Edmundo Sosa drove in three runs and top pitching prospect Andrew Painter carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Monday night at Busch Stadium. Facing a heavily depleted and exhausted bullpen, the Phillies leaned on their young right-hander to deliver a deep outing. Painter rose to the challenge, keeping the Cardinals hitless through the first 5.1 innings.
The Phillies offense backed their starter early. In the second inning, Brandon Marsh singled and scored on a throwing error by Cardinals starter Hunter Dobbins. Edmundo Sosa quickly capitalized, slapping an RBI single to give Philadelphia a 2-0 cushion. Kyle Schwarber, who reached base four times on the night, extended the lead by scoring in the fifth after a walk and later driving home Garrett Stubbs with an RBI double in the seventh.
Painter (2-8) commanded the mound with six strikeouts but finally ran out of steam in the bottom of the sixth after throwing 93 pitches. Iván Herrera broke up the no-hit bid with a one-out double. Alec Burleson followed with a two-run single that chased Painter from the game, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 3-2. Reliever Alan Rangel stepped up to record the final two outs of the inning, safely preserving the slim lead.
Sosa provided crucial insurance in the top of the eighth, crushing a two-run double to push the score to 6-2. The three-RBI performance marked Sosa’s most productive night at the plate since late June.
The insurance proved necessary as the Cardinals launched a furious late-inning comeback against Rangel in the bottom of the eighth. An RBI double by Burleson, followed by run-scoring hits from Masyn Winn and José Fermín, quickly dragged St. Louis within one run. Rangel managed to escape further damage by stranding runners on second and third.
With the primary high-leverage arms unavailable, manager Don Mattingly turned to Jonathan Bowlan in the ninth. Bowlan slammed the door to secure his first save in four opportunities, closing out the nail-biting 6-5 victory. The win marks Philadelphia’s second straight victory and their seventh in the last ten games.