So, what happens when a baseball team spends six hours dodging raindrops in Atlanta, then arrives at a St. Louis hotel at 3:45 a.m., gets a few hours of pillow time, and tries to play a game that evening?
Answer: You get a night like this. The Phillies, still wearing the jet lag from Thursday’s soggy extra-inning marathon in Atlanta, turned in their sleepiest offensive showing of the young season — a 2-0 loss to the Cardinals on Friday night that felt like it was played in molasses. Andre Pallante, a sinker-slinging righty who entered the night having surrendered four runs over his last 9 1/3 innings, needed 93 pitches to breeze through seven shutout innings. He allowed only four Phillies to reach base — two singles, two walks — and retired 10 straight at one point. Their best shot? That came in the very first inning. Bryce Harper walked. Kyle Schwarber singled. Then came a little baseball mischief — a double steal. Yes, the new-look 3-4 combo pulled it off. Second and third, one out, Castellanos at the plate. And then… medium-deep fly out. No dice. They had another shot in the fifth. Trea Turner singled and moved up on a grounder. But with a chance to break a scoreless tie, Rafael Marchan rolled a 3-1 pitch to second, and Bryson Stott swung through strike three. Final gasp: the ninth. Turner again reached, this time against Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. But Harper, Schwarber, and Castellanos — the heart of the order — went quietly. And with that, the Phils were shut out for the first time this season. Meanwhile, the Cardinals found daylight in the fifth off Aaron Nola — and not the kind the Phillies were hoping for. Yahel Pozo, the No. 9 hitter who wasn’t even in the starting lineup but entered in the second due to injury, delivered a go-ahead RBI double. He finished with three hits.The second run? A bases-loaded walk. Off Nola. That’s only the second time in his career he’s issued one of those. Nola didn’t give up a homer, but he walked four — after walking just one in his first 11⅓ innings this year. He’s now 0-3 with a 5.51 ERA. Oh, and Alec Bohm? He went 0-for-3 and is now hitting .151 this season.
So the Phillies are tired, they’re quiet at the plate, and they’re looking for a spark. Maybe Saturday’s sunrise will help.
Tags Philadelphia Baseball Phillies
