Harper’s 1st slam with Phillies helps bury Cards

[May 08, 2019]  Bryce Harper hit a grand slam in a six-run second inning as the Philadelphia Phillies cruised to an 11-1 win over the host St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Struggling through a 6-for-48 slump, Harper slugged his seventh home run and first grand slam with the Phillies off Dakota Hudson (2-3) in the big inning, which featured six unearned runs, two throwing errors, two walks and a passed ball by the Cardinals.

Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola (3-0) tossed six innings of one-run ball and made his third straight strong start by giving up just three hits and fanning seven.

The 2014 first-round pick has allowed only three runs in his last 21 innings for the Phillies, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

Harper notched two hits and four RBIs, and Rhys Hoskins posted four hits, three runs, a homer and a double. Odubel Herrera had two hits and two RBIs while

J.T. Realmuto added two hits and an RBI.

Hudson worked five innings and allowed seven hits and eight runs but only two were earned, and Matt Wieters ripped a solo homer for the Cardinals, who are 2-5 in May.

Shoddy defense by the Cardinals led to the Phillies scoring six runs on just two hits in the second, which opened with Herrera squirting a grounder up the middle then hustling for a double.

He scored on a throwing error by Kolten Wong, who attempted to start a double play two batters later but made a backhanded flip that was wide of second base. The play was originally ruled an out but overturned by video review.

Cardinals relief pitcher Luke Gregerson (44) throws during the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. The Phillies won 11-1. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Goldschmidt committed the second straight throwing error when he threw Nola's bunt wide of third base, scoring Cesar Hernandez for a 2-0 lead.

With the bases full, Harper belted a 2-1 pitch, an 89 mph hanging slider, to right field. The homer gave Philadelphia, which lost 6-0 in Monday's series opener, the 6-0 lead on Tuesday.

The Phillies increased the lead to 8-0 with two runs in the fifth on RBIs by Realmuto and Herrera.

Wieters stroked a 428-foot bomb deep to right -- his first homer with the Cardinals -- in the bottom of the sixth, breaking Nola's streak of 10 consecutive retired batters.

Herrera and Hernandez drove in runs in the seventh, and Hoskins blasted his 11th homer in the ninth.

--Field Level Media

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