Castellanos' sacrifice fly in 10th lifts Phillies to 4-3 win over Diamondbacks
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 14: Nick Castellanos #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a sacrifice fly against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the tenth inning at Chase Field on June 14, 2023 in Phoenix, Ar
PHOENIX - The Philadelphia Phillies nearly wasted Ranger Suarez's dominating night, allowing Arizona to rally from a three-run deficit to tie the game.
A collision of Diamondbacks opened the door for the Phillies to pull out a win.
Nick Castellanos drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning after two Arizona players collided on a fly ball, lifting the Phillies to a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
"It was a great win," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "That (losing the lead) can be deflating and they just came back. We got a break in the 10th, but they just came back and battled."
Suarez was sharp for the fourth straight start, holding the Diamondbacks in check with seven scoreless innings. J.T. Realmuto continued his power-hitting series with a homer and two RBIs to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead through seven innings.
The Diamondbacks didn't take long to take advantage after Suarez left, tying it it on Christian Walker's three-run homer in the eighth.
Instead of folding, the Phillies found a way to win it.
After Craig Kimbrel (5-1) stranded a runner at third in the ninth inning, Trea Turner floated a fly ball to shallow right field off Scott McGough (0-5). The ball dropped when Arizona second baseman Geraldo Perdomo and right fielder Jake McCarthy collided, putting runners on second and third.
"It's just two very eager, young players going after the same ball," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "I've told you guys at times we're going to bounce a ball off our foot, but you've got to learn from it."
Castellanos followed by hitting a ball to deep center and José Alvarado stranded two runners in the bottom half for his sixth save in eight chances.
Philadelphia has won nine of 11 to clinch its fourth straight series and reach .500 for the first time since May 14.
"What I liked about my outing today the most was that I attacked hitters early," Suarez said through an interpreter. "I was ahead in the count a lot, I induced a lot of weak contact, so it was really good for me."
The left-hander struck out eight against the Dodgers last start and was sharp again against the Diamondbacks.
Suarez stranded a runner at third by getting over to first to complete a double play in the third inning and stranded a runner at third in the fourth. He allowed four hits and struck out seven with two walks.
"He was fantastic," Thomson said. "Everything was working. The curveball was good, changeup was good, the cutter was good, he varied speed to keep them off balance and a lot of soft contact."
Arizona starter Merrill Kelly allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings against Detroit in his last start, but had trouble finding the strike zone early against the Phillies. He walked the game's first two batters and gave up two runs on fielder's choices in the first three innings.
Kelly struck out five straight until Realmuto launched a long solo homer to left to put the Phillies up 3-0 in the sixth inning.
Kelly allowed three runs on three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in six innings to see his five-game winning streak end.
"I don't think he had his best stuff," Lovullo said. "He started to manipulate the baseball and spin it a little bit later than we see him get a feel for that pitch, but it's just a typical Merrill outing. Very consistent."
DEFENSIVE HELP
The Diamondbacks helped Kelly with some stellar defense.
Centerfielder Jake McCarthy made a spinning catch at the warning track on Bryce Harper’s slicing liner in the first inning. Pavin Smith then flagged down Castellanos’ drive against the wall in right the second.
TRAINER'S TABLE
Philadelphia: 1B Alec Bohm was given the night off as the Phillies remain cautious in his return from a hamstring injury.
Arizona: 2B Ketel Marte was out of the lineup for the second straight game with back tightness suffered while sliding Monday against the Phillies. He walked as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. ... LF Lourdes Gurriell Jr. fouled a pitch off his right foot in the third inning, but stayed in the game after being checked on by Arizona's trainer.
UP NEXT
Philadelphia RHP Aaron Nola (5-5, 4.60 ERA) faces Arizona RHP Rhyne Nelson (2-3, 4.95 ERA) in the series finale on Thursday.