Saturday’s Game Report: Phillies 6, Cardinals 1
By Rob Rains
Changing his appearance didn’t help Miles Mikolas change his luck.
Pitching for the first time after he shaved his mustache and cut his hair, Mikolas still suffered another loss as the Phillies beat the Cardinals on Saturday night at Busch Stadium.
It was the seventh loss for Mikolas in his last eight decisions covering his last 11 starts, dropping his season record to 7-12.
Mikolas allowed five runs over six innings, the big blow a three-run homer by Kyle Schwarber in the fifth that turned a 2-1 Phillies’ lead into a 5-1 advantage.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals drew more walks, eight, than they had hits, six, but could only produce one run. That came on an RBI single by Paul Goldschmidt in the third inning … None of the eight players who walked came around to score as the Cardinals stranded 13 runners, one night after they left 15 on base … They had two more at-bats with the bases loaded for the second night in a row but failed to get a hit, leaving them hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts in those at-bats … They were 0-of-8 with a runner in scoring position, leaving them 3-of-19 in that situation in the first two games of the series.
On the mound: Mikolas gave up one run in each of the first two innings, when he allowed four of the eight hits he allowed in his six innings of work. He did not walk a batter and recorded two strikeouts … The Phillies added their final run in the ninth off Jacob Barnes.
Key stat: Jordan Walker’s single in the second inning was the 100th hit of his season and career, coming in his 103rd game. He is the youngest Cardinal to reach that total since Garry Templeton in 1977. In his first 103 games, split between 1976 and 1977, the 21-year-old Templeton had a total of 130 hits.
Worth noting: Juniel Querecuto got the start at second base, becoming the seventh different player to start a game at that position this season. He was promoted from Memphis when Nolan Gorman was placed on the injured list last week, making it back to the majors for the first time since he played four games for Tampa Bay in 2016. He was 0-of-4 trying for his second career hit.
Looking ahead: Dakota Hudson will get the start on Sunday as the Cardinals try to salvage the final game of the three-game series. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
