Phillies give up five homers in loss
ST. LOUIS - The Phillies' starting pitching - which had carried the team for the last week - finally gave way Monday night.
ST. LOUIS - The Phillies' starting pitching - which had carried the team for the last week - finally gave way Monday night.
Fireworks boomed from the Busch Stadium scoreboard five times, celebrating each Cardinals home run. They illuminated the night sky as the Cardinals lit up the Phillies in a 10-3 win.
Jeremy Hellickson was responsible for three of those displays as he was tagged for six runs. Hellickson has allowed four runs or more in three of his last four starts. He was relieved by Brett Oberholtzer, who helped trigger two fireworks shows en route to three runs. Oberholtzer, the team's long reliever, has allowed eight homers this season in 14 innings. Monday's outing was his first in nine days.
The team's starting rotation entered Monday with a 3.40 ERA, a mark that is better through 25 games than that of the team's fabled 2011 "Four Aces" rotation. That team's five pitchers - Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Joe Blanton - combined to earn $67 million that season.
The six pitchers who have started a game this season for the Phillies will earn a combined $16.5 million, nearly half of which belongs to the injured Charlie Morton. The pitchers had triggered a six-game winning streak despite an average of only 3.33 runs per game from the offense. Something had to give.
And that something proved to be Hellickson. The righthander was bitten by a series of pitches that he left over the plate. It was a night that left little room for error. Adam Wainwright, who had struggled this season, overmatched the Phillies offense for the better part of six innings. Wainwright allowed three runs in six innings. He struck out four, walked one, and allowed five hits.
The Phillies offense proved to be the remedy for the former all-star's inconsistent start to the season. The Phillies have not scored more than four runs in a game in more than a week.
"I'm not going to say we're desperate, but we'd like to have more offense, obviously," said manager Pete Mackanin. "Hopefully we're going to get better as the season goes on."
Hellickson gave up a pair of homers to start the sixth inning. Matt Adams crushed a curveball that hung over the plate, driving it to left-center field for a home run on the inning's first pitch. Aledmys Diaz, the next batter, homered to left field for a 5-3 Cardinals lead.
The righthander was pulled two batters after Diaz's homer. Hellickson allowed six earned runs on seven hits. He walked a season-high four batters and struck out five.
Wainwright tied the score with a three-run homer in the fourth. He crushed a 3-1 fastball 408 feet to the second deck in right field. The home run traveled in a hurry.
Wainwright was Hellickson's last obstacle to cross before escaping the inning without a run. Hellickson allowed the first two batters to reach before retiring the next two.
He got behind Wainwright 3-1 and grooved a fastball down the middle of the plate. Wainwright, who now has seven career homers, did not miss. The stadium rocked as red and white fireworks sparkled in the air. The showcase was just getting started.
"Three-one fastball, pretty much right down the middle. That's really what I was trying to do with it," Hellickson said. "Once you fall behind, you don't want to walk the pitcher. I just have to get ahead. That was the story in general. I fell behind way too many guys."
@matt_breen