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.”
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.
Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.
The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.
Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.