If the Wrigley Chewing Gum company weren’t so deeply associated with the arch-rivals of the St. Louis ballclub, they’d probably offer the Cardinals the opportunity to be the new face of Doublemint Gum, on account of all the double killings they turned tonight. In the absence of an endorsement deal, the Redbirds will have to settle for winning the game.
The Phillies put runners on the corners on the first, but didn’t convert them into runs. And the same was true in the second, as the Phillies put runners on the corners and
saw the inning end on a Justin Crawford 6-4-3 GIDP. The Cardinals soon found themselves in a comparable situation, putting runners on first and third against Cristopher Sánchez on singles from José Fermin and Masyn Winn. And the Redbirds, wanting to be gracious and considerate hosts, chose not to upstage their visitors and promptly hit into a 5-4-3 twin killing. The Phillies, however, misunderstood this kind gesture, thinking that home team was trying to upstage them with a GIDP slightly fancier than the standard 6-4-3. “We can match that,” said the Phils. And so it was that in the next inning they did indeed replicate the 5-4-3 DP, via grounder from Bryce Harper.
The assembled masses, Philadelphia Phaithful and toasted ravioli-eating St. Louis partisans alike, cried “stop! No more!” But their calls went unheeded. The Cardinals, their dander up and their ire drawn, one-upped the Phillies by hitting into a 4-6-3 version of the pitcher’s best friend. to conclude the bottom of the third. The arms race was on. Your faithful recapper sprinted to his bookshelf, removed his copy of the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, flipped to the entry on double plays, and groaned upon realizing that only four synonyms were listed; one was used two sentences ago, and the others weren’t distinct enough to be of use (technically you can shorten double play to just double, but isn’t that confusing?)
In the fourth inning, the first two Phillies batters, Luis Arraez and J.T. Realmuto, made outs, thus ensuring the chain of double plays would at last be broken. But while the double plays ended, offense was still hard to find. In the top of the fifth, Alec Bohm sent a slider flying to center, where Everson Pereira leapt and came down with it elegantly; poetry in motion, and frustration in action for the Phillies. The Cardinals proved no more adept at scoring in their portion of the fifth, and then in the sixth the double play chain began again, with the Phillies matching the 4-6-3 their avian foe hit into earlier.
The Phillies faced the Redbird bullpen in the seventh, with Brady Pallante departing after six scoreless, with four hits and just two Ks. His replacement, George Soriano, quickly induced two outs, then allowed a single to Brandon Marsh and a walk to Bohm. That brought up Justin Crawford, who lined out. The scoring drought continued.
The Phillies, too, turned to their bullpen, with Alex McFarlane taking over for Sánchez (6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 7 K). He walked his first batter, who then promptly stole second. Had he not, the subsequent grounder would’ve resulted in yet another double play; as it was, it was just one out. Winn lined to right, and the game finally had its first run.
Kyle Schwarber walked to lead off the eighth, with Derek Hill called in to pinch run. Hill promptly made the most of his role, stealing second. Trea Turner worked a walk as well. That brought up Bryce Harper, who battled across nine pitches before earning his free pass. Thus, Luis Arrarez had the bases loaded, no outs, and the perfect opportunity to break his hitless streak. Though the opportunity couldn’t have been better, the result could have been: Arraez grounded gently to first, whereupon the ball was tossed to home for the first out, and then back to first for the second. Yet another double play, and one exceptional enough that the Cardinals certainly wouldn’t top it.
Tim Mayza took over for the bottom of the eighth, facing Pereira first. Not content to have robbed what was almost a homer, Pereira decided to hit one of his own, sending it out to center to put the Cardinal lead at 2-0.
The Phillies had Stott-Marsh-Bohm for their final stand in the ninth. Stott struck out, Marsh lined out, and Bohm grounded out.
The Phillies are 64-57. The final game of the series will commence tomorrow at 2:15.
