Instant Replay: Cardinals 6, Phillies 5

BOX SCORE

ST. LOUIS -- The Phillies' latest losing streak grew to five games in a 6-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sunday.

The Cardinals swept the three-game series by a combined score of 16-7, righting themselves after a seven-game losing streak.

The Phillies, 21-40, have been swept six times this season.

The Phillies are 9-26 on the road. They have lost 35 of their last 45 road games, dating to last September and have been outscored, 254-164, in those games.

Starting pitching report
Aaron Nola (3-4) had a pretty good start cooking, not to mention a 2-0 lead, when he surrendered a three-run homer to Dexter Fowler on a 3-1 fastball down the middle with two outs in the fifth. The homer was preceded by a leadoff double and a one-out walk.

Philadelphia Phillies

Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Phillies release Opening Day roster, place 5 players on IL

Phillies 2024 Opening Day postponed to Friday

Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright (7-4) allowed six hits and two runs over five innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Bullpen report
Joaquin Benoit was tagged for three hits and two runs in the sixth inning as the Cardinals built a 5-2 lead.

St. Louis reliever Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side to protect a two-run lead in the eighth. Seung Hwan Oh survived allowing four singles and two runs in the ninth before getting the final out.

At the plate
The Phillies led 2-0 after two innings. Odubel Herrera, Daniel Nava and Tommy Joseph bunched singles in the first inning for a run and Herrera doubled home a run in the second.

Nava, who started in left field, clouted a solo homer in the seventh.

Herrera drove in a run in the ninth with his third hit of the day. Howie Kendrick also drove in a run in the ninth, making it a one-run game.

The Phillies have scored just nine runs in their five-game losing streak. They have one home run over that span, Nava's on Sunday.

Fowler's home run was the big blow in the game. Tommy Pham and Eric Freyer had RBI singles against Benoit in the sixth. Kolten Wong gave the Cardinals some breathing room with an RBI double against Hector Neris in the eighth.

Health check
Cesar Hernandez went on the disabled list with an oblique injury. Howie Kendrick will be the first to fill in at second base. Benoit was activated off the disabled list (see story)

Up next
The Phillies play their next four games against the Boston Red Sox in a home-and-home interleague series. The games Monday and Tuesday night are in Boston. Wednesday and Thursday night's games are in Philadelphia. Here are the pitching matchups:

Monday night - RHP Jerad Eickhoff (0-7, 5.15) vs. RHP Rick Porcello (3-8, 4.46)

Tuesday night - RHP Ben Lively (1-1, 2.57) vs. LHP David Price (1-1, 5.29)

Wednesday night - RHP Jeremy Hellickson (5-4, 4.50) vs. LHP Brian Johnson (2-0, 3.44)

Thursday night - RHP Nick Pivetta (1-3, 5.52) vs. LHP Chris Sale (7-2, 2.89)

Copyright CSNPhily
Contact Us