Phillies Fall To Cardinals 5-4 In Bottom Of Ninth

Matt Holliday’s walk-off in the ninth inning led the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday.

Phillies Fall To Cardinals 5-4 In Bottom Of Ninth

With the bases loaded for the Cardinals and the Phillies up by one run, Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin told his closing pitcher Jeanmar Gomez to get a ground ball. A double play would end it all.

Right-hander Gomez induced Cardinals right fielder Stephen Piscoty to hit a grounder, but the ball was slapped wide of shortstop Freddy Galvis. Galvis then slid to field the hit, but the game was tied. One batter later, the game was over. Holliday hit yet another ground ball for St. Louis that left the infield.

As the Cardinals celebrated in shallow right field and Busch Stadium roared, Gomez dropped his head and slouched his shoulders, staying by the mound for a few more seconds before slowly making his way to the dugout.

The game marked the first time since April 6 that the Phillies had blown a game after leading at the end of the seventh inning. The Cardinals now lead the series 2-1. The Phillies will vie to tie the series during a rematch in St. Louis on Wednesday.

“For me, our team battled all game to try and get this win,” Gomez said afterwards. “To get this blown save, you feel bad because your teammates played hard. I have to think about the mistakes I made and not do them in the next game.

Philadelphia scored four runs in the first five innings, but was then silenced in the final four innings. All four runs came on home runs. Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer in the fourth, and Odubel Herrera homered in the fifth. This was Howard’s seventh homer in 85 at-bats.

Gomez then walked the leadoff batter, and although he picked up an out, pinch-hitter Matt Adams ended a double off the top of the center-field wall. The hit was very close to being a walk-off homer, but instead, the game remained tied.

Gomez would not have had a lead if it hadn’t been for the play by Tyler Goeddel. The 23-year-old rookie outfielder leaped against the left-feild wall in the eighth and plucked Jedd Gyorko’s fly ball before it could get over the wall for a game-tying homer.

Goeddel, who finished 0-for-3 on Wednesday, later said it was the first homer he has ever robbed. He has just four hits this season in 28 at-bats.

PHOTO: ST LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 07: Matt Adams #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after hitting a three run home run in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Four of the National League Divison Series at Busch Stadium on October 7, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)