By Peter Marks
Jordan Walker hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth and Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Phillies 6-5 on Sunday.
St. Louis avoided a season sweep after losing its first five meetings with the Phillies this year.
The Phils have 13 games to play and lead the Cubs by 3 games in the race for the top Wild Card playoff spot.
Walker homered off Seranthony Domínguez (4-5) with two outs to snap a 5-all tie.
Walker also made a diving catch in right field on a sinking liner off the bat of Kyle Schwarber to begin the game.
“He’s definitely on a path to be great,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He cares and he wants it.”
Marmol liked the way his team bounced back after giving up 11 runs in a pair of losses to the Phillies.
“We continue to play as if we were in the playoffs,” Marmol said.
Alec Bohm launched a solo homer in the top of the eighth, and Nick Castellanos tied the score with an RBI single.
Goldschmidt had a two-run double in the third.
Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson, who went 4-1 in August, permitted three runs and five hits in five innings.
Philadelphia starter Taijuan Walker gave up five runs on eight hits over seven innings.
“He attacked the hitters and he gave us some length,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
The series marked the Phils’ first appearance in St. Louis since sweeping their wild-card series last year on the way to winning the National League pennant.
