Castellanos Snaps Out Of Power Drought For Phillies

Nick Castellanos barrels Phillies back from slump with two home runs against the Colorado Rockies.

The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t sign Nick Castellanos to hit doubles.

They signed him to hit the baseball out of the ballpark.

After a maddening drought, Castellanos popped not only one but two homers in the Phillies’ 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.

It was the 10th multi-homer game of his career and his first with the Phillies.

Castellanos’ first solo shot also snapped a 48-game homer drought -- including the postseason -- by far the longest of his career.

"Yeah, it felt good," Castellanos said. "Of course, especially to give us that lead on the second one."

Castellanos hit only 13 home runs with the Phillies last season after inking a lucrative five-year, $100 million deal. He looked uncomfortable at the plate for much of the regular season and the playoffs and even engaged in a verbal spat with a longtime beat writer.

In 2023, Castellanos has been hitting doubles – he leads Major League Baseball with 10 – but he hadn’t been able to hit the ball over the fence.

Until Saturday.

“I would wipe last year from the books as far as I'm concerned," manager Rob Thomson said. "Just start over."

Castellanos hit a career-high 34 home runs with the Cincinnati Reds in 2021.

While the power numbers have been different in Philadelphia, Castellanos remains positive.

“I learned so many lessons about myself last year," Castellanos said. "Everything that I learned last year could be just as valuable as the '21 season I had -- maybe not statistically, but every lesson is valuable in some way."

Even though playing in Philadelphia isn’t easy, Castellanos has embraced the situation.

Actually, he’s enjoying it.

“I just want to do my job, man. I really have grown fond of everybody in this clubhouse, the organization in general," Castellanos said. "So anything that I can do on either side of the ball, even conversations that have nothing to do with baseball, to give positive energy to the Phillies and to get as many wins as possible -- whatever it may be, I'm down for.”

With Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins sidelined with injuries, the Phillies need production from Castellanos. Especially power numbers. Saturday was an encouraging start.

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