Monday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Phillies 2
By Rob Rains
One of the reasons for the Cardinals’ struggles early this season was the inconsistent performance out of the bullpen.
Lately, the bullpen’s performance has been one of the keys to their success – and that was the case again on Monday night.
Kyle Leahy, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley combined to shut out the Phillies over the final 3 2/3 innings and a seventh-inning home run from Masyn Winn was the difference in the victory over the Phillies in Philadelphia.
The win was the ninth in a row for the Cardinals, their longest winning streak since a team-record 17-game streak in September 2021.
Over those nine wins, the bullpen has allowed a combined two runs in 28 1/3 innings, and those came in the first game of the winning streak.
Since Phil Maton allowed those two runs in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets on May 4, the bullpen has not surrendered a run in 24 1/3 consecutive innings.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Two walks and a wild pitch helped the Cardinals score their first run in the fourth … Ivan Herrera, serving as the DH, hit his first home run since returning from the injured list in the sixth … Winn’s homer came with two outs in the seventh, only the fifth hit in the game by the Cardinals and broke a 2-2 tie … Victor Scott II entered the game as a defensive replacement but flew out in his only at-bat in the ninth, ending his career-high 11-game hitting streak.
On the mound: Matthew Liberatore allowed two runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings … Leahy relieved with two runners on base and stranded both runners as he retired the first seven hitters he faced before giving up back-to-back singles with two outs in the eighth … Romero relieved and got Leahy out of the jam with a fly ball … Helsley struck out the first two hitters in the ninth before Jordan Walker secured the game’s final out with a nice running catch in right center off the bat of Trea Turner, keeping Bryce Harper in the on-deck circle.
Key stat: After losing their first five one-run games this season, the Cardinals have now won their last six games decided by one run, including four during the current winning streak.
Worth noting: The Cardinals had a 4-13 record away from home when this nine-game road trip started and have now matched that victory total in the first four games of the trip … In 11 games since he was moved into the second spot in the batting order Winn has gone 12-of-41, a .293 average, with three home runs … The home run by Herrera was only the second by the Cardinals from the DH position in 179 plate appearances this season. Herrera is scheduled to DH again on Tuesday night, then catch for the first time on Wednesday since coming off the IL.
Up next: Sonny Gray will get the start on Tuesday night in the middle game of the series as the Cardinals try for their 10th consecutive win. They have only had six winning streaks of 10 or more games in the last 75 years since 1950.
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