Hunter Dobbins and Jordan Walker committed errors, and Cardinals' pitchers walked seven in a 6-5 loss to a Phillies team they are trying to catch for the final Wild Card spot. The Cards scored three times in the eighth, but they left the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
Errors by starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins and Jordan Walker cost the Cardinals three runs in the early going, and their bats were nonexistent for 5 1/3 innings against Phillies struggling rookie Andre Painter. St. Louis did rally behind more clutch hitting from Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn, but they couldn’t come all the way back in a 6-5 loss to the Phillies at Busch Stadium.
"I could give a damn where we are (in the rebuilding process) ... I want that game and everybody in that clubhouse wants that game," Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol said after the frustrating loss. "Yes, (the team's youth) shows up from time to time, especially when you are competing against a group that's built to win now, but all that goes out the window when the first pitch is thrown. You take your best shot and you want to win every game and we didn't do that today."
Down 6-2, the Cardinals scored three times in the eighth inning to make it a game. Third base coach Ron "Pop" Warner held Winn at third on a hard-hit single by Jose Fermin, and that came back to hurt the usually uber-aggressive Cards on the basepaths. Rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks struck out on a neck-high fastball and Bryan Torres lined out to center to strand Winn and Fermin in scoring position.
It was the 37th one-run game of the season for the Cards, who fell to 20-17 in those games. The Phillies improved to 21-11 in one-run games.
The Cardinals, winners of five of seven games before Monday, didn’t have a hit in the first five innings against Painter. The 6-foot-7 right-hander came into the night riding an eight-game losing streak and sporting a 6.48 ERA, but he struck out six and pitched around three walks.
Philadelphia (64-56) pulled 4 ½ games clear of the Cardinals (59-60) in the race for the final Wild Card slot in the National League. The two teams square off two more times over the next two nights, but the Cardinals will have to face All-Star starter Cristopher Sanchez on Tuesday night and long-time ace Zack Wheeler on Wednesday afternoon. They then play three times in Philadelphia from Aug. 21-23.
The Cardinals hold the tiebreaker over the Padres, but they would lose tiebreakers against the Dbacks and Marlins. A tiebreaker over the Phillies could come in handy if they make a late charge toward the playoffs.
Dobbins walked three, committed critical error
Dobbins, who has bounced between Triple-A Memphis and St. Louis all season, threw wildly on a comebacker in the second inning and the three-base error ultimately led to two runs. After Dobbins wiggled out of a first-inning jam thanks to a nifty double play by Burleson, the right-hander surrendered a leadoff single to Brandon Marsh in the second inning. Derek Hill then chopped a ball off the plate, and Dobbins wasn’t even close on his throw to first, allowing March to circle the bases. Then, former Cardinals’ infielder Edmundo Sosa singled in Hill to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
"I'm definitely going to take some (Pitcher Fielding Practice) to fix that throw to first base," Dobbins said after the game.
The Phillies boosted their lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning when Schwarber singled to right field and then moved up to second when Walker bobbled the ball near the warning track. He scored when Bryce Harper tapped into a double play.
The Cardinals got within 3-2 in the sixth when they finally broke through against Painter. A walk by JJ Wetherholt and a double by the surging Ivan Herrera set the stage for Burleson, who singled in two to chase the Phillies rookie.
Herrera and Burleson bunched doubles back-to-back in the eighth inning. The three RBI pushed Burleson’s total to a career-best 81.
More shakiness from the Cardinals allowed Philadelphia to add to its lead in the seventh. Caleb Ferguson, who was acquired at the MLB Trade Deadline to replace departed left-hander JoJo Romero, walked No. 9 hitter Garrett Stubbs and then grooved a pitch to Schwarber, who hit a 110.1 mph RBI double into the right-center gap. Ferguson walked three and surrendered the Schwarber rocket to right.
Sosa doubled in two more in the eighth inning to give the Phils a 6-2 edge.
