If obtaining a high pitch count early in the game was the goal, Hunter Dobbins succeeded spectacularly. To his credit, the St. Louis Cardinals starter battled through a less than ideal start to keep Monday night’s game with the Phillies close while the Philadelphia starter Andrew Painter showed no signs of the hamstring trouble he had recently. A tight game early would turn into a wild game late, but a furious Cardinals rally would fall short.
By the top of the 2nd inning, Hunter Dobbins pitch count was in the 50’s. That’s also the inning that his troubles cost the Cardinals a couple of runs. Brandon Marsh led off the Phillies 2nd with a single, but it was the next play that would be costly. Derek Hill chopped a ball up high to Hunter Dobbins who caught the ball and then sailed a show over Alec Burleson at first base into right field which allowed Marsh to score all the way from first base for a 1-0 Phillies lead. Edmundo Sosa followed that with a RBI single doubling the Philadelphia lead to 2-0.
The Phillies would add to their lead in the top of the 5th inning when Kyle Schwarber led off with a single that Jordan Walker turned into a double by mishandling the ball in left field that the official scorer correctly changed to a single and an E9. Stott then singled to right which moved Schwarber to third with no one out. Hunter Dobbins got Bryce Harper to ground into a double play, but that scored Schwarber giving the Phillies a commanding 3-0 lead.
I would not normally call a 3-0 lead “commanding”, but the St. Louis Cardinals absence of offense made it feel that way. Andrew Painter, who has been recovering from hamstring issues, looked like Cy Young for the first 5 innings of the game as he held the Cardinals hitless and hadn’t allowed a runner until he walked José Fermín in the bottom of the 5th.
The Cardinals would FINALLY break up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the 6th inning when Iván Herrera ripped a double into the left field corner after JJ Wetherholt walked to give St. Louis runners at 2nd and 3rd with just one out. Alec Burleson then came through with a clutch single up the middle scoring both Wetherholt and Herrera and suddenly we had a baseball game as the Phillies lead was just 3-2.
With Jordan Walker up next, the Phillies decided Andrew Painter had been in the game long enough and went to their bullpen to bring in Alan Rangel. Walker unfortunately time traveled back to the Jordan of last year as he struck out on an 85 mph slider for the second out. Nathan Church managed to swat a single into right-center to keep the Cardinals rally alive with runners on first and second, but Masyn Winn was unable to come through as he struck out, but St. Louis was back in the game.
While the Cardinals bats were waking up, Luis Gastelum was keeping the Phillies quiet as he pitched an uneventful 6th inning and stayed in the game until there was one out in the top of the 7th when the numerous Philadelphia lefties came up in the lineup. Manager Oli Marmol decided to bring in lefty Caleb Ferguson who promptly walked Stubbs and then grooved a 91 mph sinker to Kyle Schwarber who ripped it to the right-centerfield wall for a double scoring Stubbs and increasing the Phillies lead to 4-2. After Ferguson walked Bryce Harper to load the bases, Marmol hit the eject button on him in favor of Gordon Graceffo who was tasked with bailing the Cardinals out of a bases-loaded with one out jam. He came through like a champ getting Arraez to hit into an inning-ending double play keeping St. Louis within striking distance.
That “striking distance” would get extended in the top of the 8th inning when Graceffo walked Marsh to start the inning. Two batters later, Crawford would connect on an 84 mph Graceffo curve for a double giving Philadelphia runners at second and third with just one out. Former Cardinal Edmundo Sosa would convert that scoring opportunity when he ripped an 85 mph slider into the left-centerfield gap scoring both Phillies runners and giving Philadelphia a 6-2 lead.
St. Louis did not go quietly into that good night as the red hot Iván Herrera led off the bottom of the 8th inning with a double into the left field corner. Alec Burleson said “ditto” and clobbered his own double into the right field corner scoring Herrera and getting the Cardinals a little closer at 6-3.
Jordan Walker, who had been 0-3 on the night, connected on a two-strike 93 mph fastball and drilled it up the middle advancing Burleson to third giving the Cardinals runners at the corner with no one out. After Nathan Church popped out to short, it was Masyn Winn’s turn. He rocketed a ball off of the pitcher into right field which scored Burleson bringing St. Louis closer at 6-4. Winn got a break as he was hustling into second where it appeared the throw would beat him, but the ball got away from Sosa leaving Masyn safe at second.
Jose Fermin kept the rally going as he singled into center scoring Walker and advancing Winn to third cutting the Phillies lead to just 1 at 6-5. Jimmy Crooks was unable to lift a sacrifice fly to tie the game as he struck out, but pinch-hitter Bryan Torres still had a chance to come through. Unfortunately, Torres would fly out to center to end the Cardinals 8th, but they had pulled close enough to hang onto at least a little hope.
Justin Bruihl entered the game in the top of the 9th with one singular mission. Keep the game a 1-run affair to give St. Louis a fighting chance in the bottom of the 9th with the top of the Cardinals lineup waiting. Stott tried to foil that plan as he led off with a single. Bruihl was able to nurse a weak pop fly out of Bryce Harper for the first out. The Phillies started the runner which saved them from a double play when Arraez grounded out for the second out. Justin Bruihl then struck out Marsh to give the Cardinals one more shot at the Phillies.
St. Louis had the right guys coming up in the bottom of the 9th, but would they get the right result? JJ Wetherholt was first up against Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan. JJ failed on an ABS challenge and then struck out on a changeup for the first out in the Cardinals 9th. Iván Herrera was next up and all he could manage was a weak fly to centerfield. Alec Burleson hit a ball right on the screws, but it was directly at the Phillies right fielder Hill for the final out of the game. Bummer.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies will tangle again Tuesday night as Andre Pallante will try to earn his 13th victory for the Cardinals while the Phillies will send LHP Cristopher Sánchez to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time at Busch Stadium and the game TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.
