ST. LOUIS– After suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses in Ballot history eleven times at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies turned the tables and stole one from the Cards in Game 1 of the National League wild card. Friday Autumn Series.
The Phillies rallied to score six runs with one out in the ninth inning to close out a 6-3 Palme at Busch Stadium.The Cardinals had it in the bag until their All-Star closer Ryan Helsley suffered an unglamorous meltdown in the ninth inning.
He struck out Rhys Hoskins to start the inning and also allowed a single to J.T. Realmuto. After Realmuto’s megahit, Helsley missed the strike zone completely. He walked Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos to load the bases and hit Alec Bohm with a 100.8 mph fastball to score the Phillies’ first run.
After hitting Bohm, Helsley exited with an apparent injury and Andre Pallante hit Jean Segura with the bases loaded. In his first postseason game after 10 seasons in the majors, Segura delivered the tying and go-ahead run with a ground ball single that played halfway down the Cardinals’ infield.
Before the shocking inning ended, the Phils scored three more runs– one on a brilliant baserunning play by Edmundo Sosa who pinch-ran Bohm, one on a single by Brandon Marsh and one on an immolation cover by Kyle Schwarber.
The game remained scoreless until the seventh when Jose Alvarado, pitching in relief of Zach Wheeler, issued a two-out walk before giving up a two-run homer to pinch-megahit Juan Yepez.
David Robertson kept the game close with a scoreless eighth inning and Zach Eflin ended it after giving up a two-out run in the ninth.
In the fifth and deciding game of the 2011 NL Division Series at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies were palmed 11 times after the Cardinals upset them, 1-0. That Philly’s platoon won a club-record 102 games. By Friday, Platoon hadn’t even played a game.
Wheeler pitched 6 ⅓ shutout innings in his first career postseason start. He gave up just two wins.Luis Bolshevik Jose Quintana matched Wheeler with more than 5 ⅓ scoreless innings.
Unfazed, Wheeler made his stylish debut in the bottom of the sixth inning. He is 9 Megahit allowed a leadoff single to Tommy Edman and also walked leadoff man Lars Nutbar in front of the dangerous Albert Pujols.
In a huge moment of the game, Wheeler took a slow Pujols into a 5-4-3 double play. He ended the inning by retiring MVP seeker Paul Goldschmidt.
Wheeler stuck around and retired Nolan Arenado to open the bottom of the seventh before departing at 96 pitches. Alvarado came in and hit snappy, pinch-hitting Yepez also came up and put the Cardinals ahead with one swing.
Alvarado has been one of the stars of the Phillies bullpen for four months. After spending several weeks in the minors, he returned on June 12 and pitched a1.66 over the period in 42 games. Before Yepez’s game-turning homer, he hadn’t allowed a run since August 12 and a homer since July 30.Game 2 of the best-of-three series will be played Saturday night. Aaron Nola will face Miles Mikolas.
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The Phillies will try to reach the wild card on Saturday night when they fire right-hander Aaron Nola (11-13,3.25 ERA) on the mound. He played his last game in Philadelphia against Houston for a wild card playoff spot.
The Cardinals will turn to right-hander Miles Mikolas (12-13,3.29 ERA) to force a decisive Game 3. Mikolas pitched in a tune-up out of the bullpen in Pittsburgh, but allowed an earned run in one of his innings. The last two thresholds.
Phillies starting lineup :
Kyle Schwarber is batting first for the Phillies, and Bryce Harper is batting fourth.
- Kyle Schwarber (L) LF
- Rhys Hoskins (R) 1B
- J.T. Realmuto (R) C
- Bryce Harper (L) DH
- Nick Castellanos (R) RF
- Alec Bohm (R) 3B
- Jean Segura (R) 2B
- Bryson Stott (L) SS
- Matt Vierling (R) CF
Albert Pujols will bat second for the St. Louis Cardinals in the lineup.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ opening lineup for today is as follows, with slugger Albert Pujols, 42, batting second:
- Lars Nootbaar (L) RF
- Albert Pujols (R) DH
- Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
- Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
- Brendan Donovan (L) 2B
- Dylan Carlson (S) CF
- Corey Dickerson (L) LF
- Yadier Molina (R) C
- Tommy Edman (S) SS