Phillies end incredible month of May with win against Cardinals

Final Score: Phillies 4, Cardinals 2

One of the best months in Phillies history came to an end with another victory.

The Phillies (40-18) recorded their 20th win in the month of May with a 4-2 victory over the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals, who came into the game winners of nine of their last 10. It’s the first time since Sept. 2010 the Phillies have won 20 games in a calendar month.

It’s an excellent turnaround from the last two years. The 2022 and 2023 Phillies combined to win 20 games in May. That level consistency has led the Phillies to a much better position in the standings heading into June. They now have a seven-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and are 9.5 games clear of a playoff spot in the National League.

The Phillies scored three in the second on an RBI groundout from Brandon Marsh and a two-run home run from former Cardinal Edmundo Sosa, his fourth of the season. Johan Rojas later drove in an insurance run in the seventh on a well-placed single to right field in the seventh, scoring Marsh from second.

Nola pitched into the seventh inning for the sixth time this season. He allowed two runs on two solo home runs from Brandon Crawford and Nolan Arenado.

Highlights

• Sosa crushed a ball to Ashburn Alley to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the second inning. The 439-foot rocket was the longest of his career, according to Paul Casella of MLB.com.

• Bryson Stott timed his jump perfectly and made an excellent catch on a scorching line drive off the bat of Ivan Herrera in the fifth inning. The out proved to be big as Brandon Crawford and Dylan Carlson later reached on a single and a walk. Nola was able to get out of the jam by getting Penn Charter grad Michael Siani to ground out to end the inning.

• A great piece of hitting from Rojas and a smart send from third-base coach Dusty Wathan led to the Phillies scoring their fourth run of the game in the seventh inning.

Notes

• Crawford, a career Giant, hit his first home run with the Cardinals in the fourth inning against Nola to make it 3-1.
• Arenado hit a home run off the left field foul pole to make it 3-2. Nola recorded the next out, then was lifted from the game when Crawford came up for a third time. The Cardinals lifted Crawford for Masyn Winn when the lefty Matt Strahm came into pitch.
• This marks only the third time in franchise history that the Phillies have reached 40 wins in fewer than 60 games played. Per the Phillies PR staff, the 1993 and 1976 Phillies are the only other Phillies clubs to rack up early wins at the same pace as these Phillies.
• J.T. Realmuto’s record-breaking hitting streak ended at 17 games after going 0-for-4.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Saturday, June 1 vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park
• 7:15 p.m. EST
• FOX
• 94 WIP

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