Philadelphia Phillies lose 4-5 to St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of NLDS – MLB Update
After winning the first game 11-6, the Philadelphia Phillies lost 4-5 to St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of the National League Divisional Series on Sunday, October 2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cliff Lee started for the Phillies in a bid to replicate Halladay’s performance from game one, but failed miserably, allowing five earned-runs amid 12 hits in six innings.
Lee pitched three scoreless innings upfront, but was then unglued for three runs in the fourth inning to see Philadelphia’s four-run advantage slip to just one-run before Ryan Theriot scored for the Cardinals in the sixth inning to bring the game in balance.
Accepting responsibility, Lee commented that he was not able to make accurate pitches and thus is fully responsible for the loss. He further added that a four-run lead in the second inning made him complacent and that is where things went wrong.
Earlier, the Phillies reproduced Cardinals’ effort from game one to score three-runs in the first innings, although the method differed. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Hunter Pence scored a run each for the Phillies to inflict pressure on Chris Carpenter.
Making full use of his first post-season stint, Pence went 1-for-3 in the game, driving in a run and scoring one to see his post-season batting average surge to .375.
Rollins scored another in the second inning for the Phillies to gain a four-run advantage over the visitors and thus inflate their chances of gaining a valuable 2-0 lead. However, Carpenter’s ouster from the mound and an aggressive intent by the offence
thereafter, ensured the Wild Card entrants a win in this crucial tie-up.
Carpenter was removed after conceding four runs amid five hits, but the offence helped him in denying what could have been a critical loss. Fernando Salas came in as relief pitcher and tossed two immaculate innings to bring the scoring spree to normality.
Having impressed of late, Allen Craig deservedly scored the winning run for the visitors in the seventh inning on Albert Pujols’ single to left-field.
With the series level at one-all, the NLDS now moves to Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals will be at an advantage playing at home, but with the World Series at stake, nothing is certain.
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