Game Notes, 10/6/2024 – LDS Day 2

On October 10, 1981, pinch-hitter George Vukovich stepped into the box to face Montreal’s Jeff Reardon.  It was the start of the bottom of the 10th, the Expos and Phillies were knotted at five, and Philadelphia was trying to force a decisive Game 5.  A pitch, a swing … and indeed, Game 5 was a reality.  Vukovich’s walk-off was the third game-ending hit of that year’s NLDS, a taut and rousing give-and-take collection of contests that set a high bar for any succeeding Division Series round.  The pinch-hitter’s exclamation point in that Game 4 also – until Monday evening – had stood as the only time the Phillies exulted in a walk-off hit to conclude an NLDS affair.

Nick Castellanos struck a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Phillies a 7-6 win over the Mets.  The victory evened the best-of-five NLDS at one win apiece.

~Castellanos’ game-ending knock stands as the fifth in Phillies’ postseason history and the second to come with two outs.  Some details on all five:

~This walk-off win for Philadelphia gives the NLDS 19 instances of a game concluding on a hit.  Before Castellanos’ heroics, the last example came from Mike Moustakas’ bat in 2018, when he delivered a game-ending single in the bottom of the 10th for a 3-2 Brewers’ win over the Rockies.  The first Division Series games were played in 1981 (due to the split season) and then resumed full-time in 1995.  

Walk-Off Hits By Series, 1981, 1995-2024

~During the 2024 regular season, Castellanos led the Majors with four walk-off hits – the most for the club in a season since Jean Segura had four in 2021.   Since his first full season in 2014, Castellanos has seven game-ending hits, tied for 11th most in the Majors since then.  Over this stretch, Starling Marte’s 12 leads the big leagues.

~Before his game-ending single, Castellanos contributed a game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning.  He is the first Phillies player to be able to claim multiple tying or go-ahead hits from the sixth inning on in the same postseason contest.

Mets’ third baseman Mark Vientos blasted a pair of homers in the loss, including a one-out, game-tying two-run shot in the ninth inning.

~Vientos is the seventh Met to produce a multi-homer game in the postseason, and the first to do this since Michael Conforto in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series.  At 24 years and 300 days old, Vientos is the second youngest Met on the list, behind Conforto.  Rusty Staub (1973 NLCS), Gary Carter (1986 WS), Edgardo Alfonzo (1999 NLDS), Carlos Delgado (2006 NLCS) and Carlos Beltrán (2006 NLCS) also produced multi-homer games for New York.

~Vientos is the second Met this postseason to produce a game-tying or go-ahead HR in the ninth inning or later, following Pete Alonso’s three-run shot in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the NLWC against the Brewers.  Before the drama of this postseason, the Mets had produced four round-trippers of this kind:

1986 NLCS G3:  Lenny Dykstra hits a two-run homer in the ninth to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 walk-off win.

1999 NLDS G1:  Edgardo Alfonzo hits a grand slam in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie.

1999 NLDS G4:  Todd Pratt hits a game-ending solo homer to break a 3-3 tie in the 10th inning.

2000 NLDS G3:  Benny Agbayani hits a game-ending solo homer to break a 2-2 tie in the 13th inning.

Fernando Tatis, Jr.’s two home runs led a Padres attack that collected six blasts altogether in a 10-2 victory over the Dodgers.  The power display helped San Diego even the series against Los Angeles, one win apiece.

~Tatis, Jr. has played in 10 postseason games and has produced a pair of multi-homer efforts (his first came in 2020).   He’s the first player in franchise history to have multiple multi-homer games in the postseason.  Still just 25 years old, Tatis, Jr. is the youngest player in postseason history to have more than one multi-homer game in the playoffs.  

~Tatis’ five career postseason home runs ties him with Ken Caminiti for the second most in Padres’ history, behind Manny Machado’s seven.  

~San Diego’s six homers in the contest established a new franchise high mark for the postseason and tied the record for most by any team in an NLDS.  Before this barrage, San Diego’s most came in Game 2 of the 2020 NLWC round, when they clubbed five in an 11-9 win over the Cardinals.  The 2015 Cubs (Game 3) and 2023 Phillies (Game 3) also went yard six times in an NLDS contest.

Jackson Merrill added three hits (including a home run) and three RBI in the Padres’ victory.  At 21 years and 170 days old, Merrill is the sixth youngest player to author a postseason line featuring at least three hits and three RBI.  He trails (in ascending age) Andruw Jones (1996 WS, G1), Miguel Cabrera (2003 NLDS, G4), Joe Garagiola (1946 WS, G4), Juan Soto (2019 WS, G1) and Carlos Correa (2015 ALDS, G4).  

Yu Darvish limited the Dodgers to a run on three hits in seven innings of work.  Since Los Angeles made the postseason a yearly habit (2013), the club has played in 47 NLDS contests.  Within this sample size, Darvish’s Game Score in this 2024 effort comes out as the eighth best against the Dodgers.

Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.