Tuesday’s Game Report: Cardinals 2, Phillies 0
By Rob Rains
With the bases loaded, nobody out and the Cardinals clinging to a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning on Tuesday night, Ryne Stanek was inheriting a real mess.
Luis Arraez, the second leading hitter in the National League, was coming up to bat against Stanek as he came out of the bullpen.
Four pitches later, the inning was over, the Cardinals still had the lead and were on their way to a win at Busch Stadium.
On Stanek’s second pitch, Arraez hit into a first-to-home to first double play, started by Alec Burleson. Then with runners on second and third, J.T. Realmuto hit the second pitch he saw from Stanek to the warning track in center, but the ballpark held it, and the threat was over.
The Phillies had loaded the bases on three walks from Caleb Ferguson.
After Stanek got out of the inning, the Cardinals’ first batter in the bottom of the inning, Everson Pereira, homered to give Riley O’Brien an insurance run to work with in the ninth. O’Brien worked a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 30th save.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The game was scoreless into the seventh inning with the Cardinals blanked on just four hits by Christopher Sanchez. With Sanchez out of the game, Jordan Walker drew a leadoff walk, stole second, went to third on a ground out and scored on a two-out single by Maysn Winn … Pereira’s homer, his first with the Cardinals, was to straightaway center field.
On the mound: Andre Pallante matched zeroes with Sanchez through the sixth inning, pitching around four hits and three walks. He was able to induce three double plays, two from Bryce Harper … George Soriano worked the seventh, allowing a single and walk with two outs, before he got an inning-ending fly out … After Ferguson failed to retire any of the four hitters he faced on Monday night, allowing three hits and a walk, he walked Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Harper to set up the escape act from Stanek … O’Brien needed just eight pitches to complete the ninth.
Key stat: The Cardinals had been 5-32 this season when scoring two or fewer runs.
Worth noting: Pallante has had four starts this season in which he did not allow a run … Pereira, making his first start in center field, also turned in an outstanding catch at the wall in the fifth inning … The Cardinals announced that they will wear their navy blue caps for all road games except on Saturdays the rest of the season.
Up next: Kyle Leahy will get the start on Wednesday in the final game of the series.
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For the postgame interviews with Oli Marmol and Andre Pallante: CLICK HERE.
