SportsAugust 21, 2016

PHILADELPHIA -- There is a power bug going through the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup right now. Randal Grichuk homered early, then hit an RBI double in the 11th inning that sent St. Louis over the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Friday night for their fifth straight win...

By Aaron Bracy ~ Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- There is a power bug going through the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup right now.

Randal Grichuk homered early, then hit an RBI double in the 11th inning that sent St. Louis over the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Friday night for their fifth straight win.

Jedd Gyorko hit a tying, two-run homer with one out in the St. Louis ninth. The Cardinals tied a major league record with multiple home runs in nine consecutive games.

"It's pretty impressive what these guys are doing up and down the lineup," Gyorko said. "I'm a big believer that hitting is contagious."

Jhonny Peralta led off the 11th with a double and, two batters later, Grichuk doubled to the wall in left-center off Frank Herrmann (0-1).

"The offense was relentless and did what they had to do late," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.

Seung Hwan Oh (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth and 10th to earn the victory. Alex Reyes blanked the Phillies in the 11th for his first save, getting Odubel Herrera to ground out with runners on first and second to end the game.

Herrera and Freddy Galvis homered for the Phillies.

"What a tough loss," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.

Grichuk connected in the second for his 15th home run.

Jeanmar Gomez blew his fourth save in 36 tries when Gyorko homered.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright was cruising along until the sixth. The right-hander had retired 11 straight batters before hanging a 2-2 curveball that Herrera sent over the fence. Galvis followed with a home run that made it 3-1.

On the first pitch to Herrera, Wainwright slipped with his plant foot on the mound made wet by a persistent rain that fell for much of the middle innings.

Wainwright then gave up two homers, and sandwiched two walks around a double play before his night ended when Ryan Howard was caught stealing to finish the sixth.

Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!

Wainwright said the mound was an issue.

"I certainly slipped on that one pitch pretty good. When something like that happens and you don't really trust it after that, it can bother you a little," he said.

Wainwright is winless in his last six starts, going 0-2 with a 6.82 ERA over that stretch.

"Adam was better today," Matheny said. "Just a couple of those solo home runs put us in a hole. But he went deep for us."

Tough luck for Adam Morgan

The blown save prevented Phillies starter Adam Morgan from gaining his first victory since May 10. It would have snapped a seven-game losing streak. The left-hander gave up one run on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks in six-plus innings. He faced one batter in the seventh and left with a 3-1 lead.

"Bright spot was Morgan," Mackanin said. "He pitched extremely well. I was thrilled with the way he pitched. He was masterful with his changeup."

Replay review

The Phillies appeared to have runners on second and third with one out in the eighth, looking to extend a 3-1 lead. But Tommy Joseph was called out at second base after a replay review of 2 1/2 minutes overturned second-base umpire Tony Randazzo's safe call of an apparent double.

Homer streak

The Phillies have homered in 13 straight games.

Trainer's room

Cardinals: RHP Seth Maness had surgery Thursday to repair a ligament in his elbow, but not Tommy John surgery to replace the ligament as had been expected. He could return in time for next season rather than having to sit out 2017 as would have been the case following Tommy John surgery. The right-hander was 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 29 games this season before being shut down following his Aug. 13 appearance.

Phillies: INF Cesar Hernandez (sore right foot) was not in the starting lineup for the second straight game. He popped out to second while pinch-hitting with one out in the ninth to snap his 23-game on-base streak.

Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:

For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.

Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!