Cards hit four homers, take finale at Philadelphia

[May 31, 2019]    Jedd Gyorko belted a two-run homer, and Dakota Hudson tossed six strong innings as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals posted a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

Cardinals third baseman Jedd Gyorko (3) throws to first for an out in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Wieters homered for the second time in as many days and Marcell Ozuna and Matt Carpenter also went deep for the Cardinals, who snapped a three-game skid with just their third win in their past 13 road games.

Bryce Harper ripped an RBI single to highlight his second straight three-hit performance, and Rhys Hoskins also had an RBI single for the Phillies, who fell for just the fourth time in 13 games.

Jose Martinez led off the seventh inning with a single before Gyorko deposited a 2-0 slider from Jerad Eickhoff (2-3) into the seats in left field to stake St. Louis to a 4-1 lead.

Gyorko's second homer of the season spelled the end of the afternoon for Eickhoff, who has struggled since shutting out the Cardinals over eight innings on May 8. Since that start, Eickhoff has allowed 17 runs on 25 hits -- including 10 homers -- in 18 1/3 innings.

Hudson (4-3) recorded his fifth quality start in his past six outings, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

After Carpenter's solo homer in the seventh inning off Edgar Garcia pushed the Cardinals' lead to 5-1, Harper and Hoskins cut the deficit in half with RBI singles in the eighth. John Gant sat down the next three hitters to end the inning, and Jordan Hicks retired the side in order in the ninth for his 11th save of the season.

Ozuna led off the second inning by sending a 1-2 fastball from Eickhoff over the wall in right field for his team-leading 16th homer of the season and second of the series.

Wieters followed suit two batters later, depositing an ineffective 2-2 slider over the wall in right field for his third of the season.

Cesar Hernandez trimmed St. Louis' lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning after he sped down the first base line to prevent a potential inning-ending double play. Andrew McCutchen scored on the play, but Scott Kingery popped out to end the threat.

--Field Level Media

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