PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Tommy Pham wasn’t going to let another cutter get by him.
Pham hit a two-run homer as part of a seven-run 11th inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 on Tuesday night.
Stephen Piscotty had a two-run double off Casey Fien after Edubray Ramos (0-5) started the inning with two walks. Yadier Molina and Pham followed with homers as the Cardinals had their biggest output of the season in an inning.
“(Fien) threw me a cutter first pitch and I said if he throws me another one I’m going to crush it,” Pham said. “He threw it again and that normally never works, but it worked there. I wish I could predict stuff like that but I can’t. I’m not that good.”
Fien gave up both homers and then a single to Chad Huffman and double to Carpenter before the pitcher was removed. Philadelphia has now lost 12 of its last 13 games.
“Ramos didn’t record an out and he didn’t throw strikes,” said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin. “Then we threw balls that were hit. It’s a tough way to lose a game after we had good pitching for 10 innings.”
Mike Leake started the game for St. Louis and allowed one run and three hits in six innings.
Jeremy Hellickson gave up six hits and a run in seven innings. His only blemish was a solo homer for Jedd Gyorko in the second inning.
Both bullpens pitched well until the Phillies’ imploded in the 11th inning. Kevin Siegrist (1-1) pitched one inning in relief for St. Louis to earn the win. The Cardinals relievers pitched five shutout innings allowing just four singles.
Philadelphia scored its lone run of the game on a Maikel Franco RBI single after Leake walked the first two batters in the fourth inning.
“(Leake) was good,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. “He trusted his sinker and kept it down and got the outs when we needed it. It’s really hard to complain about anything when he only gives up three hits.”
The Cardinals improved to 4-0 against the Phillies this month. St. Louis is 3-12 against everyone else in June.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Alex Reyes, the top pitching prospect for the Cardinals, is making good progress in his recovery from a UCL tear in his right elbow and could begin a throwing program in about four weeks. Reyes had Tommy John surgery in February and is hoping to be back competing for a rotation spot at the beginning of the 2018 season.
Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with an upper back strain. Eickhoff has struggled this season and is the only pitcher in the majors with at least 10 starts and no wins. However, he is coming off his best start of the season in which he allowed just one run on six hits against Arizona. 1B Brock Stassi was recalled from Double A Reading to take his spot on the roster.
END OF THE LINE
Phillies 1B Tommy Joseph had his 14-game hitting streak come to an end Tuesday. He was 0-for-5. He entered the game tied with Los Angeles Dodgers 3B Justin Turner for the longest active streak in the majors.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (3-3, 4.78) had six quality starts in his first seven outings, but has had only one in his last five starts - it came against the Phillies.
Phillies: RHP Nick Pivetta (1-3, 4.46) is coming off the best start of his young career. He threw seven shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox and struck out nine in what was a no decision.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.