The San Diego Padres won the fourth game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, splitting the four-game series. Fernando Tatis Jr. still couldn’t score a homer, but his bat did. Credit to the Padres’ newest inductee, Nick Castellanos, Tatis’ bat scored a game-tying home run in the ninth.

Castellanos broke his bat during his at-bats and borrowed Tatis’s. After the game, Castellanos was asked about hitting a home run with Tatis’ bat, and his response was blunt.

“That’s rude. Are you going to let him hear the end of it that you hit a home run with his bat before he did?”

While there’s no doubt that Castellanos’ comment was in good humor, indeed, Tatis has yet to hit a homer in the 40 games played by the Padres so far. Although he is hitting .243 and scored 15 RBIs, no ball went over the fence in 2026.

The Padres’ $340 million slugger has hit 20 or more homers in each of the last four seasons. In 2020, Tatis hit 17 HRs from 59 games, and now here we are again in 2026.

While Tatis is struggling at the plate, for Castellanos, that doesn’t mean the former can be called out.

On Sunday, Castellanos entered the plate in the ninth with the Padres trailing 0-2. The perfect situation for him to make it big, and he delivered his biggest moment with the Padres.

A game-tying two-run homer off Riley O’Brien. It took the game to the late innings where Manny Machado’s walk-off sacrifice fly added another run, and the Padres won 3-2.

Sunday marks Castellanos’ second homer this year.

He is hitting just .192 with a .231 on-base percentage, but does have 13 RBIs this year. Still a long way to go, and he knows it’s just about time that Tatis would send a pitch over the fence. A homer off Tatis’ wood could also instill some confidence in the slugger next time he comes to the plate.

While Nick Castellanos has yet to get back to his prime with the Padres, he is working in a new role here in San Diego.

For the Phillies, fans have seen him starting the lineup. The Padres are using him as a utility hitter. They need Casty to come off the bench and offer quality at-bats late in games. More than his sub-.200 average, it’s the clutch moment like the one on Sunday that matters for the Padres.

Nick Castellanos’ re-birth is what the Phillies missed, again

Last year, Castellanos was up in the Phillies’ lineup and ended the season with 17 HRs at .250. Still, the Phillies thought of giving up on him.

Strained relationship with the organization, declining performance, and a high-profile incident in June 2025, where he brought a beer into the dugout after being removed from a game, all contributed to his split with Philadelphia.

However, what the Phillies couldn’t do with Casty, the Padres did. They experimented with him, and it succeeded. And it just added to the long list of names who left the Phillies for good.

Take Bobby Abreu as an example.

He was an underrated outfielder during his time in Philadelphia (1998–2006). Abreu maintained elite offensive production and became an All-Star with the New York Yankees after being traded in 2006.

Then, after becoming a star in Philadelphia, Curt Schilling was traded in 2000 and went on to win World Series titles with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox, cementing a Hall of Fame-caliber resume.

The worst part was that Nick Castellanos had an issue with the Phillies’ then-manager, Rob Thomson. And just a few weeks ago, the Phillies fired Thomson.

The Philadelphia Phillies are struggling with a 19-22 record, and Nick Castellanos’ clutch performances in San Diego offer another reality check for them.