PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies lefty Adam Morgan failed to get a win yet again, but he was pleased with his outing.
Randal Grichuk homered early and hit a go-ahead double in the 11th inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Philadelphia 4-3 Friday night for their fifth straight win.
Jedd Gyorko’s tying, two-run homer in the ninth off Jeanmar Gomez prevented Morgan from gaining his first victory since May 10 and snapping a seven-game losing streak.
The Phillies starter gave up one run on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks. He faced one batter in the seventh and left with a 3-1 lead.
“What a tough loss,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “Bright spot was Morgan. He pitched extremely well. I was thrilled with the way he pitched. He was masterful with his changeup.”
Morgan was making his second start back with the Phillies after a five-game stint in the minor leagues where he regained his confidence with five consecutive wins. Now, he’s looking to take advantage of a chance presented by injuries to the Phillies’ starting rotation.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity and I’m going to try to make the most of it,” he said. “I just want to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Jhonny Peralta led off the 11th with a double and, two batters later, Grichuk doubled to the wall in left-center off Frank Herrmann (0-1).
Seung Hwan Oh (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth and 10th to earn the victory. Alex Reyes blanked the Phillies in the 11th for his first save, getting Odubel Herrera to ground out with runners on first and second to end the game.
Herrera and Freddy Galvis homered for the Phillies.
Grichuk connected in the second for his 15th home run.
Gomez blew his fourth save in 36 tries when Gyorko homered.
“He hung a split. It was center cut,” Mackanin said.
But Mackanin praised Gomez.
“He’s been very good for us,” he said.
REPLAY REVIEW
The Phillies appeared to have runners on second and third with one out in the eighth, looking to extend a 3-1 lead. But Tommy Joseph was called out at second base after a replay review of 2 1/2 minutes overturned second-base umpire Tony Randazzo’s safe call of an apparent double.
HOMER STREAK
The Phillies have homered in 13 straight games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: INF Cesar Hernandez (sore right foot) was not in the starting lineup for the second straight game. He popped out to second while pinch-hitting with one out in the ninth to snap his 23-game on-base streak. Mackanin said he expects Hernandez to be back in the starting lineup on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Phillies RHP Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.65) opposes Cardinals RHP Luke Weaver (0-0, 4.50) in the second of the three-game series on Saturday night. Weaver will be making his second career big league start.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.