PHILADELPHIA (Neth.) – Yadier Molina hit two homers, added a double and had four RBI’s when the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 9-4 on Saturday-evening.
Nolan Arenado and Paul DeJong joined the game with homeruns, as St. Louis won for the second time in the last seven games.
The Cardinals discovered the blow they missed in their recent losses. They averaged just 2.6 runs per game in those five trips.
Rhys Hoskins had three basehits and Alec Bohm brought in two runs for the Phillies, who missed Bryce Harper. The Philadelphia star outfielder was absent after waking up Saturday with a lumbar stiffness problem.
Harper said on Friday after a 9-2 win over the Cardinals that he was confident the Phillies would go on the offensive. Instead, it was the San Luis sluggers who woke up.
The Cardinals almost passed the game with six runs in the third inning against Matt Moore (0-1).
Ryan Helsley (1-0) gave up one run in an inning and two third reliefs to take the win.
For the Cardinals, Puerto Rican Molina 5-3 with two runs scored and four RBI’s.