Shaky relief moments, but Matt Strahm’s ninth inning brilliance sends Phillies to NLCS

PHILADELPHIA – The four pitches to Kyle Schwarber to start Game 4 of the NLDS Thursday night – none slower than 99 mph, the last pumped in at 100.4 – should’ve only underscored the point.

Come what may, the Phillies were going to get power. With Spencer Strider on the mound, with a lineup keyed from six homers the night before, it was not going to be a nibble-around-the-plate evening.

The Phillies batters, Nick Castellanos more than any, were ready to meet power with power.

Castellanos belted a pair of home runs, Trea Turner added a solo shot and the Phillies navigated 12 bullpen outs that saw their closer used in the seventh inning and an all-time defensive play from Johan Rojas to end the eighth, than an amazing guest appearance from Matt Strahm in the ninth to forge a 3-1 postseason classic of a victory to advance to the NLCS for the second straight year.

Ranger Suarez turned in five outstanding innings, the only blemish a solo home run by Austin Riley. Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado, Craig Kimbrel, Gregory Soto and Strahm followed to pitch out of, then into, then out of trouble. It would end with the Braves getting runners to the corners with no outs, before Strahm came in to get two fast outs, then a check-swing strikeout from Vaughn Grissom to end it.

Castellanos was ready for the moment. He jumped all over a first-pitch delivery in the fourth inning from Strider, who hung a slider. It exited to left at 108.3 mph off the bat, traveling 404 feet. Like the night before, it immediately tied the game at 1 the half-inning after the Braves went ahead.

In the sixth, Castellanos fought off a 99.6 mph fastball, then one at 100.7. Strider tried to climb the ladder on him at 100 even.

Bad move. He deposited 415 feet away in the seats, making Castellanos the first player in MLB postseason history with back-to-back multi-home run games, from someone who didn’t hit a home run in 17 playoff games last fall.

Castellanos took the ending to Game 2, when his drive to deep center was flagged down by Michael Harris II for Bryce Harper to be doubled off first base. He’s packed the vengeance into this week in Philly.

“Watching when they celebrated when they doubled off Harper and seeing everyone jump around and dance on the field as I was coming off,” Castellanos said, “that was a good feeling, to get coming back and playing baseball here.”

In between came a fifth-inning solo shot from Turner, who entered 0-for-17 against Strider. He picked up three other hits against the 20-game winner en route to becoming the first Phillie with four hits in a playoff game.

“Tonight it was just more don’t miss those pitches, and I got those pitches to hit, and I didn’t miss them,” Turner said. “I don’t think I struck out off him very much in the past. It was more just kind of bad swing and a bad count or foul ball or this or that. I felt fine. It was just more of just keep doing the same thing and don’t miss those pitches. It’s the old round-ball, round-bat type deal, and I felt good.”

Suarez sailed through the first turn of the order, until Turner tossed a Harris bounder away, an error that put him in scoring position. But Suarez snagged a hot shot from Ronald Acuna Jr. to end the threat.

He got help from fielders in the fourth. Riley’s homer barely squeaked out over the 334 sign. Matt Olson followed with a single, but Suarez got Marcell Ozuna to pound into a double play to Turner with the bullpen scrambling to life.

A leadoff single by Sean Murphy in the fifth set the bullpen in motion again. But Suarez steadied. He fanned Kevin Pillar, one of only two strikeouts on the day, before fan favorite Orlando Arcia flied to center and Harris grounded out to second.

With Suarez’s mastery, the Phillies starters in the postseason have compiled a 1.53 ERA in six starts. They’ve walked just four batters.

“There was really no plan for Ranger,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We were just going to go watch what was happening and see where we were at in the lineup. And once we got to the third time through at the top of the lineup – and he pitched great, and he had tons of pitches left – but we just decided to go to Seranthony and go from there.

“I thought Ranger was fantastic. I really did, but there was no real set plan.”

The smooth sailing would be short lived. Dominguez got two quick outs in the sixth, but when Riley singled, Alvarado was summoned to get Olson to fly to center.

Alvarado got the first two of the seventh, but his command deserted him. In came Kimbrel to face pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud, whom he walked to load the bases. With Acuna up, Kimbrel uncorked a wild pitch on which Pillar froze at third and could’ve scored, the runner behind nearly running up his back.

The reprieve seemed short-lived when Acuna launched a ball toward the cutout in center and the 45,381 in attendance held their collective breath. But as Marsh and Rojas looked at each other, Rojas leapt just short of the corner between the Giant and State Farm signs to haul in an iconic catch.

Kimbrel got three outs, with Soto summoned to retire Olson to end the eighth. And as if it needed more drama, Olson ran through Bryce Harper’s surgically repaired right elbow at first, a scary moment where the trainers rushed out, but Harper returned for the ninth. (Said Thompson: “He went downstairs with our training staff, and they came up and said he’s fine. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but I don’t think there’s any concern about structural damage or anything like that.”)

Soto walked Ozuna and allowed Murphy to single to start the ninth. In came Strahm, who got two quick pop outs on three pitches. Then he went to work on pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom, as Brian Snitker used his whole roster. Grissom would check swing at a ball in the dirt, and first-base ump Chris Guccione would punch him out on request.

That came from the home plate umpire and nearly 46,000 people inside the stadium.