Tuesday’s Game Report: Phillies 4, Cardinals 3

Tuesday’s Game Report: Phillies 4, Cardinals 3

Several of the Cardinals watched game one of the Stanley Cup Final together on Monday night and saw the Blues score early and then fail to protect their lead against the Boston Bruins.

The Cardinals then went on the field on Tuesday night and did the same thing against the Phillies in Philadelphia.

First-inning home runs from Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna staked Adam Wainwright to a 3-0 lead before he threw a pitch, but the lead didn’t last as the Cardinals suffered their 17^th loss this month.

A two-run double by Bryce Harper cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2 in the third and a two-run homer from Cesar Hernandez in the fourth put the Phillies ahead to stay.

The Cardinals had only two hits after the pair of first-inning homers.

Here is how the game broke down:

At the plate: Goldschmidt hit his 11^th homer of the season but only his second since April 22 in a span of 113 at-bats to begin the first-inning power display. After Paul DeJong was hit by a pitch, Ozuna followed with his 15^th homer of the season … The only other hits in the game for the Cardinals were a fifth-inning single by Goldschmidt and a pinch-hit single by Jedd Gyorko in the seventh … The Cardinals only drew two walks and had just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position … Dexter Fowler was 0-of-4 and remains hitless (now 0-of-14) in four games since he was moved into the leadoff spot. Fowler has just four hits in 36 at-bats since May 15.

On the mound: Wainwright allowed eight hits over six innings, did not walk a batter and recorded 10 strikeouts, the 10^th double-digit strikeout game of his career and the first since May 25, 2014 at Cincinnati … Giovanny Gallegos retired all six batters he faced over the final two innings, striking out three.

Key stat: For the season the Cardinals leadoff hitters have a collective batting average of .206, the lowest of any spot in the lineup other than the ninth spot, usually occupied by the pitcher and an occasional pinch-hitter.

Worth noting: The loss dropped the Cardinals below .500 at 26-27. It also left them 7-17 in May, the most losses the Cardinals have had in that month since also losing 17 games in 1995 … Alex Reyes made his second start for Palm Beach on Tuesday night and threw 77 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed seven hits and three runs, but only one of them was earned. He walked one and struck out five. It is likely his next start will come next week for Memphis, where the Cardinals also will see if he will be able to swing the bat … The last time the Cardinals hit two home runs in the first inning of a game in Philadelphia was on May 19, 1956, with the homers coming from Wally Moon and Rip Repulski.

Looking ahead: Genesis Cabrera will make his major-league debut in the second game of the series on Wednesday night. He will become the 2,000^th player to wear a Cardinals’ uniform in the team’s history. A roster move will have to be made before the game to add him to the roster.