Wednesday’s Game Report: Cardinals split doubleheader against Phillies
By Rob Rains
After seeing their nine-game winning streak snapped in the first game of their doubleheader against the Phillies on Wednesday, the Cardinals still felt good about their chances for a split with Sonny Gray starting game two.
If they had known that Gray would give up five runs in the first inning and be out of the game before the fourth inning was over, they might not have been as positive.
As it turned out, however, the Cardinals were able to do the same thing to Aaron Nola that the Phillies were doing to Gray and they fought back from the early deficit to win the second game 14-7 in Philadelphia and get the split.
They lost the opener 2-1 when the Phillies scored twice off Steven Matz in the seventh inning, the first runs the bullpen had allowed during the winning streak.
Against Nola, the Cardinals batted around in a five-run third inning that featured home runs from Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson and added three more runs In the fourth, including a Masyn Winn homer, to reclaim the lead.
The Cardinals improved to 5-1 in the first six games of their nine-game road trip and have now won 10 of their last 11 games.
Here is how Wednesday’s doubleheader broke down:
At the plate: Burleson drove in four runs in the second game with his home run and a pair of singles, one of which was his first hit off a lefthander in 11 at-bats this season … Winn had four of the Cardinals’ season-high 19 hits after getting one hit in the first game … Brendan Donovan and Ivan Herrera also had three-hit games while every Cardinal starter had at least one hit and six players drove in at least one run … In addition to the 19 hits they got sacrifice flies from Herrera and Nootbaar, one of his two RBIs that included his team-leading seventh home run … The only RBI in game one came from Jordan Walker, only his second hit in 25 at-bats in May.
On the mound: Gray had only allowed two runs combined in the first inning in his first eight starts of the season before the Phillies jumped on him for four hits, one a home run from J.T. Realmuto, in building the early lead … Gray also gave up homers to Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm before leaving the game after just 3 2/3 innings. Gray has now allowed nine home runs in 50 innings this season … After Gray’s exit, five relievers combined to shut out the Phillies on just two hits over the final 5 1/3 innings … In game one, Erick Fedde worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings before Matz gave up three hits and both of the Phillies’ runs in the seventh.
Key stat: Of the Cardinals 19 hits in game two, 15 were singles – their most singles in a game since they also had 15 on April 28, 2022 against the Diamondbacks. It’s only the fifth time they had 15 or more singles in a game in the last 15 seasons.
Worth noting: Victor Scott II had two stolen bases in game two, increasing his season total to 13 … Another of the Cardinals pitching prospects has been lost for the season following Tommy John surgery. Sem Robberse was still having lingering elbow issues from last season while trying to pitch at Memphis. Earlier this season Cooper Hjerpe also underwent the season-ending surgery … The Memphis roster lost another player on Wednesday when Michael Helman was claimed off waivers by the Pirates … Top pitching prospect Quinn Mathews has missed the last month at Memphis because of shoulder issues but is expected to make a rehab start within the next week in Florida.
Up next: The Cardinals have the day off on Thursday in Kansas City before beginning a three-game series Friday night against the Royals. Andre Pallante is the scheduled starter.
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