PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phillies are getting a huge energy boost from Nick Maton.Some big hits, too.Maton homered off Miami ace Sandy Alcantara for the second time in a week, hitting a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night that led the Phillies past the Marlins 2-1."I hope I play the rest of my career with that guy," Phillies starter Bailey Falter said. "He’s always motivated.
Brings the guys together. Always that hyper guy. Especially around this time of year, where everybody tends to get a little tired, we’ve got that guy to pick us up.
He does it on the field, and he does it in here, too."Philadelphia won its fourth in a row, and tightened its grip on the second spot in the NL wild-card race.
The Phillies lead San Diego by 1 1/2 games for that slot.The 24-year-old Maton, in his second big league season, has played right field while Nick Castellanos recovers from an oblique injury."I'm just trying to contribute in any way I can," Maton said. "Whether that's on the bench, or whether I'm playing.