Last week, Bryce Harper displayed a sense of urgency when talking about the Phillies offense and keeping pace with the rest of the NL East. After the Phillies lost their third straight game to the New York Mets, Harper took the blame and was critical of himself for the lack of offense from the Phillies throughout the first 10 games of the 2021 season. Last night, Harper delivered on his words and the Phillies improved to 7-6 with a 9-2 win against the Cardinals after a poor road trip in which they lost five of six games in Atlanta and New York.

The Phillies were able to jump ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-0 lead in the second inning. Carlos Martinez was on the mound for the Cards and got zero help from his defense and the Phillies made them pay for their mistakes batting around in the inning. Nine straight batters reached safely before Martinez even recorded the first out. Bohm and Gregorius hit consecutive singles and Jean Segura, who was 3-for-5 on the night, followed with an RBI double after Cards’ centerfielder Dylan Carlson misplayed a routine fly. Mickey Moniak was intentionally walked to load the bases and Eflin was hit by a pitch scoring Bohm on third.

Andrew McCutchen lined a two-run single to right, breaking an 18-game hitless streak in the process. Cutch finished the night 2-for-5 with five RBI and a run scored. Zach Eflin pitched into the eighth inning, throwing seven strong innings, allowing six hits, and two earned runs while striking out six. JT Realmuto hit a two-run home run and Harper went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Connor Brogdon and Brandon Kintzler pitched in relief, throwing a scoreless inning each and the Phillies beat the Cardinals 9-2.

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LHP Matt Moore (0-0, 7.56 ERA) will make his third start for the Phillies against Cardinals LHP Kwang Hyun Kim, who is making his 2021 season debut. Kim had an excellent rookie season, going 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA last year.

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Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Inquirer