PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — In a regular-season finale defined by dominant pitching and a dramatic finish, Nick Castellanos capped his team’s 96-win campaign with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday evening at Citizens Bank Park.

The game, which served as a final tune-up before the postseason for the National League East champions, was a taut, low-hit affair that extended into extra innings before a crowd of 42,637.

The contest was a showcase for starting pitchers, with Minnesota’s Simeon Woods Richardson and Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez engaging in a remarkable duel. The two hurlers combined for 17 strikeouts while allowing just three hits and no earned runs over their outings.

Woods Richardson was particularly brilliant, tossing six shutout innings and surrendering only one hit while striking out nine. Sánchez was nearly his equal, allowing just two hits and no runs over 5 2/3 innings, fanning eight Twins batters.

The game’s first run finally materialized in the top of the sixth inning. After Sánchez recorded two quick outs, he walked Austin Martin. Reliever Tanner Banks entered and immediately gave up a sharp line-drive double to Ryan Jeffers, scoring Martin and giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. Jeffers was a bright spot for Minnesota’s offense, collecting three of the team’s five hits and driving in their lone run.

The 1-0 score held until the bottom of the eighth. Facing Twins reliever Génesis Cabrera, Philadelphia’s Max Kepler led off the inning by launching a solo home run to right-center field, his 18th of the season, to tie the game.

Minnesota threatened to reclaim the lead in the top of the ninth when Brooks Lee singled and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. However, Phillies reliever David Robertson entered the game and stranded Lee at second, inducing a flyout and a strikeout to end the inning.

The Twins put the automatic runner on base in the top of the 10th, but Phillies closer Orion Kerkering was overpowering. He struck out the side on 13 pitches, setting the stage for the Phillies’ walk-off victory in the bottom half of the frame.

Harrison Bader began the inning at second base as the automatic runner. Weston Wilson moved him to third with a well-executed sacrifice bunt. With one out and the infield drawn in, Nick Castellanos lifted a fly ball to medium-depth center field. James Outman made the catch, but Bader tagged and scored easily, giving the Phillies the 2-1 victory.

The win gave the Phillies a series victory after the teams split the first two games. Minnesota had won 5-0 on Saturday, while Philadelphia took the Friday opener 3-1.

Kerkering earned the win, improving his record to 8-4. Cody Laweryson, who was the pitcher of record when the automatic runner scored, took the loss, falling to 0-1.

The game also served as a coronation for individual achievements. Trea Turner secured his second career National League batting title, while teammate Kyle Schwarber finished the season as the league leader in home runs with 56 and RBIs with 132.

The Phillies, who finished the regular season with a 96-66 record, now await the start of the NL Division Series, which they are scheduled to host on Saturday. The team plans to hold an intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday afternoon to stay sharp during the layoff.

The Twins concluded their season with a 70-92 record. The game, which lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes, defied pregame expectations, as the total of three runs fell well under the over/under line of 8. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 6-3 Phillies victory, and its ELO system gave Philadelphia a 69.4% probability to win.