Andrew Painter’s No-Hit Bid Sets Up Nail-Biting Phillies Win Over Cardinals
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Kyle Schwarber throws out St. Louis Cardinals' Cesar Prieto at first base in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Andrew Painter carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and the Phillies survived a late Cardinals rally to win 6-5. Alan Rangel escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and Jonathan Bowlan slammed the door in the ninth for his first career save.
The Phillies head into a potentially pivotal series that can go a long way to determining the National League Wild Card. While much of baseball wrote the Cardinals off in July, they have started playing well and are not out of the conversation for making a playoff push, and the Phillies want to get ahead with their two aces ahead.
The Phillies got the scoring started in the second when Brandon Marsh scored on a throwing error by pitcher Hunter Dobbins. Edmundo Sosa hit a single, scoring Derek Hill, who reached on the error, making the game 2-0. In the fifth inning, Philadelphia had runners on first and third, and Bryce Harper grounded into a double play, scoring Kyle Schwarber and making the game 3-0.
The Cardinals struck for two when Alec Burleson doubled, scoring JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera, making the score 3-2. The Phillies got one back in the seventh when Schwarber doubled, scoring Garrett Stubbs, then tacked on two more in the eighth when Sosa doubled in Marsh and Justin Crawford to make the game 6-2.
The Cardinals made it interesting in the eighth inning with three runs to make it 6-5, but Alan Rangel stopped the bleeding, and that was where the game ended.
Painting the Town Red
Andrew Painter came into the game on the heels of two solid starts, looking to build some consistency. He did leave his last start with hamstring tightness, but he came out early on dealing. He was pitching so well that he carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He did unravel slightly in the sixth, giving up the first hit and then scoring two runs. That sixth inning will sour his line slightly, but even with the two earned runs in the sixth inning, he carved up the Cardinals for the five innings he held them hitless. This is the first win out of the fifth spot in the rotation since before the All-Star break, and the first for Painter since the very first start of his career back in March.
The impressive part of the start for Painter was that for the first five innings, he made virtually no mistakes, despite walking three. He didn’t allow St. Louis to get into a rhythm, and that was because of how well he was painting the bottom of the zone and mixing his pitches. It’s no secret that when Painter works the bottom of the zone, he is much more successful, as are most power pitchers. He was hit harder in the sixth because the pitches were up in the zone. With the previous two starts since coming back to the Major League Roster, this start is a positive continuation of this, and gives the Phillies reason to be optimistic that Painter has found his groove and can close the season strong.
Phils Offense Stands Tall
The Phillies offense has been a bit under fire, especially when it comes to how well they play when the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation. In this game, they seemed to be more relaxed and not pressing as hard, which tends to be the case when Aaron Nola or the rotation of fifth starters is on the mound. What was encouraging is that they took advantage of mistakes like Sosa getting the big hit after the error, and hitting with more confidence with runners in scoring position. Kyle Schwarber built on his impressive performance and looked more like himself in this game.
This all happened with Luis Arraez not getting hits, in the middle of his longest dry spell of the season. He is 0 for his last 10 at-bats, but as the Phils do when they are going well, the rest of his team picked him up. One of the best things to see in this game was that they did it all without a home run, so this was six manufactured runs. This was in large part because they were 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This is definitely something that can be built on for the rest of the season.
The Bullpen Bends But Doesn’t Break
With Painter getting into the sixth, it was obvious that the Phillies bullpen was going to be a factor in this game. This was definitely the case as Alan Rangel, who was just up from the minors, came in to throw important innings. He pitched well enough to get the keep the lead that the offense gave him. In the eighth inning, he gave up three runs, and it wasn’t looking good with two runners on base with one out. Rangel dug deep and preserved the one-run lead with one of the gutsiest performances from anyone out of the Phillies bullpen all season. Don Mattingly didn’t look like he was going to give him the hook, so it was his hold on the line as well as a team win. He rewarded Mattingly’s confidence by getting two of the biggest outs of the season so far.
In the ninth inning, Jonathan Bowlan came in to close it out. With Jhoan Duran needing a rest, the game rested on the shoulders of Bowlan, who absolutely overpowered the Cardinals’ offense with his heavy fastball and his arsenal of breaking pitches. He is quietly putting together a solid season in an otherwise depleted Phillies middle relief core. The bullpen was helped out by incredible defense, particularly a diving stop by Derek Hill to preserve the lead in the bottom of the seventh. This was not an easy game by any means, and it feels like the Phils escaped with a win, but these are the wins that a playoff team needs to get if a deep playoff run is in the future.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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