Streaking Cardinals top Phillies 7-1
On the same day that the Philadelphia Phillies demoted starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies lost starter Jamie Moyer in the bottom of the first, and their relief corps was battered all game as the St. Louis Cardinals won 7-1. The Phillies could never get into a rhythm once Moyer left the game, who is most likely on his way to the 15-day disabled list. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 53-41 and stayed in front of the Cincinnati Reds by half a game to keep the lead in the NL Central. The loss sets the Phillies back to 48-45, and fell to seven games behind the NL East leader Atlanta Braves who beat the San Diego Padres last night.
The Cardinals first struck when a lead-off double from Filipe Lopez turned into a two-run home run from the next batter, Randy Winn. In the next inning, Yadier Molina scored off of a wild pitch from Andrew Carpenter (0-1) who replaced Moyer in the first. He would get the next two outs to end the inning, but the three earned runs ended his night.
The real story this game was the other pitcher named Carpenter: St. Louis' starter and ace Chris Carpenter, who improved to 11-3 after pitching eight innings of solid baseball, allowing just one earned run on five hits. He threw 90 pitches in the game, and five times needed just ten pitches or less to retire the side. Still, he wasn't thrilled with the overall pitching performance.
"I can still get better," Carpenter said. "I've still got room for improvement."
Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa said that even if part of Carpenter's game is off, he can still win and do it effectively.
"Even when he's not in his groove he's real good," he said. "He's been sharper, and he made a lot of good pitches against a good lineup."
Moyer claims he will pitch again this year
The 47-year-old Moyer is crucial to the Phillies' pitching staff with a record of 9-9 with a 4.24 ERA, the third-highest out of the starters on the roster. Despite not knowing the extent of the injury, Moyer has vowed he will return to the rotation.
"When that is, I have no idea," he said. "My goal is to keep a positive mental outlook whatever the diagnosis is."
Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel was in his office behind a closed door for an hour after the game last night, weighing out options of what to do with their rotation. They have lost five of six since the All-Star break, and at this point have no reliable pitchers they can call up to the show, though Manuel was waiting to hear back from the affiliates with any positive news. Throughout it all, he kept a positive demeanor.
"We were talking about things we wanted to do," Manuel said. "We've got a plan. It will work its way out."
Cardinals are hot
St. Louis is on a six-game winning streak, their longest since a seven-game streak four years ago before the All-Star break. During the streak, they've outscored their opponents an incredible 41-16, and everyone's bats are coming alive: Holliday is 7 for 15 with five RBI, Winn has home runs in back-to-back games and had three RBI last night, and every starter except for Allen Craig got a hit last night, including Carpenter.
"You win six or seven in a row, whatever it is, you've got to play pretty well, especially with the quality of opponents we've played," Holliday said. "The pitching's been great and we've able to score some runs, so it's a good formula to win."
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