Brotherly love: Astros reliever Phil Maton gives up hit to younger brother during game vs. Phillies

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The city of brotherly love brought some of that affection with it in the Phillies' Nick Maton who faced his older sibling, the Astros' Phil Maton, on Wednesday night.

It was a moment that had both teams in the regular-season finale engaged in the family showdown, with most of the players hanging on the railing in the dugouts to watch.

Phil, a Houston reliever, faced younger brother Nick for the first time in the eighth inning.

The brothers smiled at one another as Nick entered the box before getting down to business.

The little brother won the matchup, hitting a single to right field on a 2-2 count. Phil shook his head after seeing the ball sail by and Nick smiled sheepishly as he reached first base.

"It was kind of hard to keep it together," Phil said. "But it's a really cool experience. And he won this one."

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Players in Philadelphia's dugout raised their arms and cheered as Nick made contact and some Astros hung their heads after seeing the hit drop in the outfield.

Sadly, their mother Ellen Maton wasn't there to see the long-awaited moment. She attended the game but had to leave early to catch a flight.

In the end, the Astros bested the Phillies 3-2, but the start of the postseason is on the horizon for both ball clubs.

On Friday, the Phillies will open their wild-card series at St. Louis in their first playoff game since Oct. 7, 2011.

The Astros will face the winner of the Toronto-Seattle wild-card series starting Tuesday in Houston.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.