The St. Louis Cardinals had to wait an extra day for the chance to extend their winning streak to 10 games.
Following a rainout on Tuesday, the Cardinals carry the longest winning streak in the majors this season into a day-night doubleheader against the host Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
St. Louis won its ninth straight game Monday by taking the opener of the three-game series 3-2.
Masyn Winn delivered the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, and Ivan Herrera also homered for the Cardinals. The visitors prevailed despite managing only five hits (including two from Lars Nootbaar) against a Phillies team that had won 11 of its previous 14 games.
“I just feel like we’re just playing free,” Winn said. “Obviously, we’ve been winning a lot of games, but we show up every day pretending like we’re still negative. We’re fighting every day to try and get a win, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
The Cardinals hope to add to the fun with two more victories on Wednesday. Their current winning streak began with a doubleheader sweep against the New York Mets on May 4.
Erick Fedde (3-3, 3.86 ERA) will get the ball for the Cardinals in the Wednesday matinee. The 32-year-old right-hander tossed his first career shutout Friday against the Washington Nationals, allowing six hits without a walk while striking out eight.
“For him to go through that lineup the way they’ve been swinging it, he had everything working,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Fedde, who is just 2-7 with a 5.98 ERA in 13 career games (12 starts) against the Phillies.
Opposing Fedde will be Jesus Luzardo (3-0, 2.11 ERA), who was originally slated to pitch Tuesday. The lefty did not factor into the decision against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, when he allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 7-6, 10-inning victory. Luzardo walked two and fanned four.
“Obviously a big game for the boys, but just a frustrating outing for me,” Luzardo said after throwing a season-high 105 pitches. “Just feel like getting too deep into counts, wasting a lot of pitches, not being efficient enough.”
Luzardo has made three lifetime starts against St. Louis, going 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA.
In the nightcap, St. Louis’ Sonny Gray (4-1, 3.50 ERA) will look to build off a stellar start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 7. The veteran right-hander allowed only two hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings, striking out eight in a 5-0 victory.
“(Gray) was in complete control the entire time,” Marmol said. “That was fun to watch.”
Gray, who was originally scheduled to pitch Tuesday evening, is 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA in seven lifetime starts against the Phillies.
Aaron Nola (1-6, 4.89 ERA) gets the nod for Philadelphia in the nightcap against a team that he has dominated over the years. The crafty right-hander is 8-4 with a 2.62 ERA in 14 lifetime starts against St. Louis, including a decent outing (two runs in five innings) on April 11.
Nola walked four batters in that contest and issued two more free passes in five innings Friday during a 6-0 loss to the Guardians. Cleveland piled up six hits and four runs against him.
“The walks have been crushing me this year,” Nola said. “It feels like they always score. I’ve got to keep trying to limit those every outing.”
–Field Level Media
