Yesterday, the Phillies (57-71) came from behind and got the best of Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals (69-58) for a 5-4 victory. Tonight, the Phillies sent David Buchanan (6-7 4.21 ERA) to the hill. Though Buchanan took the loss in his last two starts he continued to lower his ERA. Buchanan was opposed by Shelby Miller (8-9 4.26 ERA). Miller hasn’t won a game since July 31st.
The Game:
The Cardinals struck first in the second with Jhonny Peralta leading off the inning with a homer to left. 1-0 Cardinals
The Phillies came back in the fourth. With one out, Marlon Byrd hit a single left. Domonic Brown followed with a single to center. Carlos Ruiz then crushed a ball into the right field gap for a two-run double. 2-1 Phillies
Cardinals came right back in the fifth. Shelby Miller led off with a single. Matt Carpenter followed with a single. Kolton Wong then grounded out to move the runners to second and third. Matt Holliday then grounded out to drive in a run. 2-2 TIE
Cardinals then took the lead in the sixth. A.J. Pierzynski led off with a double to left. Oscar Traveras then singled to left, then Pierzynski scored on a throwing error by Domonic Brown. Jon Jay then worked a walk. Shelby Miller hit a sacrifice bunted and Taveras and Jay scored on a throwing error by Cody Asche. 5-2 Cardinals
In the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Howard led off with a blast to left to cut the Cardinals lead. 5-3 Cardinals
In the eighth, the Phillies tied the game. Jimmy Rollins led off with a single. Chase Utley followed with a single of his own. Ryan Howard was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Marlon Byrd followed by hitting a two run single to plate two runs. 5-5 TIE
The game would go to extras, and the Cardinals would take the lead. Daniel Descalso led off with a walk. Jon Jay then bunted Descalso over to second. Peter Bourjos then hit an infield single. Matt Carpenter then hit a sacrifice fly to take the lead leading to a Cardinals win. 6-5 Final
Significant Offensive Stats:
Jimmy Rollins: 2-6 R
Ryan Howard: 1-2 HR BB HBP
Marlon Byrd: 2-5 2B 2 RBI R
Carlos Ruiz: 2-5 2B 2RBI
Impact: The bullpen has pitched very well of late. Finally the opposing team got the best of Ken Giles. Giles didn’t have his best stuff, but continued to battle through his inning and a third. Giles learning on the fly, which will be important when he takes over as closer, in the future.
Up Next: Tomorrow the Cardinals and Phillies will battle it out for the series. The Phillies will send Jerome Williams (3-5 5.91 ERA) to the hill for his third start as a Philly. Williams will be opposed by Justin Masterson (6-7 5.64 ERA). Masterson recently came over to the Cardinals during a deadline trade with the Indians.
Andrew Shipotofsky is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on twitter at @Ashipotofsky
