The Cardinals didn’t give up more than one run in any inning, which normally will keep you in ball games. The problem for St. Louis on Thursday was that they allowed one run in seven of the eight innings the Phillies went to the plate. In the end, those runs piled up and the Cardinals lost 7-4 to lose their second road series of the season.
Starting pitcher Jason Marquis had control problems on Thursday, allowing four runs and six walks over four innings. He dropped to dropped to 5-3 on the season. But Marquis wasn’t the only guilty party when it came to walks—the Cardinal arms allowed a total of 10 passes to Phillies hitters.
The Cardinals stayed in the game early on, thanks to a couple of home runs from Jim Edmonds, who hit his seventh and Albert Pujols who hit his eleventh. Edmonds’ solo shot tied the game at 1-1. After the Phillies regained the lead in bottom of the second, Pujols launched a two-run shot in the top of the third to give St. Louis a 3-2 edge. That was the last lead they enjoyed. The Cardinals got what proved to be a meaningless run in the top of the ninth, when Reggie Sanders scored from third on a grounder from Roger Cedeno.
The Cardinals dropped to 12-6 on the road, but still lead the majors for their road record.
