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 But throw Aaron Harang on the mound and Bourjos turns into a
rally-starter who turns a game around.
Continuing his career-long trend of owning the big Philadelphia
Phillies right-hander, Bourjos went 2-for-4 and tossed in a big
defensive play to boot Wednesday night as St. Louis grabbed a 5-2
win.
With the Cardinals (14-6) trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth
inning, Bourjos changed that in a matter of three pitches.
First, with his bat, he slapped a liner down the right-field line
that skipped past Jeff Francoeur and bounced into the corner. It led
to a game-tying triple that scored second baseman Kolten Wong.
Bourjos then scored on third baseman Matt Carpenter's bouncer to
first baseman Ryan Howard, beating Howard's throw home with a hard
slide to give St. Louis the lead for good.
"Peter was great," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "You can see
what he does with his speed. He has everything there and it's nice
to see him have a game where he brings it all to the table."
Bourjos added a single in the sixth, making him 9-of-19 in his
career against Harang with a homer and five RBIs. Bourjos entered
the game with just one hit in 10 at-bats on the year.
"He's got pretty good stuff, but for some reason, I have pretty good
at-bats against him," Bourjos said of Harang. "It's just something
that I can't explain."
In the seventh, Bourjos used his speed again, this time to deny
slumping Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley a hit that might
have turned the game's momentum.
With two out and left fielder Ben Revere on first, Utley rifled a
3-2 pitch from reliever Kevin Siegrist to right-center. But Bourjos
got a good jump on the ball and hauled it in a step from the wall,
the third time in the series that Utley -- 8-for-70 on the year --
has launched a 390-foot rocket that turned into an out.
"I don't know if any other center fielder -- might be one -- catches
Chase's ball," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said of Bourjos. "His
speed plays big."
St. Louis also got a spate of excellent defensive plays from Wong,
who turned three hard-hit balls by Howard into outs, throwing him
out from 10 to 15 steps on the grass in right-center field.
Wong set an MLB high with 10 assists and also rapped out two hits,
including an RBI single in the second that initiated scoring. First
baseman Matt Adams doubled twice, knocking home a run in the fifth,
and shortstop Jhonny Peralta tacked on an RBI single to cap a
four-run fifth.
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Carlos Martinez (3-0) scattered six hits over six innings, allowing
both Philadelphia runs. He walked three and fanned three before
turning the game over to the bullpen. Closer Trevor Rosenthal
whiffed center fielder Odubel Herrera with two men aboard in the
ninth for his eighth save in as many chances.
Harang (2-2) permitted nine hits and five runs over six innings,
issuing a walk and striking out six. Howard belted a solo homer in
the fourth, his 11th in 33 career games at Busch Stadium, and
Herrera stroked an RBI single that gave the Phillies a short-lived
2-1 lead in the fifth.
But in just his second start of the year, Bourjos swung momentum his
team's way shortly thereafter.
"It's a tough role, but when you can get some hits and help the team
win, it's even more special," he said.
NOTES: Philadelphia pitchers walked six hitters Tuesday night,
boosting their season total to a major-league-high 86 through 21
games. ... St. Louis OF Randal Grichuk (back) took swings off a tee
during batting practice Tuesday and also threw for the first time
since going on the disabled list April 17. Grichuk will head out on
a rehab assignment, perhaps as early as next week, before rejoining
the team. ... Phillies 3B Cody Asche spent time during batting
practice Tuesday catching fly balls in left field, opening up the
possibility that the team could move him there when it calls up
prized third-base prospect Maikel Franco.
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