Cardinals Collapse, Give up 6 Runs in 9th in Game 1 Loss to Phillies
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St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol's bullpen management will certainly be questioned following the Cardinals' 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in game one of the National Wild Card Series Friday afternoon.
The Cardinals were able to run Philadelphia Phillies game 1 starter Zack Wheeler's pitch count up, forcing Phillies manager Rob Thomson to make a call to the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning.
With Wheeler out and the Phillies' fate in the hands of their less-than-trustworthy bullpen, the Cardinals had an edge at home in the late innings.
The Cardinals would quickly pounce on reliever Jose Alvarado, as Alvarado would walk Dylan Carlson and give up a pinch-hit, two-run home run to Juan Yepez.
The Cardinals led 2-0 with only six outs to go. The Cardinals' bullpen just needed to hang on for the game one victory.
Marmol took the ball from game one starter Jose Quintana after striking out Phillies lead-off man Kyle Schwarber in the top of the sixth inning. Quintana had allowed no runs on two hits and one walk over 75 pitches, but Marmol had seen enough. It appears he did not want Quintana facing the Phillies lineup a third time.
Relievers Jordan Hicks and Giovanny Gallegos were able to navigate the Cardinals through a pair of scoreless innings, maintaining a 2-0 lead moving into the eighth.
After getting Jean Segura to line out, Gallegos walked Bryson Stott. Marmol had seen enough. He made a call to his bullpen to bring in closer Ryan Helsley for a five-out save.
Helsley, known for clocking 102-mph on the radar gun with ease, made his first All-Star appearance in 2022, collecting 19 saves to the tune of a 1.25 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 306 ERA+.
Helsley normally pitches one inning at a time, but has shown the ability to go longer than that. He last collected four outs or more September 27, when he threw two scoreless innings, striking out four in the Cardinals' 6-2 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Helsley got the Cardinals out of the eighth inning with no problems, striking out Brandon Marsh and getting Schwarber to pop out.
After striking out Rhys Hoskins to open the ninth, Helsley ran into trouble, giving up a line-drive single to J.T. Realmuto, then walking Bryce Harper.
With runners on first and second, Helsley began to lose control of his fastball as his pitch count ran up into the 20s. Helsley walked Nick Castellanos, loading the bases.
Then, Helsley hit Alec Bohm by a pitch, scoring a run.
Marmol and pitching coach Mike Maddux came out to check on Helsley, concerned that their star closer might be injured. After throwing a pair of warm-up pitches, Helsley exited the game.
Rookie Andre Palliante entered, inheriting Helsley's mess, with the bases loaded, one out, and the seven-hitter Jean Segura at the plate.
Palliante was able to induce three straight groundballs, but would receive little help from his Gold Glove infield.
Segura singled on a ground ball through the right side of the infield, just out of the reach of a diving Tommy Edman, scoring a pair of runs and giving the Phillies their first lead of the day.
With runners on the corners and one out, Bryson Stott hit a ground ball to Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt fired home to try to gun pinch-runner Edmundo Sosa at home plate, but was late, allowing the Phillies to extend their lead to 4-2, with runners on first and second and still only one out.
The next batter, Brandon Marsh, would hit the ball to the other side of the Cardinals elite infield, and nine-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado would fail to make the play. The ball rolled into left field, and leftfielder Corey Dickerson failed to gun the runner at the plate, allowing another run to score, and the baserunners to advance to second and third.
Dickerson's decision to skip the cut-off man would also prove costly. The runners advanced to scoring position and Schwarber was able to hit a sacrifice fly, pouring on another run, giving the Phillies a comfortable 6-2 lead.
Cardinals fans began to file out of their seats as their team fell behind by four runs. Though the Cardinals would bring home a run in the bottom half and get the potential game-tying run up to the batter's box, they were not able to complete the comeback, falling 6-3.
The Phillies picked up their first playoff win since Oct. 4, 2011, when they beat, you guessed it... the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals would go on to end the Phillies' season in a series where Phillies star first baseman Ryan Howard tore his Achilles, signaling the end of a dominant era in which the Phillies won five straight National League East division titles.
The Phillies hope that they won't suffer the same fate to the same team eleven years later. In 2011, the Phillies also won game one, and led the series 2-games-to-1 with a chance to clinch a series win in game four.
The Phillies have a chance to clinch their first trip to the National League Division Series since 2011, with a win Saturday. The Cardinals are now on the ropes, heading into an elimination game at Busch Stadium.
If the Cardinals are able to stave off elimination, the two teams will play in a win-or-go-home game 3 on Sunday.
