Phillies Opposition Roadblock: St. Louis Cardinals

After being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies will have to deal with a St. Louis Cardinals team that did the same thing to them only a couple of weeks ago. It is the last three games on the current homestand that has seen the Phillies lose five of six. They are hoping the late inning misfortunes turn around as the Cards roll into town.

Paul Goldschmidt was plenty for the Phils to handle in this series. While he did not really stand out and actually struck out more than I expected him to, he still found ways to be effective. He was 5-15 in the series. The five hits included one double and homer. He knocked in four runs and scored twice. Goldschmidt did not walk at all, but struck out four times. It was an interesting series for the slugger, but he still found ways to make his presence felt.

Phils Grade: B-

Interestingly enough, the Phillies handed Robbie Ray his worst start of the 2017 campaign. He had been cruising through starts, racking up five consecutive wins for his D-Back teammates. The Phillies ended up with eight hits and two homers (most against Ray this season), four earned runs and four walks (second most Ray has allowed), and only struck out seven times (Ray’s third lowest total this year). Even though Ray was able to battle his way out of a few tough jams, the Phils had him on the ropes. They had Ray in a losing situation before Hector Neris blew the ninth inning save opportunity.

Phils Grade: B+