Castellanos, 30, had three hits and three runs driven in, plus a ninth-inning, diving catch in right field to help seal the win for the visiting team.
“It’s kind of just a fresh start, a clean slate, so to speak,” Castellanos said after the game. “And obviously these games are really intense. For me, that helps me lock in and kind of slow things down. It’s just a lot of fun.
“Baseball is really, really fun.”
That may not have been the case for the veteran for much of the regular season, as his numbers were well below his career averages. He compiled an OPS-plus of just 95, the lowest of his 10-year career.
“The one thing that all of us in this room share in common is we want to contribute to the club as much as we can every night,” teammate Rhys Hoskins said. “When you’re not doing that it wears on you.
“The thing I’ve been impressed with is he’s the same guy. He comes in, gets his work in, and off he goes in the game. It’s awesome to see him have success today.”
Castellanos signed a five-year, $100 million deal with Philadelphia in the offseason, struggled, then got hurt late in the year. He returned for the final nine games of the regular season while producing an OPS of just .536.
Going 0-for-7 in the wild-card round didn’t help matters, but that all changed on Tuesday. Castellanos had an RBI single in the first inning, a double in the third, then a two-run single in the fourth, becoming the first Phillies player with a 3-hit, 3-RBI game in the postseason since Jayson Werth in the 2009 NLCS.
“Today (my swing) felt great, and that’s the only thing really that I’m focused on and then getting ready to go and make sure it feels great again tomorrow,” Castellanos said.
Not known for his defense, he capped off his stellar day with a diving catch at the most important moment in the game.
The Braves had just narrowed their deficit to one run on a Matt Olson three-run homer in the ninth before Castellanos sprinted in on a line drive off the bat of William Contreras. He laid out for it, snaring the ball just before it hit the grass.
He was asked if he was happy or just relieved as he lay on the ground afterward.
“All the above,” he answered with a smile. “Just looking (up), like, thank God I caught that ball. They obviously had a big point in the game right there with putting them within one. So to be able to catch that and have two outs and nobody on was huge.”
Hoskins added: “I was screaming at him, ‘C’mon, c’mon, stay up.’ You could feel momentum right there. They had it after the homer. To get the next guy out is huge.”
Castellanos’ first two hits came off Braves starter Max Fried, who lasted only 3⅓ innings while giving up six runs, four of them earned — though he made the error allowing the other two to score.
Fried’s velocity was down a tick and his stuff wasn’t great. It led to questions about his health, as Fried was recovering from an illness over the final week of the regular season. He downplayed it.
“It stayed with me for longer than we were expecting,” Fried told reporters. “It’s one of those things you just have to battle.
“I’m not going to make any excuses. I took the ball today and put us in a big hole, right off the bat.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker noticed something was off with Fried, who left a game early against the New York Mets in late September.
“I asked him after the fourth, when he came off,” Snitker said. “He went down and he was mad and everything. I just wanted to make sure he was OK physically. And he just kind of wasn’t firing today.
“He had the flu, the last game he pitched against the Mets. But he’s been doing everything, throwing his sides. Did all the drills, did everything. Just didn’t happen for him today.”
And so the Phillies took advantage, led by one of their quiet stars who was coming off a quiet regular season. Perhaps the tide is turning for their right-fielder after helping his team to a mid-October win.
“I can’t explain (the postseason),” Castellanos said. “It’s one of those things that the air is different, the atmosphere is different. And those are all things that I really enjoy.”
ST. LOUIS — Chicago star Connor Bedard was injured on a last-second faceoff in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night and will miss the Blackhawks’ game Saturday.
With 0.8 seconds left, Bedard attempted to win the draw to give Chicago one last chance, but he was knocked down by Blues center Brayden Schenn. Bedard grasped at his right shoulder and immediately headed to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer, while his teammates remained on the ice and the bench.
“He won’t play tomorrow,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team’s game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. “I won’t know more info tomorrow, so don’t ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I’ll know more, so I’d probably have more info come Monday.”
Asked whether Bedard’s injury would be only short term, Blashill offered few details.
“I’d hate to say that without knowing the information,” he said. “Until we get the information, again, he’s not going to play tomorrow.”
Bedard ranked fifth in the NHL in points heading into the game, and he assisted on both of Chicago’s goals in the loss. He now has 12 goals and 25 assists.
He was pushed into desperation mode when the Blues iced the puck and a half a second was put back on the clock. Blashill said he’d have to see the play again, but his initial impression was that nothing dirty occurred on the play.
“Honestly, I think it’s a freak accident,” Blashill said, “to be honest with you.”
It’s one of the boldest moves in Wild franchise history, and signals GM Bill Guerin’s hunger to win now after signing Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The Wild have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.
Hughes, 26, is a 2018 first-round pick of the Canucks and considered one of the best defensemen in the league. He is one of six players already named to the Team USA Olympic men’s hockey team. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 when he recorded a career-high 92 points for a first-place Canucks team.
However, a Hughes trade became increasingly inevitable after the Canucks got off to a poor start. Vancouver entered Friday in last place in the Pacific Division at 11-17-3 with a minus-24 goal differential. Late last month, the Vancouver front office sent a memo across the league that it was open to trading any of its pending unrestricted free agents. That did not include Hughes, who is under contract through the end of next season.
However, it empowered many general managers across the league to inquire about Hughes, who did not have any trade protection.
The Canucks got plenty in return. Buium, 20, is a 2024 first-round pick of the Wild and can inherit Hughes’ role as a true power-play quarterback. Rossi, 24, and Ohgren, 21, are also former first-round picks of the Wild.
Though Hughes never asked for a trade, many around the NHL believed he did not want to re-sign in Vancouver after his contract expired in the summer of 2027. The prevailing belief is that Hughes preferred to play for a United States-based team on the East Coast. Hughes spends his offseason in Michigan. His brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the New Jersey Devils.
According to sources, the Devils did make a trade offer for Hughes to reunite him with his two younger brothers. However, New Jersey couldn’t match what Minnesota gave up.
Minnesota began engaging with Vancouver about a week ago, according to sources, and the deal came together quickly. The Canucks received at least six other offers, according to sources, but Vancouver believed Minnesota presented the strongest overall package that can best set the team up for the future.
Hughes is not eligible to sign an extension with the Wild until July 1.
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht underwent labrum surgery on his non-throwing shoulder Thursday, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Becht played the majority of the season with a partial labrum tear and using a harness on the shoulder. He was diagnosed with the injury after the Cyclones’ loss to Cincinnati on Oct. 4. He also dealt with an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder late in the season, which he is recovering from.
Sources said Becht is expected to make a full recovery in the upcoming months as he weighs decisions about his future. The quarterback is expected to consider a return to Iowa State or entering the transfer portal.
Longtime Cyclones coach Matt Campbell left the school earlier this month to become Penn State‘s coach. The Cyclones hired Washington State‘s Jimmy Rogers as his replacement.
Becht, a junior this season, threw for 2,584 yards with 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He has totaled 9,274 yards, 64 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in three-plus seasons at Iowa State.
