Nick Castellanos’ son, Liam, had plenty to celebrate the past two nights, and he quickly became part of the TBS broadcast’s camera package for his father’s home runs in Game 4.
When Castellanos hit his third and fourth homers of the Phillies’ series against the Braves on Thursday night, becoming the first player in MLB history with multiple homers in consecutive postseason games, TBS cameras cut to Liam — stationed in the first row of the Citizens Bank Park stands, near the home dugout — as he shrugged his shoulders, opened his arms and wore a shocked look as his father rounded the bases in the sixth inning.
Castellanos crushed a pitch from Spencer Strider 415 feet over the left-field fence, pairing with his 404-foot homer in the fourth inning — as well as a solo homer from Trea Turner — to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead, which held as the winning score.
And on Wednesday night, when the Phillies tied a postseason record by crushing six homers, the camera showed Liam with both hands on his face, too.
Castellanos had another viral moment earlier in the postseason when he flashed his ring finger toward the Phillies’ dugout after hitting a double — which, briefly, was confused for his middle finger during Game 1 of their wild-card series victory against the Marlins.
The outfielder, who hit 29 homers and compiled 106 RBIs during his second season with the Phillies, later clarified that he flashed the ring finger to send the message that he wanted to win a World Series ring this season after falling short in 2022.
“Of course, it was the ring finger, man,” Castellanos said after the game, according to NBC. “Why would I give the middle finger to my teammates? I love them.”
Castellanos had just two hits in the Phillies’ first three postseason games, but he has since recorded multiple hits — with four of those homers — across Games 2, 3 and 4 against the Braves.
He recorded a third hit in the eighth inning of Game 4, singling to left field.
The Phillies combined five innings from starting pitcher Ranger Suarez with four innings of relief from their bullpen to advance to the NLCS for a second consecutive season, though they also got an injury scare in the eighth inning when Atlanta’s Matt Olson clipped his elbow — the same one where Harper underwent Tommy John surgery in the offseason — while running through first base.
He went down the tunnel and toward the clubhouse in the bottom of the frame, but Harper later returned to the dugout and stayed in the game to play first base in the ninth inning.
Braves third baseman Austin Riley homered in the fourth inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead, but then Castellanos responded with his first blast of the night in the bottom of the frame to tie the game.
The Phillies will next host the Diamondbacks in the NLCS on Monday.