Phillies vs. Mariners: Phils storm back in eighth inning after losing Taijuan Walker to injury
Phillies storm back late, fend off their former top prospect in big win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies fell behind by three runs and lost their starting pitcher to an early injury but dug in and came all the way back Wednesday night, rallying for two runs in the eighth inning of a 6-5 win over the Mariners.
Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm opened the bottom of the eighth with singles to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead as the Phillies evened their series with Seattle, improving to 12-13. They've been either 12-13 or 11-14 through 25 games in each of the last four seasons.
The Phils trailed by three after Taijuan Walker gave up five runs in the second inning, all after there were two outs and nobody on. He was pulled at 68 pitches after four innings with right forearm tightness.
The Phillies struck first on Castellanos' two-run homer and made it a tight game with RBI singles from Kyle Schwarber and Castellanos in the third and fifth innings. Castellanos had three hits, has homered three times in four games, is batting .333 and leads the National League with 10 doubles.
"Any time you get results in this game, it's just wind at your sails," he said Tuesday night. "It's a game of failure so anytime you start seeing those signs, you get some momentum, some confidence, you know it's gonna be all good."
Castellanos showed with his homer to right-center the kind of opposite-field power he became known for in Detroit, Chicago and Cincinnati. He went deep just 13 times last season but has driven the ball more consistently in the first month of 2023.
"When he drives the ball to right-center like that, that's the Castellanos I remember," manager Rob Thomson said. "It just shows you that right now, his mechanics are in the right place, his body is in a great spot, his confidence is in a great spot. He's been an offensive force for us."
The Phils' bullpen was instrumental in the victory, pitching five scoreless innings. Luis Ortiz settled things down with strong work in the fifth and sixth, then Seranthony Dominguez, Craig Kimbrel and Jose Alvarado followed to close it out. Dominguez has made four scoreless appearances in a row with a fastball that is more than 2 mph harder than it was the first two weeks of the season. Kimbrel has struck out 11 without allowing a run over his last 6⅔ innings.
"That's what we thought (the bullpen) would be," Thomson said. "We got to one run down and Seranthony hadn't pitched in three days, Kimbrel hadn't pitched in three days. If they had been used yesterday, we probably wouldn't have used them down one run. But since they pitched today and can still be available tomorrow, we thought, let's just keep it right there and keep fighting."
All of Seattle's damage came in the second inning after Walker needed just 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 first. With two outs, Cal Raleigh walked, AJ Pollock dribbled an infield single up the third-base line, Kolten Wong walked and former Phillie J.P. Crawford drilled a first-pitch grand slam to center field. Julio Rodriguez followed with a solo shot.
Walker has walked 14 in 25⅓ innings and this was the second time in five starts that more than one of those free passes turned into runs.
Crawford was the Phillies' first-round pick in 2013 and played 72 games with them in 2017 and 2018 before being traded to Seattle for Jean Segura. This has been his first trip back to Philly. He doubled off of Alvarado with two outs in the ninth inning but was stranded to end the game on Julio Rodriguez' strikeout.
The Phils look to win the series Thursday afternoon when Matt Strahm (1-2, 3.00) faces George Kirby (2-1, 3.57).
Like Wednesday's starter, Logan Gilbert, Kirby is a 25-year-old right-hander with a deep mix of pitches who fills up the zone. He has walked just 1.4 batters per nine innings since debuting last May, tied with Aaron Nola for second-lowest in the majors behind Corey Kluber.
