PHILADELPHIA — The Cardinals had a chance to get above .500 on Friday night, but Aaron Nola kept that from happening.
Nola allowed only three hits, two of which were solo home runs, as he pitched into the seventh inning to lead the Phillies to a series-opening win over the Cardinals in Philadelphia.
The home runs came from Brandon Crawford and Nolan Arenado.
The Cardinals got to .500 with a win on Wednesday in Cincinnati prior to Thursday’s day off. The only time they had been above .500 this season was on April 6, when they were 5-4.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Crawford also had a single off Nola after hitting his first home run of the season in the third inning … Arenado homered for his second game in a row (he did not play on Wednesday) in the seventh … The three hits tied the fewest the Cardinals have had in a game this season (March 28 in Los Angeles) … They only had two other baserunners, on walks, and had just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas gave up a two-run homer to former Cardinal Edmundo Sosa as the Phillies scored three of their runs in the second inning … Mikolas allowed five hits over his six innings of work … The other run for the Phillies came in the seventh off Kyle Leahy.
Worth noting: Before the game the Cardinals placed Lars Nootbaar on the injured list, the result of straining his oblique on Wednesday. He likely will miss at least three weeks. Jose Fermin was recalled from Memphis to take Nootbaar’s spot on the roster … Brendan Donovan was a late scratch after being in the original lineup because of a stiff neck … Masyn Winn, riding an 18-game hitting streak, had a scheduled day off from the starting lineup but pinch-hit for Crawford in the seventh and flew out, snapping his streak.
Looking ahead: Sonny Gray will get the start on Saturday night in the second game of the series, flipping spots with Lance Lynn, who will now start on Sunday night.