Alec Bohm is in the midst of a torrid stretch. Perhaps not coincidentally, so are the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bohm will look to continue to swing a hot bat on Saturday evening as the Phillies put their season-high seven-game winning streak on the line in a rematch against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
Philadelphia’s most recent loss came to St. Louis, on Aug. 12. The Cardinals won two of the final three games of their series in St. Louis from Aug. 10-12.
Bohm drove in the tying and winning runs with a triple in the 10th inning on Friday, lifting the Phillies to a 7-6 victory in the opener of a three-game series.
Bohm, who also had an RBI single, finished 3-for-5 on the night. He has 15 RBIs in 18 games this month and 74 for the season, tying him with Kyle Schwarber for the team lead.
“It’s always fun,” Bohm told NBC Sports Philadelphia of the team’s winning ways. “I mean, everybody’s pulling for each other, just fighting to do whatever we can to win a game.”
Luis Arraez also had three hits and J.T. Realmuto added a pair of RBI doubles for the Phillies, who improved to a season-best 13 games over .500. They also pulled within four games of the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves.
Philadelphia rookie Andrew Painter (2-8, 6.43 ERA) will start on Saturday. He took his lumps in his last outing, permitting five runs on six hits — including two homers — over five innings in a no-decision in a 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
The 23-year-old fared well in his lone start against the Cardinals on Aug. 10, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before Ivan Herrera ripped a one-out double. Alec Burleson followed with a two-run single to send Painter to the showers.
Painter walked away with his first win, 6-5, since March 31 after yielding two runs on as many hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Painter would be wise to pitch carefully to Jordan Walker, who continued his power surge by homering in his third consecutive contest on Friday.
The Cardinals officially did not announce a starter for Saturday’s game, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that left-hander Quinn Mathews is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Memphis to get the nod.
Mathews would take the spot of right-hander Andre Pallante, who is on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his pitching elbow.
Mathews, 25, has a 5-4 record with a 3.27 ERA in 21 starts for the Redbirds this season. He is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts (nine innings) this season with the Cardinals.
St. Louis’ Masyn Winn was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight game on Friday due to a left thumb injury.
Instead, Winn entered as a pinch runner during the Cardinals’ 10-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. The Gold Glove shortstop entered Friday’s game in the field during the 10th inning.
“He needed today (off),” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “We’ll see how he responds to treatment and comes in tomorrow. But the pain is there.”
–Field Level Media
