A game-saving catch ... by Nick Castellanos?! Inside the Phillies' latest miracle

HOUSTON -- The Philadelphia Phillies came to Minute Maid Park for Game 1 of a World Series they weren't expected to make, recovered themselves successful a five-run spread against the champion pitcher successful the American League this year, erased the shortage with singles and doubles truthful overseas successful this location run-happy postseason, astir mislaid the crippled successful the ninth inning until a feline regarded by antiaircraft metrics arsenic the game's azygous worst fielder implicit the past decennary made an unthinkable sliding catch, went up with the archetypal extra-innings location tally by a catcher successful a World Series crippled since Carlton Fisk waved the shot just successful 1975 and finished with a 37-year-old registering a prevention shaky capable to instrumentality a seismograph.

"Pretty mean for us," Phillies 3rd baseman Alec Bohm said pursuing an different anything-but-ordinary win, this 1 a rollicking, come-from-behind 6-5 triumph that handed the Houston Astros their archetypal nonaccomplishment of the postseason, flipped home-field vantage to Philadelphia and continued an October of the inconceivable.

At the opening of the month, the Phillies were an afterthought, the worst of the 12 playoff teams this play by record, cannon fodder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Until the Phillies weren't. Up adjacent were the Atlanta Braves, who finished 14 games up of Philadelphia successful the National League East division. The Phillies throttled them. By the clip the NLCS rolled around, the Phillies were that uncommon benignant of dangerous: talented and with thing to lose. And erstwhile they vanquished the Padres there, they acceptable their eyes connected Houston, a seemingly impermeable baseball-playing instrumentality that was rolling on until they got Phillied.

Once the Phillies recovered from the daze of Aaron Nola getting tagged for 5 runs successful the archetypal 3 innings, they chipped distant against Houston ace Justin Verlander to necktie it. For the 2nd clip this month, Nick Castellanos made a diving drawback that looked perfectly thing similar Nick Castellanos, this 1 to prevention Jeremy Pena from driving successful Jose Altuve, which would person ended the crippled successful the bottommost of the ninth. J.T. Realmuto, who'd worn a foul extremity hard disconnected his catcher's disguise earlier, poked a location tally conscionable implicit the right-field obstruction to unknot the game. And David Robertson, who hardly pitched implicit the erstwhile 3 seasons, stranded a brace of runners successful scoring position. Once again, the Phillies reminded america each that intolerable is simply a conception they garbage to adjacent acknowledge.

"You tin beryllium determination saying, 'Oh, Justin Verlander's connected the mound. No mode we travel backmost now,'" Bohm said. "'Oh, their bullpen doesn't springiness up immoderate runs. Yup, 5-0. Let's spell quit, get connected the bus, travel back, commencement implicit tomorrow.'

"Well, you mightiness arsenic good deliberation you're going to travel backmost and win. 'Cause what if you do?"

It has been an October of what-if-you-dos for the Phillies.

What if you're down 2-0 and facing Ryan Helsley, St. Louis' untouchable closer, successful the archetypal crippled of the postseason? You enactment up six runs successful the ninth and win.

What if a squad decides to intentionally locomotion a feline who's 0-for-18 successful the postseason up of you? Hit a location run, similar Rhys Hoskins did successful Game 3 of the part bid against Atlanta, and spike the bat to rile up the jawn adjacent more.

What if you're outmatched connected a pitch? Be similar Jean Segura, who twice successful this postseason has moved his assemblage similar a contortionist and wielded his bat with artistry -- up oregon down oregon wrong oregon outside, due to the fact that this is the postseason, and arsenic agelong arsenic the Phillies win, it doesn't request to beryllium pretty.

What if you're down 4-0 successful the archetypal inning of an NLCS game? Tie it that inning, similar the Phillies did successful Game 4, and past triumph the game, due to the fact that wherefore wouldn't you? This benignant of happening starts to consciousness similar thing special, truthful erstwhile Bryce Harper hits the location tally of his beingness successful Game 5, a go-ahead occupation that turns Citizens Bank Park upside down, it's conscionable a reminder: it is.

"What a team, man," Nola said. "I mean, things you don't expect happen, right? Defense, offense, pitching. Everything."

It was everything successful Game 1. The Phillies arrived successful Houston this week astir 2-to-1 underdogs. The coronation of the 106-win Astros, astir 20 games amended than the Phillies during the season, would statesman successful beforehand of astir 43,000 astatine Minute Maid who screamed astatine Kyle Tucker's archetypal location tally that staked Houston a pb and went hoarse for the 2nd an inning aboriginal that made it 5-0.

Verlander's meltdown came successful 2 phases. The first, with 2 outs successful the 4th inning, saw a Hoskins single, Harper single, Castellanos azygous and Bohm treble sheet 3 runs. An inning later, arsenic Brandon Marsh doubled and Kyle Schwarber walked to statesman the fifth, not a caller limb stirred successful the Astros' bullpen, with manager Dusty Baker trusting his ace. Verlander frittered distant the content erstwhile Realmuto plated Marsh and Schwarber connected a treble to right-center tract that preceded what coiled up arsenic the game-winning homer.

What the Phillies are doing makes nary consciousness and each the consciousness successful the world. They've been a middling, disappointing squad for the entirety of the Harper epoch, which dates backmost 3 years, but this is baseball, the athletics successful which mediocrity tin alteration into excellence overnight.

The champion squad doesn't ever win, and not adjacent the Phillies themselves would suggest they're needfully amended than the Astros implicit a afloat season. But 7 games -- wherefore not? After different roadworthy triumph to footwear disconnected a playoff bid (four Game 1s distant from Citizens Bank, 4 Game 1 victories)? And with Zack Wheeler connected the mound Saturday for Game 2? With 3 games astatine Citizens Bank and the obscene summons prices and chaotic crowds that volition travel them?

Here's the concealed they happily outcry to the rafters: They tin beryllium amended than the Astros now -- and they're getting much and much convinced that they are.

"You conscionable support playing, due to the fact that nary substance what the ending is, what the people is," Bohm said, "anything tin happen."

Over the people of a month, thing nascent has grown into an all-consuming individuality for this merry set of clowns who conscionable truthful happened to fig retired however to triumph shot games astatine precisely the close time. And if that sounds truthful trite, truthful cliché, truthful positively Philadelphia, truthful precise sports -- possibly it is.

Or possibly this volition beryllium the extremity of the Phillies' magical run, wherever the Astros crook connected their full Death Star vibe and harsh Philadelphia's buzz. Hopefully it's thing antithetic from either of those polar ends. If it's thing that tin beryllium repeated -- Game 1's tension, its high-quality play, each of the things we question successful October -- it volition marque for a World Series that's going to beryllium a batch better, and a batch closer, than anyone extracurricular of Philadelphia believed.