By: Matt Rappa, managing editor 
ST. LOUIS — Coming off of a 1-0 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals (13-14) — in which first baseman Ryan Howard provided the only offense with his 12th home run and 40th RBI in 36 career games at Busch Stadium — the Philadelphia Phillies (16-11) will send left-hander Adam Morgan to the mound for his second start of the season Wednesday evening in the third of a four-game set.
The Phillies (.593) have won 10 of their last 12 games and currently have the sixth-best record in Major League Baseball, trailing only the Chicago Cubs (19-6, .760), Chicago White Sox (19-8, .704), Washington Nationals (18-8, .692), New York Mets (16-9, .640) and Baltimore Orioles (15-10, .600).
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (16-11) | St. Louis Cardinals (13-14) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Adam Morgan | RHP | Mike Leake | ||
| (0-0, 5.40 ERA) | (0-3, 5.83 ERA) | ||||
Adam Morgan — Age: 26;
- Last Start: April 29, 2016, vs CLE: ND, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 7 SO, HR
- Career vs. STL: (1-0), 1 G, 5.2 IP, 6 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, HR, 1.59 ERA
Morgan last faced the Cardinals on June 21, 2015 — his Major League debut. In 5 2/3 innings, he allowed just one run on 78 pitches: a home run to shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
The southpaw will make his second start as the replacement to right-hander Charlie Morton, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn left hamstring. He threw five innings of three-run baseball on Sunday and struck out a career-high seven batters.
Mike Leake — Age: 28;
- Last Start: April 29, 2016, vs. WSN: L, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB, 2 SO, 2 HR
- Career vs. PHI: (2-3), 8 G, 48.0 IP, 55 H, 33 R, 32 ER, 8 BB, 35 SO, 8 HR, 6.00 ERA
Leake agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract — which includes a full no-trade clause and a mutual sixth-year option — with the Cardinals on Dec. 22.
The seven-year veteran has a 3.90 ERA and 0.963 WHIP ratio in nine career starts at Busch Stadium, with the majority of the appearances having occurred during his five-plus seasons spent as a member of the Cincinnati Reds from 2010-2015.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (16-11) | St. Louis Cardinals (13-14) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 1 | SS | Aledmys Diaz | R |
| 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 2 | RF | Stephen Piscotty | R |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | LF | Matt Holliday | R |
| 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | CF | Randal Grichuk | R |
| 5 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 5 | 1B | Yadier Molina | R |
| 6 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 6 | 2B | Jedd Gyorko | R |
| 7 | RF | David Lough | L | 7 | 3B | Ruben Tejada | R |
| 8 | P | Adam Morgan | L | 8 | C | Eric Fryer | R |
| 9 | LF | Tyler Goeddel | R | 9 | P | Mike Leake | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 8:15 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Standings
Game Notes:
- The Phillies did not win their 16th game in 2015 until Game No. 39. It took them 34 games to win 16 in 2014 and 2013, and 35 in 2012.
- Over their last 10 road games, the Phillies are 8-2. Their starting pitchers are averaging four hits and two runs allowed per contest during this stretch.
- The Phillies are 9-9 this season when they score three runs or less. They were 9-69 under the same scenario last season.
- In 61 career plate appearances against Leake, active Phillies batters are hitting a combined .250/.311/.411 with three doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, four walks and nine strikeouts. Five active members of the Cardinals have just one career hit against Morgan in 16 combined plate appearances, a RBI single by infielder Jedd Gyorko.
What's Next:
- Thursday, May 5, 2016: at St. Louis Cardinals, 1:45 p.m.
- Busch Stadium
- RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-3, 4.15 ERA) vs. LHP Jaime Garcia (1-2, 3.73 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLBN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
