Sosa, Schwarber Lead Phillies Past Cardinals 6–5 in High-Stakes NL Wild Card Clash. The Philadelphia Phillies survived a late-game surge by the St. Louis Cardinals to claim a critical 6–5 victory on Monday night at Busch Stadium, bolstering their standing in a tight National League Wild Card race.
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Edmundo Sosa starred against his former team with three RBIs, while Kyle Schwarber reached base four times to power Philadelphia’s offense. The win pushes the Cardinals 4.5 games back of Philadelphia in the postseason picture.
Game Highlights and Key Moments
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Early Defensive Miscues: Philadelphia opened the scoring in the second inning when Brandon Marsh reached on a costly three-base throwing error by Cardinals starter Hunter Dobbins (2–3). Sosa followed with an RBI single to put the Phillies up 2–0 early.
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Painter’s Strong Outing: Phillies rookie right-hander Andrew Painter (2–8) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. After Iván Herrera broke up the bid with a one-out double, Alec Burleson drove in two runs with a single to end Painter’s night after 5.1 innings. Painter struck out six while allowing two earned runs.
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Offensive Insurance: Schwarber added an RBI double in the seventh, and Sosa broke the game open with a two-run double in the top of the eighth to stretch Philadelphia’s lead to 6–2.
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Cardinals Late Rally: St. Louis struck back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Alan Rangel. However, right-hander Jonathan Bowlan closed out a perfect ninth inning to secure his first career major league save.
Box Score Summary
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
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Winning Pitcher: Andrew Painter (2–8)
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Losing Pitcher: Hunter Dobbins (2–3)
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Save: Jonathan Bowlan (1)
Series Outlook
The three-game series continues Tuesday night in St. Louis as the Cardinals look to bounce back and stay alive in the NL Wild Card hunt.
