Harper bests NLCS foe in rematch before Phillies walk off

PHILADELPHIA -- The stage was set for Bedlam at the Bank 2.0.

Bryce Harper stepped into the box Tuesday night to lead off the ninth inning against Padres closer Robert Suarez -- the first meeting between the two since Harper provided one of the most iconic moments in franchise history with his decisive home run in Game 5 of the 2022 National League Championship Series.

"Another big moment, obviously, so whenever he's on the mound, I feel like you're going to think about it or go back to that moment," Harper said. "But I was just trying to get something over the plate and get that rally going."

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And that's exactly what he did.

Harper ripped a leadoff single and -- after back-to-back hits from Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott -- Nick Castellanos provided the bedlam this time around with a walk-off double in the Phillies' 4-3 victory at Citizens Bank Park.

"When we have the heart of the lineup coming up and we're only down one, we're in it, right?" Castellanos said. "Hats off to Bryce for being able to get the inning going."

Suarez had never allowed more than two hits in any of his previous 106 outings (including the postseason). Then the Phillies tagged him for four consecutive hits to start -- and end -- the ninth inning. They also scored two runs, matching Suarez's total from his previous 29 1/3 innings this season.

"He's really good," Harper said. "So to be able to kind of jump on him early like we did -- get a couple hits and we win a ballgame -- that was huge."

The Phillies wasted zero time jumping on Suarez. Harper took a ball out of the zone, then roped a single. Bohm's hit came on the first pitch. Stott took two balls, then singled. Castellanos walked it off on the first pitch.

Suarez threw seven pitches in the ninth: Four hits, three balls.

"A one-run lead?” Castellanos said. “I'm pretty sure on the other side, it doesn't feel safe in the ninth inning."

Castellanos would know better than anyone.

His game-winning ground-rule double on Tuesday night marked his Major League-leading third walk-off hit of the season. So while Castellanos entered the night with a slash line of just .209/.266/.356 -- giving him what would be a career-low .622 OPS -- he has unquestionably provided some of the biggest hits of the season.

"Considering, you know, I haven't had the best year," Castellanos said, "but to be able to come through when the team needs it, it just feels ... good."

The frantic celebration for Castellanos' latest walk-off hit featured a special visitor.

With school out for the summer, Castellanos' son, Liam, has joined him on the field for early batting practice the past couple days. Hours later, Liam helped Stott and Brandon Marsh douse his dad with water during his postgame interview on the broadcast.

The father-son pair has shared plenty of great moments together over the past couple seasons in Philadelphia, but this one ranked near the top for Castellanos.

"It's up there, man," he said. "It's up there."

But how exactly did Liam find his way into the postgame antics so quickly?

"That was all him," Marsh said. "I looked up and he was already in the dugout."

For the Phillies, it was a thrilling ending to a night that was anything but through eight innings.

Making the ninth-inning rally all the more surprising is the fact that Philadelphia had been unable to come up with the big hit all night. The Phils stranded 12 runners on base through the first eight innings. They had gone 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position to that point.

But then they went 4-for-4 in the ninth -- including 2-for-2 with runners in scoring position.

"It changes quickly, you saw that tonight," manager Rob Thomson said. "These guys never quit. They just keep going."

And the Phillies did all of that against the pitcher who entered the night with the lowest ERA in the Majors (minimum 25 innings).

"That's one of the best closers in the game. He's got great numbers,” Harper said. "We had some pretty good at-bats right there to jump on him and be able to get that win today and win the series, which is huge for us.”

Added Castellanos: “We're a really good team, and in order to beat us, you've got to put us away with all 27 outs.”