nbc sports

Rookies Kingery, Alfaro, Dominguez Clutch in Phillies Win Over Cardinals

Rookie Scott Kingery tied the game with a triple in the eighth and rookie Jorge Alfaro followed with a pinch-hit single to give the Phillies the lead.

BOX SCORE 

ST. LOUIS - Three rookies helped the Phillies overcome some sloppy defense and beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6, at Busch Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Rookie Scott Kingery tied the game with a triple in the eighth and rookie Jorge Alfaro followed with a pinch-hit single to give the Phillies the lead.

Both hits came with two outs against Greg Holland after Nick Williams worked Holland for a two-out walk.

Rookie reliever Seranthony Dominguez protected the one-run lead and got the final six outs for the first save of his career. He featured a fastball that hit 98 mph on the stadium radar gun.

Dominguez has not allowed a hit or a walk in his first six appearances (6 2/3 innings). He has registered seven strikeouts. 

The Phillies squandered leads of 3-0 and 5-3 earlier in the game. First baseman Carlos Santana made a costly throwing error in the Cardinals' three-run fourth. Kingery made an error at third base in the bottom of the seventh. The Phils also made three errors in Friday night's 12-4 loss.

Kingery has struggled since his hot start. The game-tying triple was his first extra-base hit in May and just his second in the last 26 games. It was a big one, however.

The Phillies are 26-17. They have not lost two in a row this month.

Starter Zach Eflin came out of the gate firing. He retired the first nine batters he faced on just 32 pitches. Four of the nine outs were strikeouts as the right-hander showed a fastball up to 97 mph.

The Phils had given Eflin a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first inning and they upped the advantage to 3-0 when Odubel Herrera made it 45 straight games on base with a two-run homer against Cardinals' right-hander John Gant in the third.

Eflin's defense betrayed him in the fourth inning as the Cardinals tied the game on three runs, two unearned, after first baseman  Santana threw away a potential inning-ending double play.

The Cardinals did the same thing in the fifth inning - shortstop Jedd Gyorko threw away a potential double-play ball - as the Phils went back up by two runs.

St. Louis tied the game at 5-5 with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Eflin left with a one-run lead when the game was delayed 44 minutes by rain with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Luis Garcia served up a solo homer (on a 98 mph fastball) to rookie Tyler O'Neill as the Cardinals tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. The Cardinals took the lead in the seventh when Tommy Hunter allowed an infield hit and a double.

Williams, Kingery and Alfaro teamed up to put the Phils back in front for good in the eighth.

Notes
• Alfaro was scratched from the original starting lineup after testing his right knee three hours before the game. Alfaro twisted the knee retrieving a wild pitch in Friday night's game. He said he was fine and could have started, but the team decided to err on the side of caution. Alfaro said he expected to catch on Sunday when Aaron Nola pitches.

• A nasty rainstorm kicked up with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning and the game was delayed for 44 minutes. It was still dry when umpires called for the tarp. That did not sit well with manager Gabe Kapler. He gave crew chief Larry Vanover an earful. But the umpires got it right. The skies opened into a deluge less than two minutes after the tarp was called for.

Copyright CSNPhily
Contact Us