Phillies 5, Cardinals 3: Hall-omania runs wild as bullpen shines

After picking up a redeeming 14-4 win over Atlanta on Thursday night, the Phillies welcomed in the Cardinals for a Friday night battle at CBP.

Miles Mikolas got the nod for St. Louis as he opposed Philly starter Bailey Falter.

It did not take long for the Cardinals to introduce themselves to Mr. Falter. Paul Goldschmidt extended the top of the first, with a base hit. Goldschmidt continued to lead the NL in batting average after the base knock.

Nolan Arenado followed that up with a triple to bring home Goldy and give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

The June hot streak continued into July for leadoff man Kyle Schwarber, as he collected both of the Phillies only two hits through the first four innings.

Jumping ahead as Nolan Arenado came to the dish for the second time in the ball game. He did so with Paul Goldschmidt once again taking up real estate on the bases.

The former Rockie took Falter yard by way of a two-run home run deposited to left field. The long ball pushed the Cardinal’s lead to 3-0.

Fast forwarding to the bottom of the fifth frame where the Philadelphia offense finally found their groove at the dish.

With a pair of baserunners aboard, Mickey Moniak did damage with his first extra base hit of the season, driving in Garrett Stubbs.

An RBI groundout by Kyle Schwarber brought home Matt Vierling and pulled the Phillies within a run.

To cap off the impressive inning, Rhys Hoskins lifted a SAC fly to score Moniak and tie the ballgame at three apiece.

Nolan Arenado did everything in his power to jolt his squad to a win as he collected a double to kick off the sixth.

It did not take long for Philadelphia to break the tie as Darick Hall mashed his third home run in two games, to push the lead to 4-3.

Armed with a one run lead, it would be up to the Phillies bullpen to slam the door over the final few frames.

Rhys Hoskins gave the arm barn more cushion as he blasted a solo shot in the second half of the seventh inning. The long ball was the sixteenth of the season for Hoskins.

History was made as the eighth inning progressed. For the second time in his career, Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle. The final leg came on an infield single that could have been ruled an error, but ultimately was not.

A combination of Andrew Bellatti, Seranthony Dominguez, and Brad Hand locked down the Cardinals offense in the final three innings.

Phillies relief pitching combined for a stellar night behind a sluggish start from Bailey Falter.

Phillies bullpen: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K

What

Seranthony tallied his twelfth hold of the season, while Brad Hand earned his third save.

It was monumental to see the bullpen finish off the game and pitch to near perfection. It seems that since Corey Knebel was removed from the closer role, Rob Thompson’s closer by committee has performed above expectations.

The 5-3 victory improves the Phills record to 41-37 while the Cards drop to 43-36.

These two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon with a 4:05pm first pitch on tap.