Edmundo Sosa had two hits and drove in three runs against his old team, and the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a tired bullpen to hang on for a 6-5 victory against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.
Phillies leadoff man Kyle Schwarber reached base four times and drove in a key run, and rookie right-hander Andrew Painter pitched effectively into the sixth inning with much of Philadelphia’s bullpen resting.
Trying to catch the Phillies in the postseason race, the Cardinals committed two big errors and issued seven walks. St. Louis fell 4 1/2 games behind the Phillies, who were tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot coming into play.
With regular closer Jhoan Duran resting because the Phillies have been using their pen frequently, right-hander Jonathan Bowlan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first career save in 82 appearances.
Sosa, who broke into the majors with the Cardinals in 2018, lined an RBI single in the second inning and added a two-run double in the top of the eighth to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead.
The Cardinals rallied for three runs against Alan Rangel in the bottom half, and they put runners at the corners with one out but couldn’t score any more.
The Phillies took advantage of a three-base throwing error by right-hander Hunter Dobbins (2-3) in the second. With Brandon Marsh leading from first with no outs, Derek Hill hit a chopper back to the mound. Dobbins took his time at first but appeared to rush the release, and the throw sailed over Alec Burleson’s head into no-man’s land down the right-field line.
Marsh scored and Hill made it all the way to third. One out later, Sosa lined an RBI single to left, making it 2-0.
An error by right fielder Jordan Walker helped the Phillies score a run in the fifth. Left-hander Caleb Ferguson issued three walks in the seventh without retiring a batter.
Painter came in with a 6.48 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts) but didn’t allow a hit until the sixth. In his third straight outing with improved results, Painter allowed two runs, two hits and three walks to go with six strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.
Dobbins allowed three runs, one earned, and four hits and three walks to go with six strikeouts over five innings for the Cardinals.
Schwarber didn’t add to his NL-leading 35 homers but he had two walks and two hits, including an RBI double in the seventh.
