PHILADELPHIA — For the first five innings on Sunday, every slider that Phillies hitters chased low and away felt like another nail in their coffin.

For his first two at-bats against the New York Mets, Nick Castellanos had been one of their worst offenders — so much so, that holding off on a ball earned him sarcastic cheers from the Citizens Bank Park crowd.

But in the ninth inning, after Castellanos laced a walk-off RBI single to left field, none of the cheers were sarcastic. The right fielder’s hit — his third of the game — secured a 7-6 win for the Phillies, sending them to New York with a split in the National League Division Series.

NLDS: Phillies vs. Mets

Game 1: Mets 6, Phillies 2

Game 2: Phillies 7, Mets 6

Game 3: 5:08 p.m. Tuesday at Mets

Game 4: 5:08 p.m. Wednesday at Mets

*Game 5: 4:08 p.m. Friday at Phillies

The Mets had put solid at-bats on Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, fouling off pitches and working counts. Mark Vientos got to him in the third inning with a two-run homer on a changeup left over the middle of the plate. With his pitch count up to 88, Sánchez was lifted for José Ruiz after five innings. Ruiz allowed three hits, including a solo home run, to put the Phillies down 3-0.

But whatever number the Mets put up didn’t matter if the Phillies offense stayed stagnant. They had three singles through the first five innings, and it seemed like the sixth was about to go the same way.

With two outs, Trea Turner chased two straight sweepers outside the zone from Mets starter Luis Severino. But Turner got just enough of each pitch to stay alive, and managed to win the battle with a single to left field that brought Harper to the plate.

And who better to bring the life back into the stadium? Harper had already made three diving stops over at first base to help keep the game close. He worked a 2-2 count, before Severino put a four-seam right down the heart of the plate. Harper made him pay dearly with a two-run homer that sent the place into a frenzy. Castellanos didn’t waste any time tying the game at 3, crushing a sweeper up in the zone to go back-to-back with Harper.

Orion Kerkering gave up a solo home run to Brandon Nimmo in the seventh that gave the Mets back the lead, but the Phillies put up another big inning in the eighth, and the rally was kicked off by a walk to Harper and a Castellanos single. A triple from Bryson Stott and a fielder’s choice from J.T. Realmuto cashed in three runs for a 6-4 lead.

Matt Strahm pitched the ninth inning and struggled for the second consecutive night. Despite getting ahead in counts, he was unable to finish off hitters, and gave up a two-run homer to Vientos that tied it at 6, setting the stage for Castellanos’ heroics.

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