Andrew McCutchen returned to the Phillies lineup after a few games off and drove in the go-ahead run for the Philadelphia Phillies as they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 last night. The Phillies moved back to .500 at 12-12 after a drama filled sixth inning in which Bryce Harper was hit in the face with a pitch followed by Didi Gregorius getting plunked in the back by Génesis Cabrera.

Here’s how it went down:

After the game, Bryce Harper took to instagram to assure Phillies fans that he was okay. Honestly, I’m not sure how Bryce looked so good after he left the game with blood dripping from a cut near the side of his nose. Joe Girardi was ejected from the game for obvious reasons.

After Bamboo Brad tied the game at three with a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning, the Phillies were able to get a spark after watching their $330 million dollar man take a pitch off the face. Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead RBI single to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead and Didi Gregorius hit a sac fly to score Alec Bohm, who doubled in the seventh inning.

Vinny Velo was on the mound for the Phillies and managed to keep the damage minimal, throwing 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, including two home runs. The Phillies bullpen was fantastic in relief. Kintzler, Brogdon, Alvarado, Coonrod, and Neris didn’t surrender a run and the ‘pen was able to get back on track for the Phillies when they needed it the most.

Look, I don’t know if Cabrera’s pitches were intentional, but you can’t be hitting batters like that and not expect outrage from the opposing team. I have no idea what Cardinals Manager Mike Schildt was complaining about as the events unfolded. Kruk and Ricky Bo carried the same frustration during the postgame.

Aaron Nola will be on the mound today at 1:05pm. Nola threw a two-hit shutout earlier this season against St. Louis and is 5-2 in his career vs the Cardinals. Although we’d love to see some retaliation from the Phillies after what happened last night, let’s make sure it comes from someone not named Aaron Nola. The last thing the Phillies need is Nola missing time. Maybe throw Sam Coonrod out there again and let him handle business. He was fuming last night.

At the end of the night, sometimes games like these can bring a clubhouse together. The Phillies have definitely started off the 2021 inconsistent. Hopefully, a fire was ignited last night and the Phillies can go on a little run and win a few games to keep them above the .500 mark.

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