Phillies' bid for London sweep ends by inches

LONDON -- Nick Castellanos’ bat splintered into three pieces on the final pitch of the Phillies’ trip to London.

The Phillies had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Mets, which gave them a split of the London Series at London Stadium. They had the tying run on third and the winning run on second.

Castellanos missed a first-pitch cutter over the heart of the plate, fouling the pitch back, before falling into an 0-2 hole. Three pitches later, he swung at an 0-2 breaking ball that rolled up the first-base line, just a few feet from home plate. It was close enough for Mets catcher Luis Torrens to retrieve it, turn around, step on home plate and fire a throw to Mets first baseman Pete Alonso for a game-ending double play. It was the first time since at least 1912 that a game ended on a 2-3 ground-ball double play, although it was the eighth time in that span that a game ended on ground-ball double play fielded by a catcher.

Just a few feet farther up the line and maybe Torrens can’t turn around and touch home plate.

Maybe the game continues.

“I did think about kicking it,” Castellanos said. “I think that if I did, I think I’m just called out and everything stays the same. So in hindsight, I think I should have kicked it.”

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Baseball rule 6.01(a)(7) states that “if, in the judgment of the umpire, a batter-runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball, with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead; the umpire shall call the batter-runner out for interference and shall call out the runner who had advanced closest to the home plate.”

Kick it or not, the slow roller in front of the plate was a frustrating way to end a game the Phillies led by a run entering the top of the ninth. They actually carried a 3-0 lead into the sixth. Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker had runners on first and second with two outs in the sixth when Phillies manager Rob Thomson brought left-hander Gregory Soto into the game.

Thomson chose Soto over lefty Matt Strahm because Soto had some success in the past against Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez, and Thomson wanted Strahm to pitch a full inning later in the game.

But Soto allowed an RBI double to Nimmo and a two-run single to Martinez to tie the game at 3-3.

“It didn’t work out today,” Thomson said.

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David Dahl hit a pinch-hit go-ahead home run in the seventh inning to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. A week ago, Dahl was playing for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He got called up on Monday following an injury to outfielder Brandon Marsh. He singled, homered and scored twice that night in a big win over Milwaukee. He doubled the next night.

The whole thing has been a blur.

“Stuff can happen quickly,” Dahl said. “If you would’ve asked me a week ago if I’d be here, I would have probably laughed at you.”

But Phillies lefty José Alvarado struggled with his command in the ninth. He allowed two hits, two walks and hit a batter. Alvarado’s cutter moved so much that J.T. Realmuto couldn’t catch one for a passed ball, allowing the third run of the inning to score and giving the Mets a two-run lead.

Soto’s and Alvarado’s struggles might have been a product of rust. Soto hadn’t pitched since June 2 against St. Louis. Alvarado hadn’t pitched since Wednesday against Milwaukee.

“I felt fine today,” Alvarado said. “We don’t have to think about that stuff. It wasn’t my day today.”

The Phillies felt they should have left London with a sweep. Instead, they split. But it did not seem to spoil the overall experience of the London Series for almost everybody involved. Players generally loved it. They loved the atmosphere at London Stadium. They loved the crowd and their time spent as tourists.

“I’d do it every year if we could,” Thomson said.

The Phillies packed up their bags on Sunday and boarded a flight to Boston. They will have Monday off to rest and recover from the time change before opening a three-game series Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

“It was a great experience, being able to come over to Europe and play two baseball games,” Castellanos said. “Ideally, you want to win them both. We came away with a split. Now it’s go back and get ready for the Red Sox.”