Phillies Win Series vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Coming off a thrilling series finale win to cap off the month of June versus the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies continued to brighten their offense to help them bring a victory on a gorgeous night in South Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park versus the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Phillies started Bailey Falter on the mound but he didn’t last very long as he had some issues with his pitching performance. Falter only went four innings, gave up three earned runs, and struck out five batters. 

Despite Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado hitting for the cycle and Cardinals 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning, the Phillies bullpen managed to put a beat down on their bats which helped them a lot. 

On the good side, the Phillies’ offensive mindset had shifted as Mickey Moniak hit a double on a line drive to right field that brought Garrett Stubbs in for a run that made the score 3-1 Cardinals in the bottom of the fifth. 

A few seconds later in that bottom half-inning, the Phillies kept producing more runs as Kyle Schwarber grounded out and scored Matt Vierling which made St. Louis’ lead down to 1, 3-2. Then, they continued their getting runners’ home streak as Rhys Hoskins flew out to center field and scored on Mickey Moniak tying the game up at 3.

In the bottom of the sixth, Phillies new slugger Darick Hall homered to right field that put the Phillies in the driver’s seat leading 4-3.

An inning later, the Phillies continued to battle at the plate and had more opportunities to open up the game by getting more runners home which they did in the bottom of the seventh inning as Hoskins launched a solo home run to center field to make it a two-score lead, 5-3.

The Phillies went on to win the game. 5-3.

I think it’s time to recognize that Darick Hall is turning himself into a young slugger. He has been on point at the plate at every at-bat and it goes to show how the minors developed his game coming into the game on Friday evening.

The Phillies bullpen is finally on the rise as they are making themselves much better in bad situations throughout the game which you could definitely see during the game on Friday night. Seranthony Dominquez and Brad Hand were excellent against a pretty solid offensive team in St. Louis.

It was a very hectic ride for Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson as the Cardinals blasted off with smacking four straight home runs in the top of the first inning and the Phillies fell short on a humid Saturday evening.

Gibson only pitched four innings, giving up six earned runs and four homers. The baseballs carried a ton which made St. Louis have an explosion early in the game. Corey Knebel came in to pitch the fifth inning while he walked one and struck out a batter and had a couple relievers sprinkled in as the game progressed. 

On the bright side of things, although Philadelphia was down 5-0, the bats sparkled for the Phillies which started in the bottom of the second as Matt Vierling hit a sacrifice fly to center and scored Alec Bohm making the score 5-1. Moments later, Bryson Stott reached base on an infield single and scored Obdubel Herrera which put the Cardinals’ lead to 5-2. 

In the bottom of the third inning, Yairo Munoz doubled to deep center and scored Alec Bohm and Obdubel Herrera tying the game at five.

The Cardinals then re-took the lead in the top of the fifth inning making the score 6-5.

Things got interesting in the bottom of the sixth as Phillies Nick Castellanos singled on a ball to left field and scored Bryson Stott which tied the game up at six. 

Seranthony Dominquez came in the top of the ninth and tried to flush out a perfect top half inning, but it didn’t work out as Nolan Arenado smoked one to left field to put the Cardinals 7-6. 

In the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies had a good chance to tie the game and force extras but Obdubel struck out and ended the chance.

Is it time to be worrying about Kyle Gibson’s future starts for the rest of the season? Kyle Gibson definitely had a rough time out there on Saturday evening. The worrying should be on hold as sometimes pitchers have that kind of type of night and have terrible performances, especially on a hot, humid day. Phillies fans will be very curious to see how he does in his next start.

Doesn’t look like a great sign for Odubel Herrera for the Phillies as he hasn’t been swinging the bat consistently and it’s tough for this ball club to see, especially having a great hitting team that can get runners in scoring position the majority of the time depending on which team. Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see what Herrera’s performances will be like.

It was a very delightful evening in South Philadelphia as the Phillies’ performance was as nice as the weather was against the 44-37 St. Louis Cardinals as they pulled it out with a big win.

Phillies’ starter, Zach Wheeler got the start on Sunday night and he was spectacular as he cruised by pitching seven innings, giving up no earned runs, five strikeouts, and one walk. 

The scoring all started when Rhys Hoskins homered to left field giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Hoskins had terrific contact at that at-bat as he turned the opportunity into a very good one to help this ball club get the win.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Phillies extended their lead to two runs as Nick Castellanos hit a single on a line drive to left field and scored Hoskins which made the score 2-0. Moments after that happened, J.T. Realmuto came up to bat and smashed one over the flower bed which was a two-run shot that made the score 4-0. 

Zack Wheeler is continuing to perform at a higher rate than some of the others in the rotation. With Ranger Suarez being out now for an extended amount of time, Wheeler will have to deal once he gets the ball again. It’ll be interesting to see how Wheeler can do and if he can continue this stellar performance.

The Phillies offense finally handled their business as they stormed through Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright and the relievers that were in for them. After seeing what they did offensively, they are in good hands with winning more before the All-Star break without Bryce Harper and Jean Segura. Phillies fans are eager to see what this team can do in the coming days before the break.