By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Looking for their first series win against the St. Louis Cardinals (37-33) since August 2014, the Philadelphia Phillies (38-32) will send Vince Velasquez to the mound opposite Luke Weaver in the second of a three-game set Tuesday evening at Citizens Bank Park. Velasquez and the Phillies topped Weaver in last meeting between both starters on May 17, 6-2.
After blowing a four-run lead and falling behind in extras, the Phillies completed the walk-off for the fifth time this season thanks to a misplay in left by Marcell Ozuna, which resulted in an Aaron Altherr two-RBI double, securing the Phillies’ 6-5 win in 10 innings. Altherr entered the game just two innings prior, after a line drive ricocheted off the right field fence and struck Nick Williams in the face. Odubel Herrera put the Phillies up early in the first with a three-run blast, his 10th, followed by a RBI single from catcher Andrew Knapp. The Cardinals scored five unanswered runs — including home runs by Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina and Tommy Pham — before Altherr’s heroics. Starter Nick Pivetta struck out a career-high 13 batters, allowing two solo home runs on four hits and a walk through 7 1/3 innings.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes:
The Cardinals struck out a season-high 19 times. Only once since 1908 had they struck out at least 17 times and won (against the Phillies), and they were 0-5-1 the times they’ve struck out 18 or more times. … The 19 whiffs Monday tied the franchise record set twice before.
With the win, the Phillies are now tied with the Washington Nationals for the second Wild Card spot, having both won 38 of their first 70 games of the season. The Phillies and Nationals trail the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 3.5 games.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| St. Louis Cardinals (37-33) | Philadelphia Phillies (38-32) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Luke Weaver | RHP | Vince Velasquez | ||
| (3-6, 4.52 ERA) | (5-7, 4.74 ERA) | ||||
RHP Luke Weaver, Age: 24
- Career vs. PHI: 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 12 SO, 1.167 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 6 SO, 1.800 WHIP
Weaver has lost each of his last four starts — dating back to his May 17 appearance against the Phillies. The right-hander fell to the Phillies that evening, despite allowing just one run — a solo home run to Carlos Santana — on four hits and a walk through seven frames.
RHP Vince Velasquez, Age: 26
- Career vs. STL: 1-1, 3.65 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 1/3 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 12 SO, 1.297 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 8-12, 4.78 ERA, 27 G, 27 GS, 139 1/3 IP, 129 H, 79 R, 74 ER, 29 HR, 50 BB, 175 SO, 1.285 WHIP
Velasquez was seven outs away from recording the 14th no-hitter in Phillies franchise history in his most recent start against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. On 105 pitches, the right-hander allowed just one hit, two runs and two walks through 6 2/3 solid frames. Velasquez is 3-4 with a 6.88 ERA at home this season (35 1/3 innings), as opposed to 2-3 with a 2.79 ERA on the road (38 2/3 innings).
Starting Lineups:
| St. Louis Cardinals (37-33) | Philadelphia Phillies (38-32) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 3B | Matt Carpenter | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | CF | Tommy Pham | R | 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 3 | 1B | Jose Martinez | R | 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | LF | Marcell Ozuna | R | 4 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 5 | C | Yadier Molina | R | 5 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 6 | RF | Dexter Fowler | S | 6 | SS | Scott Kingery | R |
| 7 | SS | Yairo Munoz | R | 7 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R |
| 8 | 2B | Kolten Wong | L | 8 | P | Vince Velasquez | R |
| 9 | P | Luke Weaver | R | 9 | 3B | J.P. Crawford | L |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Since last Tuesday, Herrera and Rhys Hoskins have each homered three times, produced six RBI and are batting .333 in 27 at-bats.
- The Phillies have a MLB season-long streak of games with at least one extra base, 66. This is the club’s longest such streak since July 30, 2008-June 25, 2009 (97 straight games).
- This season, the Phillies are 5-1 (.833) in extra-inning games, and are 7-9 (.438) in June. In 2017, the club went 7-10 (.412) in extra-inning contests and 9-18 in June (.333).
- Altherr’s walk-off hit on Monday was his second this season, and the Phillies’ third overall. His 11th-inning RBI single on April 22 lifted the Phillies over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2.
- Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez are each 3-6 with a double and RBI lifetime against Weaver. Ozuna is 3-15 lifetime against Velasquez with a solo home run, two walks and three strikeouts.
Nick Williams has a broken nose, but the Phillies do not believe he has a concussion. He probably won’t go on the DL. He may not be available tonight.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) June 19, 2018
What’s Next:
Wednesday, June 20, 2018: vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 1:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Michael Wacha (8-2, 3.24 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (5-5, 3.33 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
