Instant observations: Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott even NLDS, save Phillies season

The Phillies just needed to break the seal.

And they did in a big way Sunday, as a pair of monster home runs and a late triple evened the NLDS at 1-1 in a come-from-behind 7-6 walk-off Phillies victory.

After blowing a two-run ninth-inning lead, the Phillies drew two walks and Nick Castellanos called game.

Castellanos was mobbed in the infield as a party erupted in Citizens Bank Park. It was his third game-altering hit of a roller coaster ride in South Philly, one that will long be remembered as the Phillies are back in business following a lifeless Game 1 loss.

The Mets were the feel-good story in baseball (or at least one of them this October), and they finally ran into a (red) brick wall in the form of the Phillies' awakened offense. Things head up I-95 to Queens with the best-of-five series all squared up. Here's a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from a storybook Game 2 win:

The Good

• Bryce Harper's baseball bat carries the weight of an entire city on it. And in the sixth inning, he uncorked an aura of bliss and relief with one swing:

The offense was in total muck and mire, but hitting can be contagious — and Nick Castellanos caught what Harper had seconds later:

New life for a game, a series, and a season after two long balls, as the Phillies and Mets were suddenly tied at 3-apiece. The momentum had discernibly shifted.

There's something unique about baseball that makes it rightly worthy of the romanticism the sport gets from its hardcore and longtime fans. Other sports like basketball or football surely have momentum changes or hugely impactful plays. But they're often anticipated, or extremely situational. Baseball can turn at the drop of a hat and it did on Sunday in South Philly.

• While on the subject of Castellanos — the Phils got another huge hit from the streaky outfielder, when a single in the eighth allowed Harper (after a walk) to go from first to third. That's when the birthday boy Bryson Stott hit a two-RBI triple to put the Phillies ahead for the first time in 16 innings:

These are the kinds of big-time plays the Phillies have made routinely over the previous two falls. Insurance came on a weakly hit J.T. Realmuto grounder that Mark Vientos was unable to come up with, scoring Stott and giving Philly a 6-4 edge.

• It was a tough call for manager Rob Thomson to push typical Game 2 starter Aaron Nola back for regular-season phenom Cristopher Sánchez, whose home-away splits made a compelling case for him to start at Citizens Bank Park– the lefty's 2.21 ERA and 7-3 record through 17 starts in South Philly this year stood as the third-best home season for a starter in the history of the ballpark.

Three innings in, with Sánchez looking like he was in cruise control, a single from Francisco Lindor and a two-run blast from the red-hot Vientos put him on the ropes quickly, and the Phillies yet again in an uncomfortable spot. 

Ultimately it turned out okay, as Phillies' All-Star had five solid innings and was interestingly lifted after 88 pitches. He received zero run support. It's really hard to make much of Thomson's choice, as he'd sign up for two runs allowed every day of the week.

Sánchez did not make his career postseason debut in his start Sunday — he actually has one under his belt from last season. The hurler tossed two and a third innings against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix last October, in what was essentially an opener role. He allowed two runs in an eventual 6-4 loss in the NLCS (that would tie that series at two games each).

• Nice to get the taste of three straight home playoff losses out of the Delaware Valley (dating back to Game 6 and 7 of the NLCS last year).

The Bad

• We'll save the lamentations about MLB's postseason format, and how the Phillies' second-best record in the majors over 162 games was almost eradicated with the "reward" of having five days off last week. But clearly the rust had some weight. The Phillies had just three hits before Harper's homer, and the bullpen, well...

• After five pretty good innings, Thomson lifted Sánchez for José Ruiz, who gave up three hits but most damagingly a home run to Pete Alonso to put the Phils further behind 3-0.

Later, after the Phillies tied it, Brandon Nimmo took another ace reliever Orion Kirkering deep, again putting the Mets up 4-3. Make that eight runs allowed by Phillies relievers so far in this series. Is it on the manager, or do the players need to perform?

The Phillies had a very striated bullpen this season, with four reliable killer relievers — Strahm, Kerkering, Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez. Three of those four couldn't hang on to shut down the Mets and if the Phillies want to claw out a series win, they can't do it without clean innings from those four arms. Strahm was the worst offender, following up his ugly Game 1 with a two-run game-tying homer to Vientos in Game 2.

• Trea Turner had a pair of stolen bases in the first inning, and Johan Rojas had one in the third — the ultra-aggressive base running was a sign of just how much the Phillies were pressing, with base runners few and far between up to that point this postseason. Stott was the Phillies' third base runner of the game in the fourth and he was caught trying to nab third. 

• Alec Bohm was on the bench to start Game 2 after an 0-for-4 Game 1. He was called on to pinch hit, and popped out on one pitch. Edmundo Sosa made an error replacing him at third. What will Thomson do at third on Tuesday?

The Ugly

• The bullpen aces giving up clutch hits and home runs to the Mets will be the story of this series if the Phillies falter in it. 

Take a look:

• They really should name it a "Philly Cheer" when fans sarcastically applaud and cheer for a player, like when Castellanos swung and missed at two atrocious pitches in a row during his fourth-inning at-bat before taking a pitch in the dirt.

The boo birds were in full swing for a lot of Sunday's game, replacing the amped-up, high-decibel roars that defined the previous two playoff runs through South Philadelphia. The Phils' flat offense and desperate approach at the plate was not pleasing to the 46,000 faithful fans in the stands. They let players know when they're playing well... and when they're not.

• During Kyle Schwarber's third-inning fly out to right — on a line drive that was very close to being a game-tying home run Rojas got some exercise. After a single, the speedy centerfielder threw caution to the wind as he rounded second base on the Schwarber fly out, put on the breaks and retreated to first after the out was recorded, and then did it again as a throwing error allowed him to take second base. He would later steal third. 

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MORE: Bryce Harper on the Phillies' postseason mentality

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