Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 5, Phillies 4 (10 innings)
By Rob Rains
One night after the Cardinals could not do anything against the Phillies bullpen, they returned the favor.
Six relievers combined to shut out the Phillies over the final six innings and an RBI single from Nolan Gorman in the 10th gave the Cardinals the win on Sunday night in Philadelphia.
The bullpen group combined to allow only four hits, did not walk and a batter and struck out seven to help the Cardinals salvage the final game of the three-game series.
Two errors led to two unearned runs in the fifth inning and knocked starter Lance Lynn out of the game, but Matthew Liberatore was able to get out of that inning and the rest of the bullpen kept the score tied at 4.
Here is how Sunday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Gorman put the Cardinals in front with a two-run homer in the first, his 11th of the season, following a leadoff single by Masyn Winn … Alec Burleson added another two-run homer in the third after Winn had reached on walk … The Cardinals had just one more hit until Paul Goldschmidt led off the eighth with a single but he and Nolan Arenado were left stranded … In the 10th, the Phillies retired Burleson and Goldschmidt before Gorman’s single drove in Winn, who had been the automatic runner … Gorman’s single in the 10th was the only hit for the Cardinals in eight at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: A leadoff walk and an error by Winn led to two runs off Lynn in the second, and then his own fielding error and a throwing error by Ivan Herrera was followed by back-to-back singles that allowed the Phillies to tie the game in the fifth … All four runs off Lynn were unearned … Liberatore relieved with runners on first and third and struck out Bryce Harper, retired Alec Bohm on a fly ball and struck out Brandon Marsh …Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge and John King kept the game tied through the eighth before Ryan Helsley retired the Phillies in order in the 10th with two strikeouts to earn his 19th save.
Key stat: Over their last seven games, 17 of the Cardinals 26 runs have scored on a home run.
Worth noting: During the first six games of the road trip, during which the Cardinals have gone 3-3, they were a combined 4-of-35 with runners in scoring position … Lynn was making his first start in Philadelphia since April 20, 2013 … The win snapped the Cardinals’ six-game losing streak at Citizens Bank Park that dated back to 2022 … Burleson had gone 54 at-bats without an extra-base hit, dating back to May 15 … The Phillies’ Bryson Stott had two stolen bases, leaving Ivan Herrera with only two caught stealing in 32 attempts this season … The three errors were the most by the Cardinals in a game this season.
Looking ahead: The longest road trip of the season will continue on Monday night with the first of three games against the Astros in Houston. Kyle Gibson is the scheduled starter.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
