When a team gets down 11-0, a three-run rally in the eighth inning is a lot like dumping a few deck chairs off the Titanic. The Cardinals managed to get a few of the chairs into the ocean, but the ship still sunk in a 13-4 loss to the Phillies.
Cardinal starter Chris Carpenter was torched for eight runs off 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings on Sunday, as the Phillies jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the eighth inning. Four of those runs came off the bat of Philadelphia right fielder Bobby Abreu, who an RBI double, and RBI single, and a two-run ground rule double in his first three at bats. Pat Burrell connected for a three-run homer to pile on.
In the seventh inning, Albert Pujols got St .Louis on the board with his first home run of the season. The solo shot made it 11-1. Down 13-1 in the eighth, Abraham Nunez hit a two-run homer and So Taguchi went deep with the bases empty to cut the Phillies lead to 13-4, but that’s as close as it got.
To make matters worse for St. Louis, reliever Bill Pulsipher re-injured his touchy hamstring in the eighth inning and will probably be put on the 15-day disabled list.
The Cardinals are off Monday and will host the Reds on Tuesday.
