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PHILADELPHIA — In a year of high payrolls missing the postseason and 100-win teams flaming out early, the stars on the Phillies proved free agency still works.

Led by Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Game 4 hero Nick Castellanos, the Phillies vanquished the Atlanta Braves in their division series matchup for the second consecutive season.

Castellanos, who signed a five-year, $100 million contract before the 2022 season, hit two home runs in Thursday’s 3-1 clinching win, one day after doing the same in Game 3. He is the first player in postseason history with back-to-back multihomer games.

“When we were 16, 17 years old, playing for Team USA, he did the same stuff,” a bare-chested, champagne-soaked Harper said after the win. “In the biggest tournaments, on the biggest stage, that’s Nick Castellanos. And that’s why he’s here.”

Castellanos signed with the Phillies a day after Kyle Schwarber signed for $79 million. One year later, it was Turner’s turn. He inked a $300 million deal last winter — $30 million less than what Harper signed for in 2019. The money has been well spent. Harper hit two home runs in Game 3 while Turner added one in both Games 3 and 4.

“[President of baseball operations] Dave Dombrowski has been around the block a lot,” owner John Middleton said during the celebration. “He understands that. You have to trust Dave. He knows the character of the guy you’re signing.”

Dombrowski added: “I have always felt like every good club has to have a core of veteran players and a group of young players coming up. It starts [with] Bryce, but we added to that mix.”

The free agents fueled the series win over the Braves, but it was one of the young players who might have saved Game 4. With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a ball to center field that Phillies rookie Johan Rojas tracked and caught as he leapt against the wall. It ignited the sold-out crowd at Citizens Bank Park — one of the more hostile environments in the game.

“This is the most unbelievable home-field advantage in baseball right now,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve never really seen anything like this.”

The Phillies steamrolled the Braves in Games 3 and 4 — first by taking it to young starter Bryce Elder on Wednesday then following it with three home runs against ace Spencer Strider in the clincher. Philadelphia gave Atlanta a taste of its own medicine, outhomering the Braves 11-3 in the series, including nine in the two home games, tying a postseason record for home runs in back-to-back games. The Braves led MLB in long balls during the regular season but came up short in this series.

“Well, to start with, Trea and Harp and Nick, I mean I can’t tell you how big they are on our club right now,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I don’t think the moment gets them at all. In fact, the moment, I think, helps Harp a little bit. But Trea has been unbelievable. That home run he hit today was huge. Nick’s two home runs were huge. Harp’s two home runs yesterday were huge. Those guys just — they step up.”

Meanwhile, the Braves, who topped the majors with 104 wins in the regular season, are left with unanswered questions. Like, why have they dominated the regular season but can’t get it done against their division rival in the postseason?

“That’s a good question,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I wish I had the secret sauce for that. I feel like last year all of a sudden, they got everybody healthy. And they got big-time players on this team. Yeah, I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

The Braves might also be left wondering how their midseries controversy impacted the outcome. Shortstop Orlando Arcia had to answer questions after yelling “atta-boy Harper” in the Braves’ clubhouse after Game 2’s ending, when the Phillies star got doubled off at first base. Harper’s stare down of Arcia after hitting two home runs Wednesday immediately went viral, prompting Arcia to tell reporters Harper “wasn’t supposed to hear it.”

That quote ended up on the back of a T-shirt worn by one Phillies player during the celebration after Game 4.

“It’s fun,” second baseman Bryson Stott said. “I don’t know what it did for us, but the crowd loved it.”

The crowd also loved the record-breaking homers from Castellanos. He was featured on the scoreboard after his second one Thursday, soaking in the limelight usually held for Harper or others.

“Whenever you have 46,000 people cheering you on and trying to get the other team out of their comfort zone, that’s a huge advantage,” Castellanos said.

The environment will make for an interesting National League Championship Series as the Phillies will host a young Arizona Diamondbacks team in Game 1 on Monday. Led by their powerful veterans, the Phillies are one step away from returning to the World Series for the second consecutive season. This time, they aim to finish the deal.

“Eight more to go,” Dombrowski said. “It really starts with our stars.”

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Spin-o-rama goal helps Celebrini to 50-point mark

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Spin-o-rama goal helps Celebrini to 50-point mark

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Macklin Celebrini reached his latest milestone in most impressive fashion.

Celebrini scored a spin-o-rama goal as part of a four-point night that made him the fastest San Jose player to reach 50 points in a season as the Sharks beat the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Tuesday.

“He’s incredible,” teammate Barclay Goodrow said. “It seems like every night he does something that just makes you say, ‘Wow.’ At this point, it’s not surprising, but it still is surprising. He proves each and every night why he’s one of the best players in the league.”

The numbers Celebrini is putting up are staggering, especially as a 19-year-old in only his second NHL season. He has 18 goals and 33 assists through San Jose’s first 34 games after recording two goals and two assists against the Flames.

He reached the 50-point mark three games faster than any other Sharks player. The only other teenagers to get there faster are two of the greatest in NHL history: Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.

“He’s a special one, for sure,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Every time you think he’s going to maybe slow down and maybe hit a speed bump, he doesn’t. He just keeps going. You can see he had legs early tonight. He’s obviously a very special individual.”

Celebrini assisted on two goals in the first period, including a pinpoint pass to John Klingberg that set up the first one, and played a strong game at both ends of the ice all night.

But it was his breathtaking move early in the third that was truly jaw dropping. Celebrini took a pass from Collin Graf, spun without breaking stride and put a shot on net that Dustin Wolf initially saved before the puck bounced off Celebrini’s hip and went in.

“It’s kind of just a reaction,” Celebrini said. “I mean, Graffer made a good play on the wall to kind of intercept it and then just found me in the middle. It was just kind of reactionary, but it was a little lucky. It goes off my hip.”

