Leake strong, Cardinals hit 4 homers to rout Phillies
ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Mike Leake (8) throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
PHILADELPHIA >> Mike Leake pitched seven strong innings and hit a two-run single and the St. Louis Cardinals homered four times Sunday to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0.
Jedd Gyorko, Stephen Piscotty, Brandon Moss and Jeremy Hazelbaker went deep. The Cardinals had hit multiple home runs in nine straight games, tying a major league record, before failing to connect Saturday night in a 4-2 loss.
Jhonny Peralta added three hits as the Cardinals finished a 6-3 road trip. They remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami for the final wild-card spot in the National League.
The Cardinals got six extra-base hits to set a club record of 14 straight games with at least three extra-base hits.
Leake (9-9) gave up seven hits and struck out eight. Philadelphia had homered in 14 straight games before getting blanked by Leake and two relievers.
Vince Velasquez (8-6) fell to 0-4 with a 6.23 ERA in his last seven starts.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Moss hit his 23rd homer and Leake added his single later in the fourth for a 4-0 lead.
A day after a young girl was taken to the hospital when she was struck by a foul ball behind the Cardinals dugout, a young woman was hit in the face by Leake’s foul in the sixth. She held an ice pack as she was helped to the concourse from her seat about 10 rows behind the dugout.
Freddy Galvis, who hit the foul that injured the fan Saturday night, said before the game that the Phillies should extend the netting from behind home plate all the way to left field.
“The fans give you the money, so you should protect them, right?” Galvis said. “We’re worried about speeding up the game. Why don’t you put up a net and protect all the fans?”
Piscotty connected in the fifth, the eighth home run Velasquez has allowed in three games.
In the eighth, Gyorko hit his 20th homer and Hazelbaker had a pinch-hit drive.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: After Monday’s day off, they begin a six-game homestand with the Mets. St. Louis RHP Jaime Garcia (10-8, 4.11) opposes LHP Jonathon Niese (8-7, 5.30). Garcia has won three straight games and is 2-2 with a 1.58 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.
Phillies: Start a five-game road trip on Tuesday night at the White Sox. RHP Jake Thompson (1-2, 8.79) faces Chicago LHP Carlos Rodon (3-8, 4.26).
