Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos has already stolen home on a passed ball, slid into home plate and flexed over the opposing pitcher. He has already hit a go-ahead home run, shouted “Let’s go” at the Reds dugout and pumped his fist as he rounded the bases. He was already getting regular “MVP chants.”
In Monday’s 12-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, Castellanos was the hero. Again.
Castellanos hit a go-ahead grand slam to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning, turning a two-run deficit into a two-run lead.
This week, Castellanos was named a finalist for a spot as a starter in the All-Star Game. With his grand slam, Castellanos gave another reason why he’s one of the best hitters in MLB this season.
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In the seventh inning, the Reds trailed 4-2 with one out. Phillies reliever Bailey Falter had only allowed one hit in four scoreless innings, and Reds manager David Bell brought rookie Alejo Lopez off the bench to pinch-hit.
Before the game, Lopez had never been in Great American Ball Park, let alone recorded a hit in an MLB game.
On the first pitch he saw, Lopez singled into center field to ignite the rally. When Lopez scored on Castellanos' grand slam, first baseman Joey Votto patted Lopez on the shoulder and Castellanos pounded him on the chest.
Reds center fielder Aristides Aquino walked, and left fielder Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Castellanos is a career .333 hitter in those situations, and he delivered again.
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Castellanos hit a 412-foot homer to left field for the Reds first grand slam of the season.
Just four days ago, Castellanos hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to lead the Reds to a two-run win over the Atlanta Braves. After he hit that home run, Castellanos said he made a comment in the dugout about needing to hit better with runners on base.
In Monday’s win over the Phillies, Castellanos had as good of a result as you can get in that situation. He wasn’t done yet: Castellanos hit an RBI double in the eighth as the Reds took a 12-4 lead. Castellanos finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a career-high seven RBI.
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After last season, when Castellanos had a career-low .225 batting average, he said he didn’t have an opportunity to connect with the Reds fan base. In just three months, Castellanos got a two-story banner on the side of Great American Ball Park, became one of MLB’s leading vote-getters for the All-Star Game and earned routine “MVP” chants from the Reds fan base.
He also took back the MLB lead in batting average with his .347 mark and scored twice.
After Castellanos gave the Reds the lead in the seventh, Cincinnati scored six more runs and clinched a win that brought the team a game over .500.
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