PHILADELPHIA — A night after generating a lot of offensive fireworks, the Cardinals had nothing but duds on Sunday night.
Zack Wheeler and two relievers combined to limit the Cardinals to four hits, all singles, in the shutout loss in Philadelphia.
The Cardinals did not advance a runner past second base as they were shut out for the seventh time this season.
It was the third time they have been shutout at Citizens Bank Park in 57 games since the stadium opened in 2004.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Two of their four hits were infield singles, with only Brendan Donovan and Dylan Carlson getting hits on balls that reached the outfield … They had just three at-bats with a runner in scoring position … After Carlson drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, the Phillies retired 15 of the final 16 Cardinal batters, with Andrew Knizner the only one to reach base when he walked with one out in the eighth.
On the mound: The first hit off Adam Wainwright was a home run by Rhys Hoskins leading off the fourth … Wainwright stranded two runners in that inning but could not get through the fifth, when the Phillies added three runs, the big blow a two-run homer by J.T. Realmuto … Hoskins also had a double off Wainwright in the sixth and is now 6-of-10 off Wainwright in his career with three homers … Packy Naughton relieved Wainwright and retired all three batters he faced before James Naile pitched around a single and an error by Nolan Gorman to throw a scoreless eighth inning.
Key stat: The Cardinals reached the halfway point of the season and the loss left them with a 44-37 record. That puts them on pace for 88 wins for the season.
Worth noting: The other two shutout losses in Philadelphia came in 2010 and last year … It’s the first time they did not record at least one extra-base hit since June 10 … Moises Gomez hit his first home run since being promoted to Memphis to move back into a tie for the most homers, 24, so far this season in the minor leagues.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will open a four game series against the Braves on Monday night in Atlanta. Dakota Hudson is the scheduled starter.