Celebrini capped the game with an empty-net goal that sealed San Jose’s 17th win. The young Sharks are currently in playoff position after finishing last in the league the past two seasons.

San Jose won only 20 games in Celebrini’s rookie season, and didn’t reach 17 until the 63rd game.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s enjoyable to be around the rink when you’re winning and you’re playing well as a group and you just kind of feed off it. It’s more fun when you are winning.”

Celebrini is the biggest reason for the turnaround.

His high level of play has earned him respect around the league and made a case for his inclusion on the Canadian Olympic team.

“Everyone sees it,” Goodrow said. “He’s one of the best. He has the ability to put a team on his back. He competes as hard as he can, each and every shift. He’s a leader. He does a lot for us.”

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Five days after goalie swap, Jarry bests Skinner

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Five days after goalie swap, Jarry bests Skinner

PITTSBURGH — For the first time in NHL history, goalies that were involved in the same trade faced one another within seven days of the deal.

Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner, traded for one another just five days ago, starred against their former teams as Edmonton defeated Pittsburgh 6-4 on Tuesday night.

“I thought both goalies handled themselves well,” said Connor McDavid, who scored twice and had a four-point game. “It was a unique situation and probably a strange night for both guys.”

On Friday, the Oilers dealt Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. Both goaltenders were unable to have new masks ready in time for Tuesday’s game. Jarry wore blue goalie pads and his Penguins’ mask, while Skinner had white and gold pads and his old Oilers’ mask.

“We should’ve switched masks,” Skinner said. “I feel like the mask takes the longest because you have to get a paint job. It would’ve been funny if we saw each other in warm-ups at the red line and changed helmets.”

The Penguins honored Jarry during the first television timeout on Tuesday. Fans applauded as Jarry waved his stick to the crowd, tapped his chest and held his glove in the air. The home crowd also took to their new goaltender with deep chants of “Stu” after each save early in the game.

“I saw a couple signs out there and somebody had a picture of my face,” Skinner said. “It was a great welcome. I really appreciate it from the fans.”

The two-time Western Conference champions acquired Jarry from the Penguins in the hopes of shoring up a position that has cost them during their deep playoff runs in recent years. Jarry stopped 25 shots during his Oilers’ debut against Toronto on Saturday and he made 26 saves on Tuesday. Skinner stopped 17 shots in his Penguins’ debut Tuesday, after he and Kulak spent the weekend settling the immigration process.

“It’s odd, just the whole situation of how quickly we played them after the trade happened,” said Leon Draisaitl, who finished with four assists and reached 1,000 career points. “I’m sure there are lots of people who felt odd about it.”

Skinner, a 2017 third-round pick who has the fifth-most wins in Oilers’ history, helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons. Pittsburgh also has a deep prospect pool in goal, led by 21-year-old Sergei Murashov, in addition to 23-year-old Joel Blomqvist and 24-year-old Arturs Silovs, the backup to Skinner on Tuesday.

The Oilers’ problems in goal have played a role in keeping McDavid and Draisaitl and company from getting over the hump and winning the Stanley Cup, particularly in the last two seasons against Florida.

“Those guys were a big part of this group the last number of years,” McDavid said. “It’s strange to see him in the other net.”

Jarry, a two-time All-Star with Pittsburgh, starred for the Edmonton Oil Kings in junior hockey. He signed a five-year contract with Pittsburgh in 2023, but struggled so badly last season that the Penguins demoted him to their minor league affiliate. The 30-year-old Jarry bounced back under first-year Penguins’ coach Dan Muse, starting the season 9-3-1 with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

“I’m sure they’re both excited to get this out of the way,” McDavid said. “I’m happy we came in here and won the game for [Jarry]. Now, we can look ahead.”

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Draisaitl hits 1,000 points against ex-Oiler Skinner

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Draisaitl hits 1,000 points against ex-Oiler Skinner

PITTSBURGH — Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl became the fourth-fastest active player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points in the first period of a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Draisaitl had the secondary assist on a power-play goal by Zach Hyman at 11:38 of the first period. He sent a pass to Connor McDavid, who slid it in front to Hyman for a one-timer past Stuart Skinner.

“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of people that helped along the way,” Draisaitl said. “These accomplishments are always directed at the player, but there are so many people that play a big part in that.”

Skinner was Draisaitl’s teammate before Edmonton traded him to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry on Friday.

“Whenever anyone gets 1,000 points, you’re going to congratulate them, but I would’ve rather it not be on me,” Skinner said. “It’s a little bittersweet. I was his teammate for a long time and obviously he’s a great player and makes things happen every single night. Congratulations to him.”

After Hyman’s goal, the Oilers’ bench emptied and congratulated Draisaitl on the milestone in the corner.

Draisaitl recorded his 1,001st point 14 seconds later on a goal by McDavid. He finished the game with four assists and now has 416 goals and 587 assists in 824 games. Draisaitl and McDavid assisted on a goal for the 136th time in their career, passing Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky for fourth most by a pair of teammates in NHL history.

“He’s a special player,” McDavid said. “I can’t say enough good things. He does it every year on both sides of the rink. It’s not surprising for him to reach this accomplishment and reach it so quickly with so many great years ahead of him.”

Draisaitl, the No. 3 pick in 2014, became the 103rd player in NHL history, first German-born player and fifth in franchise history to reach 1,000 points.

Draisaitl, a four-time 50-goal scorer who helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final the previous two seasons, is the fifth fastest to reach the milestone among players born outside North America.

“Growing up in Germany, it seems like it was a long ways,” Draisaitl said. “It was surely just a dream. Just super grateful, super thankful and of course a little proud.”

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