The Phillies blew a five-run lead and lost, 7-6, to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.
The Phillies gave up the go-ahead run in bizarre fashion in the 10th inning.
Reliever Edubray Ramos gave up a leadoff double to Jose Martinez then committed a balk to move the runner to third. After striking out Matt Carpenter, Ramos walked Dexter Fowler intentionally to put runners on the corners. Ramos then made an errant pickoff throw way over first baseman Tommy Joseph's head, allowing Martinez to trot home with the go-ahead run.
Ramos' nightmarish inning capped a brutal performance for the bullpen. Relievers Joaquin Benoit and Hector Neris each allowed a solo homer in the eighth and ninth, respectively, as the Cardinals tied the game at 5-5.
The Phillies had the potential winning run thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the ninth when Odubel Herrera ran through third base coach Juan Samuel's stop sign on a two-out double by Freddy Galvis.
Rookie Nick Pivetta had his second straight strong start, but came away with a no-decision.
MLB
St. Louis played poor defense and the Phils capitalized with three unearned runs.
The Phillies are a majors-worst 22-48. They have lost 13 of their last 14.
Starting pitching report
Pivetta pitched six innings of three-run ball. All of the runs he gave up came on a pair of homers. The right-hander continued to harness his power stuff. He walked just one and struck out 10. Pivetta, who pitched seven shutout innings against Boston in his last outing, has 19 strikeouts in his last two starts. He has walked just three in his last two starts and that's been a big reason for his improvement. He issued 16 walks in his first six starts.
St. Louis starter Michael Wacha allowed nine hits and five runs in four innings. Three of the runs were unearned.
Bullpen report
Luis Garcia held the Cardinals off in the seventh. Benoit allowed a homer in the eighth as the Cards cut the lead to one. Neris allowed a game-tying homer in the ninth to blow the save.
Ramos looks like a pitcher who needs to go to the minors to clear his head. In his last three outings, he has faced eight batters and allowed three hits, three walks and seven runs. He has also committed a costly balk and a costly error.
Brett Cecil got the win.
At the plate
Howie Kendrick had three hits and a walk. It was his second straight three-hit game. He has 10 hits in his last four games.
Herrera doubled home two runs in the first inning.
After falling behind by two runs in the top of the 10th, the Phillies rallied for a run on hits by Andrew Knapp and Cameron Perkins to make it a one-run game. Closer Seung-Hwan Oh then got Kendrick to hit into a fielder's choice and struck out Aaron Altherr to end it.
The Cardinals hit four homers, two by Tommy Pham and one each by Jedd Gyorko and Martinez.
In the field
Rightfielder Altherr made a terrific leaping catch in foul territory to end the top of the third inning.
The Cardinals made three errors.
Ready to go
Outfielder Adam Haseley, the Phillies' top pick in last week's draft, signed his contract and is ready to begin his pro career. What kind of player are the Phillies getting (see story)?
Up next
The series concludes on Thursday afternoon. Aaron Nola (3-5, 4.76) pitches against St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez (6-5, 2.86). Martinez pitched a four-hit, one-walk, 11-strikeout shutout against the Phillies two weeks ago in St. Louis.