Final: Cardinals 5, Phillies 2
WP: Carlos Martinez (3-0, 1.73 ERA) LP: Aaron Harang (2-2, 2.51 ERA) SV: Trevor Rosenthal (8)
St. Louis, MO – Tonight, in the third game of a four game set, the Philadelphia Phillies (8-14) sent starting pitcher Aaron Harang to the mound in search of his team's third road win, and his third overall victory for himself this season. Opposing Harang was 23-year-old right hander Carlos Martinez, whose name has reportedly come up in trade discussions surrounding Phillies' ace Cole Hamels.
The first hit of tonight's game, for both clubs, came in the top of the second inning with two outs. After right fielder Jeff Francoeur and first baseman Ryan Howard grounded out, third baseman Cody Asche singled to center fielder Peter Bourjos. Catcher Carlos Ruiz grounded out the next batter however, resulting in Martinez getting through the first two innings on just 16 pitches (14 strikes).
Cardinals' first baseman Matt Adams picked up his club's first hit of the game with a leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning. Two batters later, with one out, right fielder Jason Heyward singled to left field which put runners on the corners. After catcher Yadier Molina popped out to Howard, second baseman Kolten Wong singled to center fielder Odubel Herrera to score the first run of the game. Harang escaped further trouble by striking out the opposing pitcher to end the inning.
The next half inning, the Phillies' offense put together their first offensive threat of the game. With singles from Harang and Herrera to put two runners on, second baseman Chase Utley had the opportunity to give his club the lead, but he instead popped out on the first pitch to end the frame.
It wouldn't be long before the Phillies would tie the game, however. With one out in the top of the fourth, Howard homered for the fourth time this season, and 20th all-time in his career against his hometown club. This snapped an 11-inning scoreless streak for St. Louis' Martinez.
An inning later, the Phils took the lead. With runners on second and third with only one out, Herrera singled for the second time of the game. The lead runner, Harang, scored to give his team a 2-1 lead. The trailing runner, left fielder Ben Revere, was thrown out trying to retreat back to third base, however.
Since allowing the RBI-single to Wong in the bottom of the second, Harang was strong as he managed to retire six of his next seven faced batters. The bottom of the fifth, however, was a different story for the right hander. The inning began with a single by Wong, and he later advanced after Martinez successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt. The first pitch of the next at-bat to Bourjos resulted in his first triple of the season, scoring Wong to even the game, 2-2. Subsequently, St. Louis grabbed a 3-2 advantage after Bourjos scored on a fielder's choice, as Howard failed to throw the runner advancing to home.
The inning was far from over for Mike Matheny's Cardinals. Left fielder Matt Holliday walked on five pitches, two of which were thrown in the dirt by Harang. Then, Adams doubled for the second time of the evening, which scored third baseman Matt Carpenter from second base to increase the Cardinals' lead to 4-2. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta followed with his first hit of the game, bringing home Holliday on third for the fourth St. Louis scored run of the inning against Harang.
In the bottom of the sixth with two outs, Ruiz nailed down Bourjos, who was trying to steal, at second base. This was his first failed stealing attempt of the season, having successfully stole his first four.
Harang was pulled after six innings of work tonight. He allowed five earned runs on nine hits and one walk, and struck out six batters: Bourjos, Carpenter (2), Heyward, Martinez and Reynolds. Harang's streak of eight consecutive quality starts (at least six innings pitched with no more than three earned runs allowed) was snapped.
Left hander Kevin Siegrist took over for St. Louis' Martinez in the top of the seventh, and threw a scoreless inning in relief. In his second career start against the Phillies tonight, Martinez allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. He retired 12 of his 26 faced batters, 46%, on groundouts.
Right hander Dustin McGowan, who struck out two batters in 1.1 innings out of the bullpen during last night's 11-5 defeat, replaced Harang in the bottom of the seventh. Despite allowing a walk to Holliday, he still went on to throw his fifth scoreless relief appearance out of seven total this season.
Jordan Walden entered the game in the eighth inning for the Cardinals, and like Siegrist, threw a scoreless inning against the Phillies' offense. Walden was acquired this offseason from the Atlanta Braves, along with Heyward, in exchange for Shelby Miller and minor leaguer Tyrell Jenkins. Miller started against the Phils last Saturday, and allowed two earned runs over six innings.
In his ninth appearance of the season, Phillies' right handed reliever Jeanmar Gomez threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the eighth. He induced two ground outs (Heyward, Molina) and a fly out to Wong to end the inning.
Closer Trevor Rosenthal entered in the ninth, and successfully earned his eighth save of the season, and fourth in his career against the Phillies. It didn't come easy, however, as he allowed a single to pinch hitter Grady Sizemore and a walk to Revere to allow the tying run to come to the plate with two outs. Herrera struck out to end the game, ending hopes of a surprise comeback against the Cardinals.
Rosenthal has the second-most saves in the National League, behind Jeurys Familia's nine with the New York Mets.
The Phillies entered tonight having won just two of their nine road games of the season. Now 2-8, they will look for their third road win tomorrow afternoon in the series finale, Thursday matinee.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Harang | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2.51 |
| Carlos Martinez | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1.73 |
- Harang: L; 86 pitches, 57 strikes; 5 groundouts, 4 flyouts; 28 faced batters
- Martinez: W; 88 pitches, 56 strikes; 12 groundouts, 0 flyouts; 26 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Dustin McGowan (7th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 4.26 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.00 ERA
Cardinals
-
Kevin Siegrist (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.08 ERA
- Jordan Walden (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.87 ERA
- Trevor Rosenthal (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 0.93 ERA
NL East Standings
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets | 15 | 7 | - | 6-4 | L2 | 10-0 | 5-7 |
| Atlanta Braves | 10 | 11 | 4.5 | 3-7 | L2 | 4-5 | 6-6 |
| Miami Marlins | 10 | 12 | 5 | 7-3 | W2 | 6-6 | 4-6 |
| Washington Nationals | 9 | 13 | 6 | 4-6 | W2 | 5-5 | 4-8 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 14 | 7 | 5-5 | L2 | 6-6 | 2-8 |
What's Next
Thursday, April 30, 2015: at St. Louis Cardinals, 1:45 pm
- RHP David Buchanan (0-4, 7.52 ERA) vs. LHP Tim Cooney (M-L debut)
- TV: CSN, MLBN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
