Nick Castellanos by no means has to wonder if he has the total help of his supervisor.
Philadelphia Phillies skipper Rob Thomson has penciled Castellanos into the lineup each sport this season, and that definitely would be the case once more Wednesday when the Phillies go for a three-game sweep of the visiting Houston Astros.
Castellanos had a .521 OPS by means of the tip of April and struggled to seek out his groove for a lot of Might, as nicely. Nevertheless, he started to warmth up over the summer season and continues to be swinging a great bat as August winds to a detailed.
The veteran proper fielder has hit safely in 5 straight video games and 13 of his previous 15 contests. He delivered a clutch three-run homer in opposition to Justin Verlander to spark Philadelphia to a 5-0 victory on Tuesday.
“I do not actually have an method,” Castellanos mentioned after hitting his 18th house run of the season. “I search for the baseball and hit it as laborious as I can.”
The 2-time All-Star recalled how Thomson informed him on Opening Day that he wished Castellanos to play in all 162 video games. He practically made it there final season, ending at 157 video games to match his profession excessive.
“From a training standpoint, belief is the most important factor you may have in your gamers,” Castellanos mentioned, including, “If you happen to do not feel like a supervisor has your again, that is fairly uninspiring to lace up your cleats for him.”
“I am completely happy for him that he is had this turnaround,” Thomson mentioned of Castellanos, whose third-inning blast helped Philadelphia put up its fourth straight victory.
Aaron Nola pitched seven scoreless innings for the Phillies, who would like to get an analogous effort out of Taijuan Walker (3-5, 6.26 ERA) on Wednesday. The struggling right-hander gave up six runs in three innings in opposition to the Kansas Metropolis Royals on Friday and could also be operating out of probabilities to show he belongs within the rotation.
“It simply hasn’t been good recently,” Walker mentioned after his newest outing. “You wish to assist the crew as a lot as attainable. … It could be good for myself to have the ability to choose the crew up. I simply have not actually finished that, so it is irritating.”
Houston will counter with Spencer Arrighetti (6-11, 4.94 ERA), who has a 2.55 ERA in 4 begins this month. The 24-year-old rookie held the Baltimore Orioles scoreless over six innings on Thursday to outduel All-Star Corbin Burnes.
“I am a aggressive individual. I am at all times attempting to outdo the opposite man,” Arrighetti mentioned.
The younger right-hander definitely might use some offensive help from Yainer Diaz, who’s 1-for-9 with 5 strikeouts within the sequence, in addition to Jeremy Pena, who’s 0-for-8.
The Astros have misplaced six of their previous eight video games and wish to keep away from being swept for the primary time since they dropped three straight in opposition to the host Chicago Cubs from April 23-25.
“Generally in these stretches, one pitch would not go your manner, one ball would not go your manner, one no matter — it is the distinction between profitable and dropping,” Verlander mentioned. “Towards powerful opponents, I really feel like we have performed fairly rattling nicely. Simply the wins have not proven up.”
–Discipline Stage Media
