Phillies Split Doubleheader with Cardinals, Lose Second Game 14-7
Courtesy of Philadelphia Phillies via X
Well, at least they split.
The Phillies were defeated in the second game of their day-night doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, losing 14-7. It was a brutal game overall for the Phillies, who allowed a season-high 14 runs on their way to losing their first series since April 22nd.
It was once again an abysmal start for Aaron Nola, who allowed nine runs on 12 hits over only 3.2 innings of work. He also allowed three home runs, bringing his total to 11 allowed on the year, while his ERA has now jumped to 6.16.
The offense was on fire early on, scoring seven runs in the first four innings, but after that inning, the bats just stopped producing. J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, and Kyle Schwarber all homered, but it was not enough to keep up with St. Louis.
Unlike the first game of the doubleheader, the runs came early for both teams. With Nola on the mound, the Cardinals went swinging right away. Leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn both singled and advanced up a base on the throw from Max Kepler. Two batters later, a groundout from Nolan Arenado scored the first run of the game.
In the bottom half of the inning, Stott struck out on a questionable call, but Trea Turner hit an infield single, and a walk from Bryce Harper put two runners on. With two outs, Nick Castellanos smoked a double to the State Farm sign to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
Castellanos didn’t wait long at second base as Kepler drilled a single to right to bring in another run. Up next was Realmuto, and three pitches into his at-bat, he smoked a ball to left-center for a two-run home run to make it 5-1.
Both teams got a man aboard in the second, but both failed to bring in any runs. However, in the top of the third, the Cardinals retook the lead. Nootbaar kicked things off with a solo home run to cut the deficit to three. Winn then walked and scored thanks to a Brendan Donovan double. A groundout from Arenado moved Donovan to third, and another groundout from Willson Contreras brought him in to make it 5-4 Phillies.
The hits didn’t stop there as Ivan Herrera dropped a single to center, and one batter later, Alec Burleson smoked a two-run bomb to right to make it 6-5 St. Louis.
Down a run in the bottom of the fourth, Schwarber answered back with a solo shot to tie things up at six.
Three straight outs by the Phillies ended that inning, but the runs just kept on coming for the Cardinals in the top of the fourth. Winn hit a home run to left to retake the lead for St. Louis, and three straight singles by Arenado, Contreras, and Herrera loaded the bases and kicked Nola out of the game. With Tanner Banks now in, Burleson smoked a single to center to score two more runs, but the Phillies got a tag out to end the inning.
Now down 9-6, Bohm quickly made it 9-7 with a leadoff home run to kick off the bottom of the fourth. However, one run was all the Phillies would get that inning, and for the rest of the game.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the eighth. Victor Scott led off the inning with a single, instantly stole second base, and scored thanks to a single from Winn. The runs didn’t score there as Donovan walked and Arenado reached base after Brandon Marsh missed a routine fly ball to load the bases. Taijuan Walker, who came in relief after Banks, threw a wild pitch, scoring another run, and a sacrifice fly from Contreras made it 12-7, Cardinals.
Bohm doubled in the eighth but was once again unable to make it home. In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals added two more runs. Carlos Hernandez allowed a leadoff single and a walk, and a Nootbaar sac fly scored one run, and a RBI base hit by Winn made it 14-7.
In the bottom of the ninth, Cardinals reliever Matt Svanson came on in relief and struck out the side to end the game, with the Phillies losing 14-7.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
