The Philadelphia Phillies lost a heartbreaker to the Atlanta Braves on Monday night after leading 4-0 going into the sixth inning.
The Braves completed a comeback on an eighth-inning two-run homer from Austin Riley and a historic 8-5-3 double-play in the ninth. It was a kick in the teeth, there's no other way around it.
But Nick Castellanos had the right response when asked about how the Phillies would move on from the disappointment of throwing away a potential 2-0 lead going back to Philadelphia.
Nick Castellanos: We thrive after we get punched in the face
"We thrive after we get punched in the face, man," Castellanos said. "It stings and we'll take it and we'll take it and make it motivate us moving forward."
You couldn't ask for a better answer from the Phillies, who are still in a strong position in the NLDS, even after blowing their lead in Game 2.
Philadelphia has still stolen Atlanta's home-field advantage thanks to Saturday's 3-0 win in Game 1. They head back home with the chance to hold serve and win the series in four.
It was like a dream for the Phillies early in Game 4. They put four runs on the board in the first five innings while Zack Wheeler was pitching a no-hitter against the colder-than-ice Braves' lineup.
But the no-hitter was broken up in the sixth and Wheeler gave up a two-run home run in the seventh as Atlanta closed it to 4-3.
In the bottom of the eighth, Jeff Hoffman gave up the go-ahead home run to Riley. Then, in the top of the ninth, the Phillies' hopes of forcing extra innings or taking their lead back were snuffed out in the blink of an eye as Michael Harris II made a leaping catch at the wall and Riley doubled off Harper at first for a game-ending double-play.
The Phillies will have to sit with the bad taste in their mouth until Wednesday when Game 3 gets underway in Philadelphia.
