Despite coming off two sweeps in their last three series played, the Phillies were not heavily favored to perform very well against the hot St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals, as you know, are the defending National League champions, and are always tough to face, post- or regular season. So when Philadelphia was able to handily take Game One, remarkably behind the arm of rookie David Buchanan, it was fair to say fans were both surprised and excited. By taking the first matchup, it meant a couple of things. The team had their fourth straight victory, set themselves up to at least split the series with a second win, and even put themselves in a position to win or even sweep the series. A.J. Burnett looked to guarantee that second victory tonight, while Jaimie Garcia tried to even the series.
The Game: After a rain delay of just under an hour, the game did not get off to a promising start for the Phillies or A.J. Burnett. He allowed a couple of base runners in the first few innings, and it seemed he'd have a quick exit. And, in the third, he'd allow the Phillies to fall behind in a game for the first time since this road trip began. The first two batters of that inning were set down on strikes, but Burnett hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch to stretch the inning. Next up was a single by Jon Jay, and the Cardinals gained the momentum. They'd break it open when Matt Holliday singled to bring home Carpenter. Make it 1-0 St. Louis after three.
Just when it seemed the old ways of Phillies gameplay was returning, the bats came to life. John Mayberry Jr. recorded the first double of the night for the Phillies to lead off the fifth. Cody Asche nearly had a double of his own, but a hard ground ball down the first base line was scooped up by Matt Adams for the first out. A.J. Burnett stood in next, and on the first pitch he saw, he lifted a ball deep into center field and up against the wall. The double scored Jr. and tied the game. The team's third double of the inning came from Jimmy Rollins, and it scored their second run.
The hits continued into the sixth inning, led by a leadoff home run by Marlon Byrd that just cleared the left field fence. Byrd's twelfth four-bagger of the season game the Phillies a 3-1 lead. Domonic followed up by doubling, and sending Jaimie Garcia to the showers. The offense did not stop, however, as Mayberry came through with an RBI single. Eventually moving up to third, Mayberry scored on a sacrifice fly from Jimmy Rollins. The Phillies had now given A.J. Burnett a 5-1 lead.
That advantage would be Burnett needed, as he settled into the game and filed right in behind David Buchanan's performance. With just over 100 pitches thrown headed into the ninth inning, Ryne Sandberg and pitching coach Bob McClure gave Burnett the opportunity to close things out. He did so rather handily, and the Phillies have now won five games in a row for the first time since last June.
Impact: It was all about A.J. tonight. Despite just a handful of strikeouts, the veteran was collecting ground ball outs left and right, and he'd get the complete game victory for the first time since joining the Phillies. Now that he and David Buchanan have set the tone for the starting pitchers, there's no reason that the Phillies can't win one or both of the two remaining games against St. Louis this weekend. Best of all, with Atlanta defeating Washington, the Phillies sit just 3.5 games out of first place.
Up Next: It will be a battle of pitching, to say the least, as two well-known hurlers square off Saturday afternoon. Cole Hamels looks to extend his scoreless inning streak even further, but he'll have to do battle with Adam Wainwright at 4:05 PM Eastern.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
