been times when things have been said and then over the course of years I’ll have expectations because I’ll latch to what’s being said and then actions will be different. And then I’m kind of left, just thinking and whatnot. It is what it is. I have to do what I can. At the end of the day we’re here to win the World Series. I have a good relationship with the guys in this clubhouse. I’m here to win. John Middleton is paying me money so that I can help the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series.”
It was a positive return for Bohm, who saw eight pitches before delivering his RBI double the opposite way to open the scoring for Philadelphia. He also made a spectacular play at third in the fourth, diving towards the line to get a groundball by Tim Tawa.
Bohm reached base in the eighth on an error by third baseman Blaze Alexander and scored ahead of Castellanos on his homer and drove in a pair in the ninth with a bases-loaded single to center. Castellanos then drove in his third run of the game with a single to center to drive in Marsh and the route was complete.
“That’s him. He drove the ball and he had a good night,” said Thomson of Bohm. “Offensively we had a really good night, 13 hits and five walks, saw a lot of pitches. Bader continues to hit, a big home run. Castellanos off the bench with three RBIs, that’s huge. It was a good night.”
Where Beuhler might stand in the pitching rotation is still up in the air, but his performance on Friday was a confidence booster for all.
“Little bit of an uptick early for me in terms of velo,” said Buehler. “I kind of got out of whack in that last inning, but all in all, kind of another step forward for me. I think there’s a lot of ways to look at it and dissect it. I’m happy to be here and be on the team. Obviously, I want to start every game we play, but that’s not the reality and I’ll do whatever I can to help our team. I’d rather be pitching in the big leagues coming out of the bullpen than be at home.”
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