Philadelphia starter J.A. Happ (7-1) got his first loss Friday night, giving up five runs and 10 hits in six innings. That broke a string of six consecutive sharp outings. The Phillies lost 8-1 to the Cardinals.
Happ's future with the team is questionable right now. The rookie left-hander could get traded to Toronto as part of the deal to bring in All-Star pitcher Roy Halladay. The July 31 non-waiver deadline is just a week away. The Phillies had one of their scouts in Toronto Friday night watching Halladay's start against the Rays. He had 10 strikeouts and allowed just one run in 9 innings, but didn't get win. And Toronto had a scout watching Carlos Carrassco's start for Lehigh Valley.
Matt Holliday hopped off a train, joined his new team and made an immediate contribution. Holliday went 4 for 5 for St. Louis with one RBI to back up Joel Pineiro on the mound. Holliday was acquired from Oakland for a package of prospects earlier in the day. He was in New York for Oakland's series against the Yankees when he got the news. Holliday took the train down with his wife and two sons to Philadelphia to avoid traffic, and arrived at the ballpark in plenty of time to play left field and bat cleanup behind Albert Pujols.
It's only the third game the Phils have lost in the last 18. They came into the matchup with a comfortable 6 and 1/2-game lead in the division.
Jayson Werth scored Philadelphia's only run on a wild pitch in the seventh. He started the inning with a single off Kyle McClellan.
