LDN - Sports

Cardinals rally for 7-6 win over Phillies in 10

[June 22, 2017] PHILADELPHIA -- During a season to forget for the Philadelphia Phillies, their Wednesday loss to the St. Louis Cardinals was another they certainly won't want to remember.

St. Louis overcame a five-run deficit for a 7-6, 10-inning victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies built a 5-0 lead through four innings, but the Cardinals chipped away, hitting four homers to tie the score. Tommy Pham had a multi-homer game and evened the score 5-5 in the ninth with a solo shot off Phillies closer Hector Neris.

"We talk about how dangerous a hitter he is at any point to any part of the field, too," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Pham. "He went and picked the deepest part in center. He's an exciting player when he's hitting the ball well."

The homer off Neris was Pham's ninth of the season. It came on a 1-1 pitch that was the second consecutive fastball he saw on the outside corner.

"The first one I felt like he made a good pitch, the second one was just a little more over the plate," said Pham, who also had a multi-homer game against the Atlanta Braves on May 7.

St. Louis tied the game with the long ball, then took the lead in an unconventional fashion. Jose Martinez led off the 10th with a double and advanced to third on a balk by Edubray Ramos (0-6). Martinez scored when Ramos made an errant pickoff throw to first base. Yadier Molina added an RBI single to pad the lead.

Seung-Hwan Oh allowed an RBI single to Cameron Perkins in the bottom of the 10th but still picked up his 16th save of the season.

The Phillies, who have lost 13 of their last 14 games, had a chance to win in the ninth when Freddy Galvis doubled down the left field line with two outs and Odubel Herrera at first base. Herrera, however, ran directly through a stop sign from third base coach Juan Samuel and was easily thrown out at the plate by Pham.

"His emotions got the best of him," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Herrera. "He just wanted to score so badly, he put his head down and ran, which is a mistake. He's just an emotional guy and wanted to win the game."

The Cardinals' comeback overshadowed a solid outing from Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta. In his eighth career major league start, the rookie puzzled Cardinals hitters and struck out a career-best 10.

Pivetta, a rare bright spot in 2017 for the Phillies, has been especially impressive in his last two starts. He allowed three runs in six innings Wednesday. The 24-year-old Canadian struck out nine in seven scoreless innings in his previous start against the Boston Red Sox.

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Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Pivetta made two mistakes against the Cardinals, giving up homers to Pham and Jedd Gyorko, who belted a two-run shot to right field in the sixth inning. Martinez made it a one-run game in the eighth, smacking his first career pinch-hit homer on the first pitch of the night from reliever Joaquin Benoit.

"The entire offense slowly got us back into that," Matheny said of the comeback. "By the fourth inning, we had a couple of bloop hits, and that was about it at that point. Maybe only one hard-hit ball."

St. Louis starter Michael Wacha struggled again. The right-hander lasted four innings and gave up five runs (two earned). Wacha dealt with baserunners all night, allowing nine hits to the 22 batters he faced. He has failed to go more than 4 1/3 innings in five of his last six starts and has an 8.17 ERA in that span.

The Phillies struck for three runs in the first inning against Wacha. Maikel Franco started the scoring with an RBI groundout, and Herrera followed with a two-run double. None of the first-inning runs charged to Wacha were earned after an error by second baseman Greg Garcia, who committed two errors in the game.

Philadelphia recorded 16 hits in all but scored only once after the fourth. The Phillies put a runner on third with less than two outs in the sixth and seventh innings, but Cardinals reliever Tyler Lyons -- who had five strikeouts in three shutout innings -- got out of both jams.

"You got to win when you get 16 hits. We just couldn't push any more runs across until that 10th inning," Mackanin said. "Very disappointing."

NOTES: Cardinals CF Dexter Fowler left the game in the 10th inning due to left quad tightness. ... The Phillies announced they came to terms with first-round draft pick, OF Adam Haseley. The 21-year-old was picked eighth overall after hitting .390 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs for the University of Virginia in 2017. ... Wednesday marked the second straight night the Cardinals and Phillies played extra innings. St. Louis is 4-5 in extra-inning games this season; Philadelphia is 4-7.

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