Cardinals lose to Phillies in 11 innings

PHILADELPHIA -- Rafael Furcal made the stop in the hole, the plant, and the accurate throw to first base.

He just couldn't nip Philadelphia's still-speedy Juan Pierre in time for the third out.

Pierre beat out a run-scoring infield single in the 11th inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Jimmy Rollins reached against Barret Browning (0-2) on a fielder's choice. He advanced to second base on a grounder and then stole third.

Pierre hit a ground ball deep into the hole that shortstop Furcal made a great stab at and fired to first. Pierre just beat the throw to score Rollins and help the Phillies win two of three against the Cardinals.

The Cardinals’ Jon Jay, center, is congratulated by teammates after he scored on a single by Matt Carpenter during the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Phillies in Philadelphia. (Tom Mihalek ~ Associated Press)

"Pierre showed his speed. I thought he would be out," Browning said. "All losses are tough, but this one hurts a little more."

Pierre said he was inspired watching Usain Bolt sprint to gold on his mad dash to first.

"I played with Furcal so I knew what kind of arm he had," Pierre said. "Guys are saying he slipped a little bit and couldn't get that much on the throw. He still got a lot on it, but not enough, and it happened to work out."

Philadelphia's Erik Kratz hit a three-run homer off Mitchell Boggs in the eighth that tied the game 7-7.

Ryan Howard also homered for the Phillies. Matt Carpenter had four hits and three RBIs for the Cardinals.

Philadelphia Phillies' Juan Pierre jumps into the arms of teammate Jeremy Horst while celebrating his game-winning RBI-single that scored Jimmy Rollins in the 11th inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in Philadelphia. The Phillies won 8-7. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Jeremy Horst (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings for his first major league victory in a game that lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes.

Kratz continued his role as unlikely star for the Phillies with one of his biggest hits.

Chase Utley and Howard walked against Marc Rzepczynski to lead off the eighth. Kratz then connected for the tying homer to left that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The 32-year-old Kratz was a minor league journeyman pressed into the big leagues when reserve catcher Brian Schneider was injured. Kratz has become a fan favorite because of his instant production (9 of his first 13 hits for extra bases) and feel-good story.

"We were close to getting out of it," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It was the right pitch, but wrong location."

Jon Jay hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning, and Carpenter followed with an RBI single to make it 7-4.

The Phillies had scored four runs against starter Lance Lynn but were held scoreless by St. Louis' bullpen until the eighth.

Carpenter wasted little time putting the Cardinals up 1-0 in the first when he ripped a pitch into the right-center gap for an RBI double.

The Phillies roughed up Lynn with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Utley's two-RBI triple made it 2-1 and Howard followed with a shot off second baseman Daniel Descalso's glove for a run-scoring single.

Lynn, a 13-game winner, allowed four runs over five innings and is winless in his last three starts.

"I've just got to start making pitches when I need to," he said. "I've got to make better pitches."

The Cardinals did what they could to put Lynn in position for win No. 14.

Lynn entered leading the National League with a 6.77 run support average, and his 23rd start of the season was trending that way.

Carlos Beltran doubled to right for his NL-best 83rd RBI in the third to cut it to 3-2.

The Cardinals scored the tying run in the fourth on a throwing error by Kratz and went up 4-3 on Carpenter's RBI single to center.

Howard's solo shot to left-center, his seventh, tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth inning.

Vance Worley has just one win in five starts and had another rough outing Sunday. He allowed nine hits and four runs over 5 1/3 innings -- one start after he was chased by Atlanta in the fourth inning. He has battled bone chips that caused a stint on the DL and a string of mediocre starts.

Noteworthy

* The Cardinals return to St. Louis to open a nine-game game homestand Tuesday.

* The Phillies are 5-9 in extra innings. The Cardinals are 3-8.

* Carpenter had his second four-hit game of the season.

* Beltran has reached base in his last 14 games.