The Phillies asked Andrew Painter for innings Monday night.
For five of them, the Cardinals couldn’t even find a hit.
Painter carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, Edmundo Sosa drove in three runs against his former organization and Jonathan Bowlan survived the Phillies’ depleted bullpen situation by recording the first save of his major-league career in a 6-5 victory at Busch Stadium.
It was hardly comfortable. But considering the circumstances, it was exactly the kind of win the Phillies needed.
Philadelphia entered the series opener with Jhoan Duran and Orion Kerkering having pitched four times in five days and Brooks Raley having worked on consecutive days. Caleb Kilian was placed on the injured list earlier Monday with a left oblique strain, forcing Chase Shugart back from Triple-A only one day after he had been optioned.
That placed even more responsibility on Painter.
The 23-year-old responded with perhaps his most encouraging start yet.
Painter retired the Cardinals without allowing a hit through five innings, mixing six strikeouts around three walks while the Phillies slowly built him a lead.
Philadelphia scored twice in the second. Brandon Marsh opened with a single before Derek Hill chopped a ball back toward Cardinals starter Hunter Dobbins. Dobbins threw wildly to first, allowing Marsh to race all the way around from first while Hill reached third. Sosa followed later in the inning with an RBI single for a 2-0 advantage.
Kyle Schwarber helped manufacture another run in the fifth. He singled and advanced to second when Jordan Walker mishandled the ball in right field, then moved to third on Bryson Stott’s single. Bryce Harper grounded into a double play, but Schwarber scored to make it 3-0.
Painter’s no-hit bid finally disappeared with one out in the sixth.
After walking JJ Wetherholt, Painter surrendered a double to Iván Herrera. Alec Burleson followed with a two-run single, trimming Philadelphia’s lead to 3-2 and ending Painter’s night after 93 pitches.
His final line: 5 1/3 innings, two hits, two runs, three walks and six strikeouts.
More importantly, Painter has now allowed two runs or fewer in all three starts since returning from Triple-A on July 31. His ERA over that span is 2.93 across 15 1/3 innings. Monday also marked his first victory since his major-league debut March 31.
The Phillies answered immediately.
Garrett Stubbs walked in the seventh and Schwarber drove him home with a double, restoring a two-run cushion. Schwarber finished the night reaching base four times with two hits and two walks.
Then Sosa supplied what became the decisive blow.
Marsh walked to open the eighth and Justin Crawford doubled with one out. Sosa followed by driving a two-run double into the left-center-field gap, stretching Philadelphia’s advantage to 6-2.
The cushion proved necessary.
Alan Rangel had escaped Painter’s sixth-inning trouble and was asked to keep going because interim manager Don Mattingly had so few realistic alternatives available. Rangel eventually threw 55 pitches over 2 2/3 innings, absorbing the workload even as St. Louis mounted a furious comeback.
Herrera and Burleson opened the eighth with consecutive doubles. Walker singled. Masyn Winn drove home another run on a ball that deflected off Rangel, and José FermÃn followed with an RBI single.
Suddenly, 6-2 had become 6-5.
The tying run reached third. The go-ahead run stood at second.
Rangel somehow escaped, striking out Jimmy Crooks before Bryan Torres lined out to center.
That left the ninth to Bowlan.
With Duran unavailable, Bowlan retired the top of the Cardinals’ order in succession, striking out one and securing his first big-league save.
It completed a strange but important night: Painter nearly carried a no-hitter into the late innings, the bullpen nearly surrendered a four-run lead, and the Phillies still walked away with their second consecutive victory and seventh in 10 games.
More importantly, they gained ground directly against one of the teams chasing them.
Philadelphia improved to 64-56 and moved 4½ games ahead of St. Louis in the National League standings.
Cristopher Sánchez gets the ball Tuesday night against Andre Pallante.
And thanks largely to Painter and Rangel, he’ll do it with a bullpen that finally got at least a little room to recover.
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