Ryan Howard shines as Philadelphia Phillies rout St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 - MLB Playoffs
Philadelphia Phillies’ first baseman, Ryan Howard was tremendous with the bat as he hit four RBIs including one homer and went 1-for-3 with an average of .333 in the Phillies’ 11-6 win against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of their series at Citizens
Bank Park, Philadelphia on October 1.
Cardinals executed their first inning well as they scored three quick runs to take a 3-0 lead. Lance Berkman outclasssed the pitchers by hitting a three-run homer (364 feet) to right-field while Albert Pujols and Rafael Furcal both contributed two collective
runs to give the Cardinals a solid start.
During the second inning, Skip Schumaker singled to shallow right-field but Furcal ground out to second base and Kyle Lohse struck-out without taking runs. Later, Schumaker moved to second base when Jon Jay ground out. On the other side, Phillies’ batters
also went score-less as Howard lined out, Shane Victorino popped out and Raul Ibanez ground out without contributing any run at the bottom of the second inning.
At the bottom of the third, Placido Polanco fouled out to first base, Carlos Ruiz flied out and Roy Halladay lined out without any run. Phillies were able to cut their deficit 3-1 during the fourth inning when Victorino drove a shot towards shallow left-field
and Chase Utley added the first run. Howard occupied second base to end the inning.
Halladay pitched superbly for the Phillies as he threw his eight innings with an ERA of 3.38 and struck-out eight batters. He permitted three runs, one homer, one walk, three earned runs and three hits from his 105 pitches. At the bottom of the sixth, Phillies’
batters smashed five runs to take a 6-3 lead.
Howard hit a three-run homer (423 feet) to right-field while Jimmy Rollins and Hunter Pence each added two runs jointly. Ibanez struck a two-run homer (391 feet) towards right-field and Victorino posted a single run. In the seventh and eighth inning, Phillies’
batters posted three and two runs, respectively, to advance their lead 11-3.
Rollins, Utley and Pence each singled during the seventh inning to lift the Phillies. Utley and Rollins again completed two consecutive runs in the eighth. Cardinals added three runs in the ninth to reduce their lead 11-6. Allen Craig, Berkman and Adron
Chambers each singled to end the three-run campaign for Cardinals.
However, the Phillies are now on top with a 1-0 lead in the five-game series at Philadelphia.
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