All eyes on Phillies to save Philadelphia from a miserable sports weekend

Where have you gone, Nick Castellanos? The city turns its lonely eyes to you.

OK, maybe it's not time to summon Simon & Garfunkel to rewrite the classic, "Mrs. Robinson," but it's certainly up to Castellanos and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies to not only win on Monday night to tie up the National League Division Series but also save the City of Brotherly Love from what has been a dreadful sports weekend.

The disappointment in Philadelphia began on Saturday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 5-3 win in Game 1 of the NLDS, with a three-run, two-out home run in the seventh inning from Teoscar Hernandez proving to be the difference for the defending world champions.

After earning a bye straight into the NLDS and having more than 31,000 people show up for a scrimmage at Citizens Bank Park, the second-seeded Phillies seemed to have every bit of momentum on their side. Now Philadelphia will need to rediscover its mojo on Monday to not head to the West Coast with a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five series.

Why the Phillies need to win Game 2 of the NLDS

After a tough Saturday night for the Phillies, Philadelphia fans could at least wake up knowing their Eagles were undefeated and playing at home against the Denver Broncos. Red October could wait for another day as "Fly, Eagles Fly" blasted through the loudspeakers as Eagles fans prepped to see their team move to 5-0 on the season.

However, a historic comeback by the Broncos (or fourth-quarter collapse by the Eagles, whichever way you want to look at it) saw Denver outscore Philadelphia 18-0 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 21-17 win. 

Undefeated no more, the Eagles will now play on Thursday night on the road against the New York Giants to try to get back to their winning ways.

A loss by the Phillies on Saturday, followed by an Eagles loss... and both coming in Philadelphia? How much can one Philly fan suffer in one weekend (and that's not even including those who are Penn State fans and saw the Nittany Lions suffer a head-shaking loss at UCLA)?

If people can look forward to a Monday, that could well be the sentiment in Philadelphia. A win on Monday night by the Phillies could help erase what has been a miserable sports weekend in the city.

Yes, Castellanos (and Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber), a city is turning its lonely (and tear-filled) eyes to you in what is an important Game 2 for a number of reasons in Philadelphia.