With a mighty howl, 'Wolfie' Maton swings Phils to 4th straight win

MIAMI -- Nick Maton is howling and barking again.

Maton smashed a two-run home run to right-center field in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over the Marlins at loanDepot park. After NL Cy Young hopeful Sandy Alcantara made Maton look “kind of stupid” on a front-hip sinker for a called third strike in the third inning, Maton -- whom everybody in the Phillies’ clubhouse calls "Wolfie" -- figured Alcantara might try it again in the seventh after he fell behind 0-2.

He did, but he missed his spot.

Maton was ready.

“That’s kind of one of my things,” Maton said. “I’m good at hitting the heater.”

Left-hander Bailey Falter had just run into the clubhouse to grab a sweatshirt after pitching another six solid innings. He watched the blast from one of the clubhouse TVs and went nuts, running back into the dugout to hug Maton.

“I hope I play the rest of my career with that guy,” Falter said.

Maton and Falter helped the Phillies win their fourth consecutive game and maintain their 1 1/2-game lead over the Padres for the second NL Wild Card and their 3 1/2-game lead over the Brewers, who are chasing both teams for a Wild Card. The Phillies own the tiebreaker against San Diego and Milwaukee with 21 games to play.

They are in a good spot.

“We’re just trying to win every game we can,” Maton said. “If we do our job, we’ll be where need to be at the end of the season.”

Maton, who homered against Alcantara on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, is the only player to take him deep twice this season.

“I’m happy it’s me,” Maton said.

“He loves fastballs up in the zone,” Alcantara said. “I'm trying to go up and in, like all pitchers do, just missed there. I've got to find a way how to pitch and get him.”

Those homers are far from Maton’s two biggest hits this season. He went 2-for-4 with one homer and three RBIs in a one-run victory over the Giants on June 1. It was his first game of the season, which also happened to be the last for manager Joe Girardi. Maton then went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in a blowout victory over the Nationals on Aug. 7. He hit a walk-off single in the ninth inning to beat the Reds on Aug. 23 and he hit a two-run homer to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead in an 8-5 victory over the Nationals on Saturday.

Maton is bringing energy onto the field and into the clubhouse every day, even while he plays right field for the first time in his career with Nick Castellanos on the injured list.

He is always smiling, chatting, howling and barking, living up to his nickname.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Falter said. “It is something else. He’s always motivated, brings the guys together, always that hyper guy. Especially around this time of year where everyone tends to get a little tired and stuff, we’ve got that guy to pick us up.”

Maton, who has a small plush wolf hanging from a hook in his locker, has had the nickname since junior college. He said the backstory is too long, but he mentioned that he isn’t the only Phillie with an animal nickname. He pointed to Brandon Marsh, saying they call him “Walia” (after a walia ibex) because of his long beard.

“I howl, he howls, everybody howls,” Maton said. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

“It’s a family thing,” Marsh said.

“We’re close knit,” Maton said. “We work together.”

Falter might not have a nickname, but he has been fantastic since late last month. He is 5-0 with a 2.43 ERA in five starts, four of them in place of injured ace Zack Wheeler, and he allowed two runs or fewer in four of those five. Falter has walked just two batters in 29 2/3 innings, and none in his last four.

He will make another start on Sunday, but after that, who knows? Wheeler could be back on Tuesday.

“We’ll have to talk about it and figure it out," interim manager Rob Thomson said. “But he sure has helped us since Wheels has been down. He’s a big part of this club.”