By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (26-17) and RHP Aaron Nola will look to secure the series win opposite RHP Jack Flaherty and the St. Louis Cardinals (24-19) in Sunday's finale matinee at Busch Stadium. The Phillies have won two of the first three meetings in the four-game set, despite being outscored 20-17.
Seranthony Dominguez continued the perfect start to his career with a his first save on — with two strikeouts in two innings — as the Phillies edged the Cardinals 7-6 on Saturday. Center fielder Odubel Herrera improved his on-base streak to 45 games with a two-run home run in the third, the fourth-longest such streak in Phillies history behind only Mike Schmidt (56), Chuck Klein (49) and Bobby Abreu (48).
Trailing 6-5 in the eighth, Scott Kingery's RBI triple and Jorge Alfaro's RBI infield single lifted the Phillies to their 26th win of the season. Tommy Hunter earned his first win in a Phillies uniform, while starter Zach Eflin allowed four runs — two earned — through 4 2/3 innings on three hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
The Phillies look for their first series win against the Cardinals since August 2014, and their first series win at Busch Stadium since May 2012.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (26-17) | St. Louis Cardinals (24-19) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Nola | RHP | Jack Flaherty | ||
| (6-1, 1.99 ERA) | (0-1, 2.87 ERA) | ||||
RHP Aaron Nola, Age: 24
- Career vs. STL: 2-1, 1.86 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 19 1/3 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, 21 SO, 0.776 WHIP
- Career at Busch Stadium: 1-1, 2.25 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 13 SO, 0.750 WHIP
Nola has won each of his last five starts, posting a 1.83 ERA and 1.019 WHIP over such stretch while allowing no more than three runs and tossing no fewer than six innings. Nola has the sixth-best ERA among qualified MLB starters since April 20.
RHP Jack Flaherty, Age: 22
- Career vs. PHI: N/A
- Career at Busch Stadium: 0-2, 6.10 ERA, 3 G, 2 GS, 10 1/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 8 SO, 1.258 WHIP
Flaherty will appear in his 10th career game and his first against the Phillies. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.00 ERA in eight career starts, while posting a 34-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.500 WHIP. The Cardinals drafted the Burbank, California native 34th overall in the 2014 draft out of Harvard-Westlake High School.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (26-17) | St. Louis Cardinals (24-19) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Tommy Pham | R |
| 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R | 2 | 3B | Matt Carpenter | L |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | 1B | Jose Martinez | R |
| 4 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 4 | LF | Tyler O'Neill | R |
| 5 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R | 5 | RF | Dexter Fowler | S |
| 6 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R | 6 | 2B | Kolten Wong | L |
| 7 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 7 | SS | Greg Garcia | L |
| 8 | SS | Scott Kingery | R | 8 | C | Francisco Pena | R |
| 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R | 9 | P | Jack Flaherty | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 2:15 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- The Phillies recorded their 26th win on Saturday (26-17), besting last season's June 28 date when the club recorded as many wins (26-51).
- Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (lat strain) will pitch in a rehab game on Sunday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
- Through six appearances, Dominguez has yet to allow a hit, walk or run while striking out seven batters in 6 2/3 innings. No other reliever in MLB history has started his career with more than four perfect appearances, according to Corey Seidman.
- The Phillies currently have the third-best winning percentage in the National League (.605), trailing only the Atlanta Braves (.614) and Milwaukee Brewers (.609). The Phillies will play a three-game series against the Braves at home starting on Monday.
- Active Phillies hit streaks:
- Odubel Herrera, 7 games: 27 AB, 3 R, 11 H, 2 HR, 9 BB, 3 BB, 5 SO, .407/.467/.704
- Jorge Alfaro, 5 games: 13 AB, 2 R, 8 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, .615/.643/.692
- Cardinals corner outfielders Marcell Ozuna and Dexter Fowler each have two career home runs against Nola. Infielders Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko, meanwhile, are a combined 2-17 lifetime against the Phillies right-hander.
What's Next:
Monday, May 21, 2018: vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Mike Foltynewicz (3-2, 2.87 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (3-2, 3.72 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
