Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
PHI	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1
STL	0	1	0	0	4	0	2	0	—	7	8	0

Zack Wheeler (10-3, 2.90 ERA) got the ball for Philadelphia looking to salvage a split of this shortened two-game set, with Kyle Leahy (8-4, 3.38 ERA) starting for St. Louis in the 1:15 PM CT getaway-day matinee at Busch Stadium.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Phillies(64-57)

LWWLL

1

-1.5+113-153o8.5+130

Cardinals(60-60)

WLWLW

7

+1.5-115+151u8.5-127

Best BetPhillies -155

Postgame

Wheeler couldn't find his last-start command tonight either, and the Phillies lineup we banked on went cold — 6 hits but just 1 run against a Cardinals staff that's supposed to be the weaker unit. The bear case about a thin Phillies bullpen barely mattered; St. Louis's offense did the damage against Wheeler himself, and Philadelphia never got the length or the runs to make this a real ballgame.

Pregame

Wheeler's the best pitcher in this game even coming off a rough stretch, and Philadelphia's overall record still reflects a deeper, more talented roster than a .500 Cardinals club. The price reflects some real hesitation given Wheeler's winless run and the bullpen attrition, but the talent gap says take the Phillies to get it done.

Leahy's been the story of this Cardinals staff — a bullpen arm a year ago, now a full-time starter who'd allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight straight turns before Wednesday, according to Roundtable.io. Wheeler, meanwhile, was trying to bounce back from a start against Toronto where he walked 5 and gave up 4 earned runs in just 5.1 innings. Both clubs came in shorthanded in different ways — Philadelphia's bullpen already missing Caleb Kilian, Brad Keller and Tanner Banks, while St. Louis has been playing out a rebuild that's cooled off considerably since the deadline.

Zack Wheeler

(10-4)·2.92 ERA

Aug 7 vs Blue Jays

L

5.1IP

4ER

6K

5BB

116P

08/12 Lineup

Kyle Leahy

(10-4)·3.24 ERA

Aug 7 vs Rockies

W

5.0IP

2ER

8K

0BB

82P

08/12 Lineup

None of that stopped the market from making Philadelphia the heavy favorite, and for a few innings this looked like the kind of tight, low-scoring affair these two clubs had been playing all series. Then St. Louis found its footing.

The Cardinals broke it open with a four-run fifth and tacked on two more in the seventh, turning a coin flip into a laugher. St. Louis finished with 8 hits and no errors, while Philadelphia's offense managed just 6 hits, a single run in the fourth, and an error that didn't help matters.

Philadelphia Phillies

(64-57)

Aug 11L@ Cardinals0-2

Aug 10W@ Cardinals6-5

Aug 9Wvs Blue Jays7-6

Aug 8Lvs Blue Jays5-7

Aug 7Lvs Blue Jays4-5

St. Louis Cardinals

(60-60)

Aug 11Wvs Phillies2-0

Aug 10Lvs Phillies5-6

Aug 9Wvs Rockies7-4

Aug 8Lvs Rockies6-8

Aug 8Wvs Rockies3-2

Mattingly's turnaround act in Philadelphia has been real, but this loss drops the Phillies back into a series they'd hoped to salvage, while St. Louis banks a win in a season that's mostly been about auditioning arms like Leahy for whatever comes next.

Philadelphia Phillies

(6)

• 10-Day-ILRafael Marchan (C) — The Phillies placed Marchan (knee) on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to July 23.07/24
• 15-Day-ILCaleb Kilian (RP) — Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said that Kilian suffered a right side injury during his relief appearance in Sunday's 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays in 12 innings, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports. Kilian allowed an unearned run on one hit over an inning of relief en route to earning his fourth win of the season.08/10
• 60-Day-ILBrad Keller (RP) — Keller underwent right elbow UCL reconstruction surgery with internal brace and flexor tendon repair Tuesday, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.07/29
• 60-Day-ILTanner Banks (RP) — The Phillies placed Banks on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left forearm strain.07/25
• 60-Day-ILJohan Rojas (CF) — Rojas (suspension) underwent surgery Friday to repair the UCL in his right elbow and will face an expected recovery timeline of 6-to-8 months, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/25
• 60-Day-ILAdolis Garcia (RF) — The Phillies announced that Garcia underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a torn right lat, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/24

St. Louis Cardinals

(2)

• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbows) has been sent to Triple-A Memphis to resume a rehab assignment, John Denton of Roundtable.io reports.08/04
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23