Phillies rally to 5-3, 10-inning win over Cardinals

ST. LOUIS – If this Phillies series with the St. Louis Cardinals is a four-act play, then Act II Friday night in the searing heat at Busch Stadium was even more entertaining than the wild-and-crazy opening act the evening before.

Once again, the teams needed more than three hours to determine the outcome and this time they also needed 10 innings.

And once again, it was the Phillies who survived the test of wills as they rallied for a 5-3 victory that allowed them to move a game above .500 at 24-23.

The record books will show that Hunter Pence provided the margin of victory when he guessed right on a first-pitch delivery from Cardinals closer Jason Motte and planted a ball just beyond the right-field wall for a two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning.

"You get a cutter or a fastball and you have to choose between them," Pence said.

Motte threw a 97 m.p.h. fastball.

"I was looking fastball, but honestly the first pitch I was just trying to catch the ball out front and he just throws the ball so hard I caught it late," Pence said.

It ended a 0-for-12 streak for Pence and extended the Phillies' winning streak to three games.

Lefty Raul Valdes, after pitching out of ninth-inning trouble, earned the victory for the second straight night and Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 14th save by pitching a perfect 10th inning.

The much bigger save was provided by rookie second baseman Freddy Galvis in the bottom of the eighth inning as he provided yet another highlight-reel play.

After Yadier Molina singled with two outs, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel replaced veteran righthander Jose Contreras with rookie lefthander Jake Diekman.

Manuel raved before the game about how Matt Adams, the Cardinals' left-handed hitting first baseman, had battled Diekman the night before.

Diekman won that battle by getting Adams on a grounder to first, but this time Adams ripped a double into right-center field.

Shane Victorino made a strong relay throw to Galvis and the rookie second baseman nailed Molina at home with Carlos Ruiz holding onto the ball despite a crunching collision with his fellow catcher.

Manuel raved about his rookie second baseman before and after the game.

"He's amazing," the manager said. "I love to watch him, that's the reason I rave about him a lot. He's absolutely unreal. He keeps his cool and he's always focused on what he's doing, always around the ball, always around the action."

Galvis' teammates were also amazed by the second baseman's latest bit of defensive wizardry.

"It's not easy to throw a strike like that," Phillies left fielder Juan Pierre said. "That's a big-time play, a game-saver right there. That's the kind of stuff you don't see in the box score."

You also wouldn't know by looking at the box score that Pierre reached base four times and was also instrumental in the victory.

He scored the game-winning run ahead of Pence in the 10th after opening the inning with a single off Motte. He also delivered a game-tying RBI double off reliever Mitchell Boggs with one out in the seventh, scoring pitcher Cliff Lee.

Valdes improved to 2-0 and has now allowed just two hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings since joining the Phillies from triple-A Lehigh Valley. This was by far the most difficult of his five appearances.

Manuel said lefty Antonio Bastardo and righthander Chad Qualls were not available, which meant Valdes had to deal with a parade of right-handed hitters.

With runners at first and second and one out, he struck out Tyler Greene looking and the dangerous Matt Holliday swinging.

"That was pretty amazing what Valdes did in the ninth," Pence said. "He's just been outstanding for us."

For the second straight night, the Phillies gave their starting pitcher an early lead and then watched it evaporate in the summer-like heat.

Lee went to the mound in the bottom of the second with a 2-0 cushion after the Phillies scored twice on three hits and an error off righthander Kyle Lohse in the top of the inning.

Manuel had moved Placido Polanco's hot bat down to seventh in the order and inserted Pierre in the second spot in the hope that it would generate some offense at both the top and the bottom of the order.

It worked.

Polanco and the equally hot Galvis reached base on consecutive one-out singles to start a second-inning rally. After Lee flied out to left field, Jimmy Rollins worked a full count before dropping an RBI single into right field. Pierre followed with a slow roller that was bobbled by first baseman Matt Adams for an error that allowed Galvis to score.

The Cardinals, just as they did in the opening game against Joe Blanton, chipped away at the lead.

The Cardinals got one run back in the second, another in the third and took the lead in the fourth off a highly frustrated Lee, who remained winless in seven starts this season.

Lee's worst luck came in the fourth when the Cardinals took a 3-2 lead on four hits, including two that were simply lost in the lights at twilight. Lee blamed only himself for the continuation of his winless streak.

"I had a two-run lead that I let slip away and some of that is my fault," Lee said.

The team at least improved to 2-5 in Lee's starts.

"He's going to win some games," Manuel said. "He'll win his share. When it's all said and done, he'll win his share."