PHILADELPHIA -- Let¡¯s start with this: Nick Castellanos unconditionally loves his Phillies teammates.

So, no, Castellanos was not giving his friends the one-bird salute after he dropped a double down the right-field line in the fourth inning of Tuesday night¡¯s 4-1 victory over Miami in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series at Citizens Bank Park. He slid into second base, stood up and flashed a single digit toward the Phillies¡¯ dugout.

But it wasn¡¯t that finger.

It was his ring finger.

¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know,¡± Castellanos said, trying to explain his thought process. ¡°I just found myself doing it. After, I was like, 'Damn, did I really just do that?' It just came out.¡±

So, Castellanos flipped up his ring finger because he wanted to symbolize something?

¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why we¡¯re playing this month,¡± he said, referring to a World Series championship ring.

It wasn¡¯t just fans watching on TV and fans in the stands who were startled and confused at the initial sight.

Castellanos¡¯ teammates were surprised, too.

¡°Someone goes, ¡®Did he flip us off?¡¯¡± Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber said. ¡°And we¡¯re like, ¡®What?!¡¯ I went back and watched the video and I counted the fingers, and I was like, ¡®OK it was his ring finger.¡¯ But yeah, we were all like, ¡®What is that?¡¯¡±