ST. LOUIS — Coming off a marathon rain delay in Thursday’s extra-inning loss in Atlanta, the Phillies arrived at their hotel in St. Louis at quarter to 4 a.m. Friday and the fatigue showed in their weakest offensive performance of the young season, a 2-0 loss to the Cardinals.
The Phils were held completely in check by right-hander Andre Pallante, reaching base just four times in his seven innings with two singles and two walks.
Pallante had faced the Phillies six times before but was never this effective. His fastball cut in to lefties and Kyle Schwarber said it was difficult to lift.
The Phillies’ only real scoring chance was in the first inning when Bryce Harper walked, Schwarber singled and the new-look 3-4 hitters executed a double steal. “Thought we had something going,” manager Rob Thomson said. Nick Castellanos flied out to medium-deep right field and that was that.
The Phils put another runner in scoring position with one out in the fifth inning of a tie game, only for Rafael Marchan to ground out on a 3-1 count and Bryson Stott to strike out swinging.
One last opportunity arose in the ninth inning when Trea Turner led off with a single against Cardinals closer Ryan Helsey, but Harper, Schwarber and Castellanos were retired in order.
The lineup change didn’t work, at least on this night. Thomson moved Stott (0-for-4) up to the leadoff spot and hit Schwarber cleanup, behind Harper, in an attempt to better protect the Phillies’ first baseman. Harper was intentionally walked twice in Thursday’s loss and both times, Castellanos followed with a strikeout. Entering Friday night, the player directly after Harper in the lineup was batting .120 for the season.
The Phillies face another righty on Saturday in Miles Mikolas so the same lineup structure could be used even though the first game resulted in a shutout loss.
“I don’t think you pull the cord on that yet,” Thomson said of Schwarber hitting behind Harper.
There are obvious benefits to batting Harper and Schwarber consecutively. It will put immense stress on pitchers in leverage spots, it will make opposing managers think twice about pitching around Harper, and the duo has the chance to hit back-to-back homers any cycle through the lineup. They also both walk a ton, meaning it will be crucial that the five-hole hitter does damage behind Schwarber.
“That’s very challenging,” said Aaron Nola, who’s glad he doesn’t have to face them. “They’re two different guys that can do a lot of different things. They can hit the longball, they don’t miss the ball in their hot zone too much. Especially those guys back-to-back, if you have guys on base for them late in the game, you’ve always got a good chance. We’ve got a great lineup overall, wherever those guys hit.”
Castellanos batted fifth on Friday and Alec Bohm was seventh for the second straight game. Bohm’s 0-for-3 night made him 4-for-his-last-43. He’s been through a lot in his time as a Phillie but this is probably as trying a period as he’s experienced given all the offseason noise.
Nola did not have sharp command for a third straight start to begin his season. He put the leadoff man on base and in scoring position in four of his five innings, and though he stranded three of them, the Cardinals scored twice in the fifth. The first run came across on a double by nine-hole hitter Yahel Pozo, who entered as an injury replacement in the second inning and ended up with three hits. The second scored on a rare bases-loaded walk by Nola, just the second of his career.
Nola did not allow a home run but walked four after issuing only one free pass in his first 11⅓ innings. He’s 0-3 with a 5.51 ERA and said his priority next time out is strike one and out one. Things are so much more difficult when you’re pitching out of the stretch with nobody out.
“He doesn’t have his good fastball yet with the finish to it,” Thomson said. “I’ve seen that before early in the year and he’ll get that as it warms up, I believe.”
The Phillies are 8-5 and have lost three of their last four. They’ve had eight consecutive games decided by one or two runs.
If there was any silver lining to Friday night, it’s that they finally avoided having to use any of their late-game relievers. Jose Ruiz pitched the sixth inning, Carlos Hernandez had the seventh and Tanner Banks the eighth. All three of Matt Strahm, Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering should be well-rested and ready to go the rest of the weekend.
Cristopher Sanchez is on the bump for the Phillies Saturday afternoon. Mikolas goes for the Cardinals, who lost all four times he faced the Phils in 2023 and 2024.
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