ATLANTA - Talk about taking advantage of an overturned call.
Nick Castellanos hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth after an inning-ending double play was reversed, sending the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon.
"That's an example that all the little things are just as important as the big things," Castellanos said.
After getting blown out 13-1 in Tuesday night's opener of the two-game series between National League East Division rivals, the Phillies seemed to be down to their final three outs when J.T. Realmuto grounded into what was ruled a double play with the Braves nursing a 1-0 lead.
The Phillies challenged the call, though, and the replay showed Realmuto - hustling all the way down the line - getting a foot to the bag just ahead of the relay throw while Rhys Hoskins trotted home from third.
With the game then tied at 1, Atlanta reliever Collin McHugh (2-2) fell behind 2-0 in the count before grooving one to Castellanos, who launched a 420-foot drive over the wall in center field for his ninth homer of the season.
"J.T. running down the line like that gave me an opportunity to get a hit like that," Castellanos said.
Zack Wheeler (10-5) was the winning pitcher over his hometown team with five-hit ball over seven innings, snapping Atlanta's four-game winning streak. His only big mistake came in the fifth, when he served up a homer to Orlando Arcia.
"It was one of those games where you just keep grinding away and hope the hitters come around," Wheeler said. "I have faith in those guys."
Phillies newcomer David Robertson, acquired in a series of deals ahead of MLB's Tuesday trade deadline, worked a scoreless ninth for his first Philadelphia save after locking down 14 wins for the Chicago Cubs.
The Braves wasted 6 2/3 scoreless innings by Charlie Morton, who turned in another strong performance by Atlanta's rotation.
"We're going against a tough guy over on their side," Morton said. "Zack threw the ball really well. Going into a game like that, you need to limit them as much as possible."
Over the past five games, Atlanta's starting pitchers have surrendered just 16 hits and three runs in 33 innings, recording seven walks and 40 strikeouts.
The bullpen let this one get away, but the reigning World Series champions are still leading the NL wild-card race and have their sights set higher as they hit the road for a five-game series against the first-place New York Mets. Second-place Atlanta began the day 2 1/2 games back in the NL East, where the Braves are the four-time reigning champs.
The third-place Phillies entered the day 10 games behind the Mets but are also in the playoff mix. Before the win, Philadelphia was tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL's final wild card. The Phillies headed home to start a four-game series against the last-place Washington Nationals on Thursday.
As for Philadelphia's bullpen, although Robertson got the save in his first appearance since the trade, interim manager Rob Thomson stressed the former Cub is not the full-time closer. The team has used a committee approach since Corey Knebel was stripped of the job in mid-June, and Thomson said that will continue.
"Everyone will get a feel for pitching in different innings," Thomson explained, "which is good because you're not going to have everyone available every night."
Robertson said he's fine with the arrangement, though he acknowledged "it is a little different" than his role in Chicago.
"I'll just have to adjust," he said, "like I've done over the years."
Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud was set to start, but a stomach illness forced a change of plans as backup William Contreras got the nod again after playing Tuesday night.
In Thursday's series opener against the Mets, right-hander Kyle Wright (13-4, 2.93 ERA) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Atlanta and newcomer Jake Odorizzi - a 32-year-old right-hander acquired in a flurry of trades ahead of the deadline - is scheduled to make his Braves debut with a start in Saturday's doubleheader.
Another deadline addition, right-hander Raisel Iglesias, will join the bullpen in New York. Right-hander Jay Jackson was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill the open spot on the pitching staff Wednesday.