All Eyes on Philadelphia Phillies Star Slugger After Pope Francis Passes Away

Will Philadelphia Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos continue his crazy home run trend?

Apr 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) hits a grand slam during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers home run at Citizens Bank Park. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The world got some tragic news on Monday morning that Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away from a stroke and heart failure the day after Easter. He was 88.

With the world in mourning, many will turn to sports as an escape.

And with the Philadelphia Phillies playing the New York Mets on Monday night, many baseball fans will have an eye on Citi Field to see if Nick Castellanos continues his crazy home run trend.

The All-Star slugger has a history of hitting home runs on the same day as major news events take place, including the day Osama Bin Laden was killed, the day I-95 collapsed in Philadelphia and the day of Donald Trump's assassination attempt.

Now, many fans are curious to see if he will do it again.

Many sports bettors also have money on it.

According to multiple betting sites, Castellanos is the most wagered-on player to hit a homer on April 21 in terms of both total bets and total handle, ahead of even New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Castellanos is off to a good start this season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him go deep. Through 22 games, the 33-year-old outfielder is batting .304/.364/.494 (137 OPS+) with three homers, six doubles and 14 RBI.

He's also performed well against the Mets in the past, especially at Citi Field.

In 53 career games against New York, he's batted .292/.329/.482 with nine homers, nine doubles and 29 RBI.

At Citi Field specifically, he's a career .289/.309/.452 hitter with four homers, five doubles and 15 RBI in 26 games.

Castellanos has three hits in nine career at-bats against Mets starter Tylor Megill, but he doesn't have a homer. His last long ball came exactly a week ago on Monday, April 14, against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park.

The two-time All-Star has stayed hot since then, batting .286/.360/.333 with three RBI over his last six games. However, it's worth noting that all three of his home runs have come at home this year.

That said, Citi Field is homer-friendly for right-handed batters.

Over the last three years, it's increased homers for right-handed batters by 12% compared to other MLB stadiums, according to Statcast's park factors. It ranks as the seventh-friendliest home run park for righty sluggers, tied with the Minnesota Twins' Target Field.

Hitting a deep shot is never easy, especially on the road in April when the weather is colder (Monday night's forecast is 55 degrees in Queens).

In Castellanos' case, however, the odds may be in his favor.

Recommended Articles

feed