Masyn Winn broke a scoreless tie in the seventh with a two-out RBI single, Everson Pereira added a solo home run, and right-hander Ryne Stanek pitched out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the eighth inning for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 2-0 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals closed within 3 1/2 games of the Phillies in the NL Wild Card race, one night after dropping the series opener.
After both teams got superlative starting pitching performances, Winn had two outs when he drove in Jordan Walker, who had walked and stole second against Alex McFarlane (0-1) to start the seventh.
The Phillies started a rally in the eighth against left-hander Caleb Ferguson, who walked all three batters he faced one night after walking three without retiring anyone.
After Cards manager Oliver Marmol went to Stanek, Luis Arraez couldn’t take advantage of the bases-loaded situation, grounding into a 3-2-3 double play.
J.T. Realmuto flied deep to center, and Stanek screamed with excitement, getting out of the jam by throwing only four pitches.
In the bottom of the eighth, Pereira went deep against left-hander Tim Mayza for his fifth home run and first with the Cardinals since being claimed off waivers from the White Sox on Thursday. Pereira also made a great catch in center as he crashed into the fence.
George Soriano (6-3) kept the Phillies off the board in the seventh after right-hander Andre Pallante allowed four hits and three walks to go with two strikeouts over six innings.
Riley O’Brien pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 30th save.
The Phillies went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight. Bryce Harper hit into two of Philly’s four double plays.
Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez was just as effective as Pallante, keeping the Cardinals scoreless and allowing four hits to go with seven strikeouts. Manager Don Mattingly removed him on a muggy night after 89 pitches with the Phillies bullpen still recharging after recent heavy usage.
McFarlane — who recently was recalled from Triple-A — was throwing 100-plus mph, but his command was just shaky enough in his second major league appearance.
–Field Level Media
