A Cardinals club battling injuries and forced to start rookie Quinn Mathews got beat down 12-3 by the surging Phillies on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. Making the third start of his MLB career, Mathews allowed 10 hits and seven earned runs.
A Cardinals club feeling the effects of mounting injuries and the fatigue that often comes at the end of its longest road trip of the season succumbed to a rather predictable result on Saturday night.
Rookie left-hander Quinn Mathews, who was promoted in place of the injured Hunter Dobbins (right forearm tightness) and stated in place of the injured Andre Pallante (right elbow inflammation), was hit hard and hit often by a suddenly surging Phillies team on Saturday night.
Mathews, who pitched well in the first two starts to his MLB career, surrendered three runs in the first inning and another four in the third inning as the Phillies won their eighth straight game in a 12-3 beatdown of the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.
The loss locked up a series win for the Phillies and it ended the Cardinals streak of five straight series victories. After losing their first six series following the break for the MLB All-Star Game, the Cards responded by beating the Yankees, Rockies, Phillies, Cubs and Reds in consecutive series. That 11-6 run got the Cardinals within 2 ½ games of the final Wild Card slot in the National League playoff chase before losses followed on Friday and Saturday night.
At long last, the Cardinals will finish their three-city, 11-game road trip on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia. Kyle Leahy (10-4, 3.24 ERA) will square off against All-Star starter Cristopher Sanchez (16-4, 2.51 ERA) square off in a series finale the Cardinals need to win to tie the season series record against the Phillies.
The Cards started their 11-game jaunt in Chicago where they took two of three from the rival Cubs – thanks in part to Joshua Báez’s history making three home runs in the first three at bats of his MLB career. Then, the Cardinals beat the Reds 3-2 in their five-game series after winning 10-9 in Thursday’s finale.
Mathews allowed just three earned runs in starts against the Blue Jays (Aug. 1) and Reds (Aug. 17), but he ran into trouble right away in the first inning. Alec Bohm, the hero of the Phillies’ 7-6 win on Friday night with three hits, drove in another run and former Cardinals’ infielder Edmundo Sosa plated two more with a double.
In the third inning, Luis Arraez, Bohm, Sosa and Bryan De La Cruz battered Mathews with four straight singles with the final one scoring two runs. A sacrifice fly by JT Realmuto and a Derek Hill double gave the Phillies a commanding 7-0 lead.
Two positives for the Cardinals’ rookie left-hander: He struck out star slugger Bryce Harper three times and he retired the final six batters he faced to save some wear and tear on the bullpen. In five innings of work, Mathews was tagged for 10 hits, seven earned runs and a walk.
Ryan Fernandez, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, surrendered a three-run homer to Harper in a fourth-run sixth inning to turn the game into a laugher.
Standout rookie JJ Wetherholt smacked a 403-foot home run off Phillies left-handed reliever Jose Alvarado in the eighth inning. Wetherholt's 17th homer was his first in August. Paired with his third-inning single, Weatherholt crafted his 36th multi-hit game of the season.
Reserve catcher Pedro Pages pitched the eighth inning and allowed Kyle Schwarber's 38th homer of the season.
