Nolan Arenado is one of the best third baseman in baseball. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)
Final Score: Cardinals 7, Phillies 6
Teams can go decades without having a player hit for the cycle or having a game where they hit four consecutive home runs.
The St. Louis Cardinals accomplished both in the first two games of their series against the Philadelphia Phillies, setting up a rubber match Sunday evening with a win in the second of a three-game set.
A night after he hit for the cycle, Nolan Arenado hit a two-run home run off of Kyle Gibson in the top of the first inning. It started the first string of back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs in the history of one of baseball’s most decorated franchises, with Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carlson all getting in on the action:
To their credit, the Phillies came back to tie the game on two occasions, with Yairo Muñoz, Matt Vierling, Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott all driving in runs.
But after Seranthony Domínguez came on to retire Paul Goldschmidt to end the eighth inning, he returned for the top of the ninth inning. And Arenado — well on his way to being an All-Star for the seventh time in his career — took him deep to left field for his second home run of the game to lead off the inning:
It’s fair to wonder if in April the Phillies would have fought back from a 5-0 first inning deficit at all, as they did Saturday evening. Ultimately, though, they fell short thanks in large part to one of the greatest third basemen the game has ever seen.
“Wow, he’s hot,” Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson said after the game. “[He had] two more home runs today, and I thought the first one probably is a pretty good pitch that Gibby made and he just went down and got it. He’s on fire right now.”
With the loss, the Phillies drop to 41-38. Meanwhile, the Cardinals — one of the teams above the Phillies in the NL Wild Card race — improve to 44-36.
The Phillies and Cardinals will wrap up their weekend set on Sunday Night Baseball, with Zack Wheeler slated to square off with Adam Wainwright on the national stage.
Matthew Liberatore was spotted a 5-0 lead, but gave it all back. In just 2 2/3 innings, the lefty allowed seven hits and five earned runs. After five starts, Liberatore’s ERA sits at 5.56.
Kyle Gibson struggled Saturday, allowing seven hits and six earned runs across four plus innings. The 34-year-old’s ERA has ballooned to 4.91. At the conclusion of May, Gibson had a very respectable 3.83 ERA.
Strange coincidence: This is the second time Phillies' hitting coach Kevin Long has been in the dugout when an opponent hit four consecutive home runs.
He was the hitting coach for the Yankees when the Red Sox hit four straight on Sunday Night Baseball in April of 2007.
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