Moss' 23rd homer helps Cardinals rout Phillies

[August 22, 2016]  PHILADELPHIA -- The first ball St. Louis left fielder Brandon Moss hit on Sunday afternoon fell two feet short of being a home run, winding up in the glove of Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera.

The one the St. Louis Cardinals' cleanup hitter crushed in his second at-bat didn't have a chance of being caught.

Moss' 23rd home run of the season helped open up the St. Louis offense, and seven strong innings from Mike Leake paved the way to a 9-0 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The win keeps St. Louis (66-57) in the second spot in the National League wild-card race, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Miami Marlins, who were also victorious on Sunday.

It was only a spectacular leaping catch by Herrera in the first inning -- after the Cardinals loaded the bases to begin the game -- that kept Moss and St. Louis' lineup from an even bigger afternoon, though it did allow Greg Garcia to tag from third and score easily for a 1-0 lead.

When he returned to face Phillies starter Vince Velasquez in the top of the fourth, Moss took the first pitch he saw and sent it into the seats just left of center to double the lead.

"When you hit a ball like that in your first at-bat, you feel pretty good about the day because you know you're on that pitch and you're going to be able to adjust on other pitches," Moss said. "After the first at-bat, I didn't really think (Velasquez) could beat me with his fastball because I wasn't necessarily looking for it and I got to it easily. I just relaxed and waited for a pitch I could get in the air."

By the time St. Louis was finished with its half of the fourth inning, the lead had grown to 4-0 thanks to a two-run single by Leake.

The 28-year-old right-handed Leake evened his record at 9-9 and lowered his ERA to 4.56 by pitching seven scoreless innings, giving up seven hits while striking out eight and walking just one batter as he went further in any game than he had since the All-Star break.
 

"If you can get a few runs on the board and have that much of a lead, then you can go into a little more of an attack mode," Leake said. "A little more margin for error."

For the Phillies (58-67), the loss was a disappointing end to a homestand that began 3-0 but ended up 5-4 as Velasquez struggled for the second time in as many games.

The Phillies' right-hander made it through six innings, though not before giving up another solo home run -- this time to Stephen Piscotty, his 18th of the season, as rain started to fall in the top of the fifth.

"He's going to be real good at one point," Phillies skipper Pete Mackanin said. "He has to be more efficient with his pitches and get his pitch count down. Everything boils down to command. If he can command his fastball and secondary pitches, he's going to be good."

Velasquez saw his ERA rise from 4.14 to 4.35 as he lost his third consecutive start, continuing a rough stretch of late. Since picking up a win on July 8 that moved him to 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA, the 24-year-old is 0-4 with a 6.25 ERA.

"I'm going to play a round of golf and take my mind off baseball," he said. "I think a round of golf is going to solve it."

St. Louis slammed the door shut in the eighth inning. A pair of two-run homers from Jedd Gyorko and pinch hitter Jeremy Hazelbaker off Phillies reliever Frank Herrmann sent the fans streaming to the exits.

Hazelbaker's home run was St. Louis' 14th pinch-hit homer of the season, tying the single-season major league record.

"It's not the only way we can score runs but it's our main way," Moss said of the long ball. "It's nice to have guys in the lineup who can change a game like that."

NOTES: The teams split the first two games of the series, with St. Louis winning 4-3 in 11 innings on Friday night before Philadelphia bounced back for a 4-2 win on Saturday. ... The Cardinals have won each of the last four series against the Phillies dating back to Aug. 22-24, 2014, going 11-5 since then. ... The Phillies saw a streak of hitting at least one home run in 14 consecutive games (21 total homers) come to an end. It was the club's longest streak since May 27-June 9, 2013, which was also 14 games long. ... Both teams have a day off on Monday before games Tuesday. The Cardinals return home to host the Mets, while the Phillies travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox.

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