Rom much improved in second start, but Cardinals swept by Phillies

After being outscored 19-3 in the first two games of this three-game set, the Cardinals faced former All-Star Aaron Nola in game three today, hoping to avoid a sweep.

Here are the starting lineups for the Cardinals and Phillies Sunday afternoon:

Cardinals:

1. Tommy Edman, SS
2. Alec Burleson, LF
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Nolan Arenado, DH
5. Willson Contreras, C
6. Nolan Gorman, 2B
7. Jordan Walker, RF
8. Richie Palacios, CF
9. Taylor Motter, 3B

Drew Rom - SP

And the Phillies:

1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. Trea Turner, SS
3. Nick Castellanos, RF
4. Bryce Harper, DH
5. Alec Bohm, 1B
6. J.T. Realmuto, C
7. Bryson Stott, 2B
8. Edmunso Sosa, 3B
9. Johan Rojas, CF

Aaron Nola - SP

This one was tough to watch, as was the one yesterday, and the one before that. St. Louis was held to just two hits on Sunday afternoon, and for the series they were outscored 22-3. Drew Rom looked impressive after a rough first inning, pitching into the sixth and giving up two earned runs.

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1st Inning

Tommy Edman led off and got ahead of Aaron Nola 2-0, before ripping a 105 mph line shot double off the right field wall. It was a great start for the Cardinals, but after an Alec Burleson strikeout, Goldschmidt hit a ground ball to Turner at short. Edman took a few hops towards third base and then went to retreat, but Turner quickly twisted and threw behind Edman, nailing him at second base. For those of you who have been watching baseball for a long time, you know you can never move at second base on a ground ball hit in front of you.

Goldschmidt reached at first base with two outs, and Nolan Arenado grounded out to third to end the top of the first.

Drew Rom, making his second career start, served Kyle Schwarber a first-pitch fastball right down the pipe to start the game, letter-high at 89 mph. Schwarber pounded it into the forest beyond the center field wall for his 36th homer of the season, putting Philadelphia up 1-0 one pitch into the game. Schwarber’s homer traveled 436 feet.

Turner singled to center, but Palacios did not field it cleanly initially and the speedster took second base. Palacios was charged with an error, his first of the season. Castellanos was unable to move Turner with a ground ball to third base for the first out. Rom walked Harper to put two runners on with one out, but struck out Bohm and Realmuto to get out of the inning only down one run.

2nd Inning

Nola struck out Contreras, Gorman, and Walker, and collectively they only fouled off one pitch.

Drew Rom struck out Stott with an outside fastball that appeared to be a few inches off the plate, but it still counts and was his third consecutive punchout. Former Cardinal Edmundo Sosa reached with a base hit to left with one out, and Rojas singled to center to put two runners on with one out once again. He struck out Schwarber for out number two, and got Turner to hit a soft ground ball right back to him to end the inning.

3rd Inning

Palacios grounded out to first, Motter popped out to Sosa at third, and Edman flew out to right field.

Castellanos flew out to shallow right field, Harper popped out to Edman at shortstop, and Bohm also flew out to right field.

4th Inning

Burleson grounded out to second base after fouling a ball directly off his hoohas, and then Nola struck out Goldschmidt and Arenado back-to-back to keep his Phillies up, 1-0.

Rom struck out Realmuto for the second time, this time with a 79 mph curveball that tumbled into the dirt. Bryson Stott grounded out to first base for the second out, and Sosa popped out to Edman at short.

5th Inning

Contreras popped out to first base for the first out in the fifth, followed by a one-out walk by Nolan Gorman — the Cardinals’ first base runner since the first inning. Walker struck out looking for the second-straight at-bat, and Palacios flew out to left field, with Sosa ranging back from short to make the catch near the foul line.

Rookie outfielder Johan Rojas led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double to left. Schwarber grounded out to first base to move him over to third, and Trea Turner’s fly ball to left field was enough to score the run, making it 2-0 Phillies. Castellanos flew out to right field to end the fifth.

6th Inning

Nola struck out Motter, and then Edman’s 102 mph line drive was caught by Bohm at first and Burleson flew out to left.

Rom returned for the bottom of the sixth and struck out Harper on four pitches before being lifted in favor of right-hander Jacob Barnes, making his second appearnce as a Cardinal.

Barnes got Bohm to fly out for the second out of the inning, but things got hairy when Realmuto reached with a double to center and then moved to thid on Stott’s infield single. With two on and two out, Sosa flew out to center field to end the inning and keep it 2-0.

Rom’s final line: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K’s (96 pitches)

7th Inning

Nola kept on shoving right into and through the seventh — striking out Goldschmidt, getting Arenado to fly out to right, and getting a groundout from Contreras.

Rojas led off in the bottom of the seventh and hit a line drive right back at Barnes, who threw his hands up in self defense and was struck by the liner. The ball slowly rolled towards second base, and Rojas reached with an infield single and his third hit of the afternoon.

After a visit from the training staff, Barnes was removed from the game and left-hander John King entered to face Schwarber. King got Schwarber to fly out for the first out. Turner hit a ground ball to second base, and Gorman stepped on the bag for the force out with Turner reaching at first. Castellanos reached with a two-out single to left field, and Harper drove in Philadelphia’s third run of the game with an RBI base knock the other way in front of Burleson. Turner scored, making it 3-0 Phillies.

After the base hit from Harper, Marmol pulled King and put right-hander James Naile on the mound. Bohm tried to knock out another Cardinals pitcher with a 106 mph line drive, but Naile alertly threw his glove up and caught the liner on the mound to end the inning.

8th Inning

Nola was pulled after 95 pitches, with left-hander Jose Alvarado becoming the second Phillies pitcher of the afternoon. He struck out Gorman to start the inning, and then walked Walker on four pitches. Luken Baker pinch-hit for Palacios and was called out on strikes for the second out of the inning, and Motter grounded out to shortstop.

Naile came back out for the eighth inning after getting the final out on one pitch in the seventh. Realmuto led off the inning with a base hit to center field, his second of the afternoon. Stott hit a line drive to Motter at third base next, and Realmuto was too far off the bag. Motter threw over to first to complete the double play, clearing the bases for Sosa, who grounded out to end the inning.

All in all, Naile got four outs on 11 pitches.

Nola’s final line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K’s (95 pitches)

9th Inning

Craig Kimbrel entered the game looking for his 20th save of the season and to wrap up a sweep of the helpless Cardinals. Tommy Edman led off the inning and flew out to center field. But an Alec Burleson walk, paired with a double from Goldschmidt, brought the potential tying run to the plate in Nolan Arenado.

Arenado popped out on the infield, failing to drive in either of those runners in scoring position with less than two outs. Kimbrel punched out Contreras with an elevated fastball to end it.

FINAL: Phillies 3, Cardinals 0

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Up Next

The Cardinals (56-75) open up a three-game series against the Padres (61-69) tomorrow night at Busch. Adam Wainwright (3-9, 8.61 ERA) is looking for win number 199, but has lost each of his last five starts, giving up 28 earned runs over 20.2 innings. Blake Snell (10-9, 2.73 ERA) has been the opposite of Wainwright this season, and is on track to have his best season since his 2018 Cy Young season. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m.

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Around the Central

Brewers 9, Padres 6 - TOP 7

Reds 0, D-Backs 0 - BOT 1

Cubs 10, Pirates 1

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Today’s Immaculate Grid

Immaculate Grid #147 - 6/9
Rarity - 347