Phils stun Cardinals with late salvo
Source: Agencies |
June 23, 2011, Thursday
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THE Philadelphia Phillies turned a pitchers' duel into a blowout when a late surge handed St Louis a 10-2 defeat in the day's only National League game as the Cardinals made an inauspicious start to life without Albert Pujols on Tuesday.
The Phillies (46-28) scored just once in the first seven innings against St Louis starter Kyle McClellan before springing to life in the eighth, overturning a 1-2 deficit by scoring nine runs to feast on the Cardinals' wobbly bullpen.
"The eighth inning was so ridiculous it was hard to describe," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told reporters. "It completely got away from us."
The Cardinals (40-34) needed five relievers and recorded four walks and hit two batsmen during the disastrous inning that sealed the hosts' fate in their first game since three-time NL MVP Pujols fractured his left wrist on Sunday.
Pujols will miss an estimated six weeks.
Philadelphia's Ben Francisco hit the go-ahead run-scoring single to give the visitors a 3-2 lead in the eighth, while Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard piled on RBI hits.
"I've never seen an inning with that many pitching changes, it was kind of crazy," Francisco said. "It was nice for us to get a big inning like that, we haven't been scoring in bunches like that."
Carlos Ruiz went 4-for-4 at the plate for the league-leading Phillies, who got another strong pitching performance from ace Roy Halladay.
Halladay (9-3) was pitching for his Major League-leading 10th win of the season, but had to settle for a no-decision after allowing one run in six innings.
Michael Stutes pitched the seventh and was credited with the win. He allowed a run in the inning, and St Louis also scored in the fifth.
Losing streak
In Miami, Florida manager Jack McKeon got his first win since taking over as the Marlins ended a dreadful 11-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in interleague play.
The 80-year-old McKeon, the former Marlins manager who led the team to a World Series title in 2003, was named interim manager on Monday after Edwin Rodriguez unexpectedly resigned with his team in the midst of a 1-18 record in June.
McKeon took over a slumping team that also fired their batting coach two weeks earlier, and he helped deliver a much-needed win in his second game at the helm.
Gaby Sanchez blasted a first-inning solo home run to get Florida off to a fast start, and Mike Stanton added RBI in the sixth and eighth innings where the Marlins (33-41) opened up a 5-0 advantage.
Marlins starter Javier Vazquez survived 10 hits and got through 5 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
The Angels (36-39) scored twice in the ninth, but Florida's Leo Nunez came on to get the final out of the game and record his 20th save of the season.
Elsewhere in interleague, it was: Pirates 9, Orioles 3; Rockies 4, Indians 3; Nationals 6, Mariners 5; Athletics 7, Mets 3; Padres 5, Red Sox 4; Braves 5, Blue Jays 1; Rangers 5, Astros 4 (in 11 innings); Diamondbacks 7, Royals 2; White Sox 3, Cubs 2; Brewers 5, Rays 1; Dodgers 6, Tigers 1; and Twins 9, Giants 2.
The Phillies (46-28) scored just once in the first seven innings against St Louis starter Kyle McClellan before springing to life in the eighth, overturning a 1-2 deficit by scoring nine runs to feast on the Cardinals' wobbly bullpen.
"The eighth inning was so ridiculous it was hard to describe," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told reporters. "It completely got away from us."
The Cardinals (40-34) needed five relievers and recorded four walks and hit two batsmen during the disastrous inning that sealed the hosts' fate in their first game since three-time NL MVP Pujols fractured his left wrist on Sunday.
Pujols will miss an estimated six weeks.
Philadelphia's Ben Francisco hit the go-ahead run-scoring single to give the visitors a 3-2 lead in the eighth, while Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard piled on RBI hits.
"I've never seen an inning with that many pitching changes, it was kind of crazy," Francisco said. "It was nice for us to get a big inning like that, we haven't been scoring in bunches like that."
Carlos Ruiz went 4-for-4 at the plate for the league-leading Phillies, who got another strong pitching performance from ace Roy Halladay.
Halladay (9-3) was pitching for his Major League-leading 10th win of the season, but had to settle for a no-decision after allowing one run in six innings.
Michael Stutes pitched the seventh and was credited with the win. He allowed a run in the inning, and St Louis also scored in the fifth.
Losing streak
In Miami, Florida manager Jack McKeon got his first win since taking over as the Marlins ended a dreadful 11-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in interleague play.
The 80-year-old McKeon, the former Marlins manager who led the team to a World Series title in 2003, was named interim manager on Monday after Edwin Rodriguez unexpectedly resigned with his team in the midst of a 1-18 record in June.
McKeon took over a slumping team that also fired their batting coach two weeks earlier, and he helped deliver a much-needed win in his second game at the helm.
Gaby Sanchez blasted a first-inning solo home run to get Florida off to a fast start, and Mike Stanton added RBI in the sixth and eighth innings where the Marlins (33-41) opened up a 5-0 advantage.
Marlins starter Javier Vazquez survived 10 hits and got through 5 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
The Angels (36-39) scored twice in the ninth, but Florida's Leo Nunez came on to get the final out of the game and record his 20th save of the season.
Elsewhere in interleague, it was: Pirates 9, Orioles 3; Rockies 4, Indians 3; Nationals 6, Mariners 5; Athletics 7, Mets 3; Padres 5, Red Sox 4; Braves 5, Blue Jays 1; Rangers 5, Astros 4 (in 11 innings); Diamondbacks 7, Royals 2; White Sox 3, Cubs 2; Brewers 5, Rays 1; Dodgers 6, Tigers 1; and Twins 9, Giants 2.
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