Holding a four-run lead and seemingly on the verge of ending the Phillies winning streak at eight, the Cardinals could only look on in horror as Riley O'Brien surrendered six straight runs with two outs in the ninth of a 6-4 loss. Kyle Schwarber hit a 459-foot walk-off winner to end it.
Of all the damaging body blows the Cardinals have suffered this season, the series of shots the club absorbed late Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia left them bloodied and battered and possibly knocked out of the playoff chase for good.
With the Cardinals seemingly breezing toward a win most of the day and even leading by four runs with two outs in the ninth inning, All-Star Closer Riley O’Brien suffered another major meltdown and surrendered six straight runs – capped by Kyle Schwarber’s titanic 459-foot game-winning, walk-off homer – as Philadelphia danced its way to a 6-4 defeat of St. Louis.
According to win probability charts, the Cardinals had a 99.6 percent chance of winning after getting to two outs in the ninth inning. Somehow, they still lost when O'Brien allowed five Phillies in a row to reach and melted down for a second time in the week -- this one resulting in the most shocking loss of the season.
"I feel bad for Riley right now because this guy's given us a really good year and the last two outings obviously haven't gone his way," manager Oliver Marmol told Cardinals TV. "But he's our closer and he just couldn't get it done tonight."
O’Brien, who had major troubles in registering his National League-leading 33rd save on Thursday in Cincinnati, had the Phillies down to the final strike three different times. However, JT Realmuto delivered a two-strike single, rookie Justin Crawford coaxed a walk and former Cardinals’ infielder Edmundo Sosa converted a three-run double down the third base line. The Cardinals should have had their corner infielders and outfielders aligned in a “no doubles” set and ultimately paid the price for the strategic misstep when the ball got between Jordan and the third base line.
No. 9 hitter Bryan De La Cruz was the third Phillies hitter to defy the odds after getting to two strikes by drilling a 2-2 sweeper into left field to score Sosa and knot the game at 4. Schwarber then drilled a 2-2 sinker over the batter’s eye in center field for his 39th home run of the season.
The outcome pushed the Phillies winning streak to nine and extended the Cardinals losing streak to three. The shocking ninth-inning result turned the three-city, 10-day, 11-game road trip from a winner to a disappointing 5-6 result. By getting swept, the Cardinals also lost the season series to the Phillies.
"We need (Monday's day off), but at the same time, we don't want it," Marmol said. "Especially after a game like that, you don't want to sit on it. But we'll take (Monday's off day) and then get ready for Tuesday."
Coming off a heartbreaking, extra-innings defeat on Friday and a lopsided loss on Sunday night, the Cardinals rocked Cy Young award candidate Cristopher Sanchez for nine hits and four earned runs and seemed poised to grab one of their most impressive victories after taking a 4-0 lead into the ninth inning
Alec Burleson, who was 2 for 4, pulled within one of the MLB lead in RBI with 96 by driving in two more runs. Standout rookie JJ Wetherholt also had two hits and an RBI and utility standout Jose Fermin homered and made a dazzling running catch in left center to blunt a Philadelphia rally in the sixth inning.
After being on the road for more than a week and playing 11 times in 10 days, the Cardinals get a much-needed day off on Monday. They begin a three-game series against the Orioles on Tuesday at Busch Stadium.
Kyle Leahy was limited to four innings and 63 pitches, but he extended his streak of starts without surrendering more than two earned runs to 11. To put that into perspective, Bob Gibson once did that in 1968. Adam Wainwright is the franchise leader in that area, making 12 straight starts where he allowed two or fewer earned runs. Leahy, 29, came into the day tied with Michael Wacha (2018), Andy Benes (2002) and Bob Tewksbury (1992) with 10 straight starts of allowing two earned runs or fewer.
Leahy allowed just two hit and struck out four over his four scoreless innings of work. He did walk two hitters – his first bases on balls allowed in his past three starts. He struck out the side in the third inning and got a running catch from Jordan Walker and a double play off the bat of JT Realmuto to escape his only jam.
Burleson got the Cardinals off to a strong start by lashing a line drive into right center to score Wetherholt, who led off the game with a single and his 14th stolen bases in 15 tries.
The Cardinals followed a similar formula in the fourth inning when Walker opened the inning with an infield single and his 18th stolen base. Burleson took advantage of having the runner in scoring position and drilled a smash by first baseman Kyle Schwarber for his 96th RBI.
"(Burleson) makes a lot of contact and he's driving in runs at a crazy rate," Marmol said. "He just takes a very professional at bat. He's much improved left-on-left. If you look at the last six weeks or so, he's done a really nice job there. So, he's in a good spot."
Fermin, who was wearing a playful chrome belt featuring pictures of himself blowing a bubble for Players Weekend, added on in the fourth inning by surprising Sanchez on a 0-2 pitch to make it 3-0. Fermin ripped his sixth homer of the season when he lifted a sinker into the seat 397 feet away from home plate.
Wetherholt knocked the Phillies ace out of the game in the seventh inning when he laced a 1-2 changeup into right field to score Ramon Urias, who was activated on Sunday when the Cardinals were forced to put outfielder Everson Pereia on the 10-day Injured List with a bruised left hand after getting hit by a pitch in Friday night’s loss.
The Cardinals had two two-out hits with runners in scoring position on Sunday against Sanchez. The Cardinals touched him up for nine hits and four earned runs over 6 2/3 innings of work.
In the end, none of it mattered much when O'Brien couldn't finish off the 4-0 lead the Cardinals provided him. He fell to 3-5 and saw his ERA spike to 3.93. O'Brien has closed out 33 of 38 save opportunities to lead the NL in that statistical category.
