By Sam Bush
Tyler O’Neill scored on David Hale’s game-ending wild pitch in the 10th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Phillies 4-3.
O’Neil, the automatic runner, started on second and advanced on Andrew Knizner’s groundout. Hale (0-1) bounced a curveball past catcher J.T. Realmuto, getting the loss in his first decision since the Phillies acquired him from the New York Yankees last August.
Realmuto took the blame for the wild pitch.
“It’s my job to keep the ball in front and I let the team down,” he said. “I should’ve kept it in front, one way or another. I have to keep the runner on third.”
Alex Reyes (1-0) pitched two perfect innings.
Matt Carpenter put the Cardinals ahead in the sixth with a three-run homer off Aaron Nola, a ball that bounced out of the outstretched glove of Roman Quinn at the top of the right-field wall. It was the fourth pinch-hit homer for Carpenter, the first since May 30, 2019, also against Philadelphia.
“Pinch-hitting is not conducive for success, I mean it’s really — it’s just a hard thing to do,” Carpenter said. “So, that in itself has its challenges, but you got to be ready to go out there and when your name is called and I’m doing my best in that role.”
Knizner started the rally with a one-out single and he advanced on an error by center fielder by Odúbel Herrera, becoming the first Cardinal to reach scoring position this season against Nola, who didn’t allow a runner past first base in a two-hit shutout on April 18.
Edmundo Sosa was intentionally walked, and Carpenter hit for starter Kwang Hyun Kim.
“This is game is on me,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “I chose to walk Sosa to get to Carpenter.”
Andrew McCutcheon hit an RBI double in the seventh off Andrew Miller and scored on Alec Bohm’s single off Giovanny Gallegos.
Kim allowed one run and seven hits in five innings, the 11th straight game a Cardinals starter went at least five innings with three earned runs or fewer.
“I had some trouble going on, but I just allowed the one run, and in the fifth inning Carpenter’s home run gave a chance for the team to win,” Kim said through an interpreter. “At the end of the day, winning is the most important thing overall.”
Nola gave up three runs and four hits in six innings.
