The Phillies flew out to Colorado to start their 7-game road trip. They have yet to win a series in Colorado for some time now, that streak would remain. Vince Velasquez would get his second start of the year, he’d go just 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk and 4 K’s. Story and Cron would both go deep off of Vince, both solos. The first game they’d only be able to score one time by ways of a hit. Hoskins went deep for his fourth home run of the season late to make it 4-3. Every other run was scored by either a ground out or sac fly. Despite the 11-hit day, the team would go 0-10 with RISP. Sam Coonrod had a rough outing, initially allowing a run in the 7th making it 4-3, then allowing the solo as he’d return in the 8th to tie it at 4. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Hector Neris came in for relief, but would let one split hang just too much as Tapia took it for a ride over the right field wall to walk it off.
Aaron Nola would get the nod for game 2, but right off the bat Story would give the Rockies the lead in the first with a sac fly. Hoskins would pick his pitcher up in the 3rd with a deep fly to center field to make it 2-1, his 5th of the season, second in series. Gregorius would drive in another run with a base hit that’d score Bryce Harper, followed by a Bohm sac fly, making the score 4-1. Nola’s 5th inning wouldn’t be pretty as he’d allow 3 runs off an RBI single by Tapia and a solo homer for rookie Ryan McMahon, tying it at 4. In the 6th, Quinn standing at second, Nola at first with just one out and McCutchen at the dish. In another boneheaded decision, Quinn would attempt to steal third, being thrown out. Cutch would walk, setting up Hoskins for his second homer of the night, 6th on the year. A could’ve been grand slam, scoring three runs to make it 7-4. Nola would go through the 6th and 7th retiring the side each time. The Phil’s bats would be quiet the rest of the way as well. Connor Brogdon would get himself into trouble in the 8th with two in scoring position but would see his way out of it allowing just a run, 7-5. Neris would come on for redemption in the 9th, he’d start it off with a flyout but allow a triple right after. He’d bare down and strikeout Nunez and get Hilliard to pop out to end the game 7-5.
The final game in Colorado was one to forget. Chase Anderson would have another abysmal start on the bump. In just 3 and 2 third’s innings he allowed 6 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks and just 2 strikeouts. Hale would come in relief for Anderson in that last third of the 4th but would allow a big grand slam to short stop Trevor Story. The score turning ugly quick, 7-2. Through all that, Harper would hit two absolutely crushed deep balls for a pair of solos, being the only runs on the day for the Phillies. Spencer Howard would be the one to relieve Hale, but he’d give up a base hit, followed by a triple for Nunez on a terrible mishap by McCutchen in left, making it 8-2. Howard wouldn’t be done but wouldn’t make things better. He’d go on allowing 2 more runs on a Tapia groundout and Daza RBI single. Bailey Falter would make his major league debut in the 8th, but he’d give up a 2-run blast to Cron, making it 12-2. That would be the end score as the bats were quiet, except Harper, and only getting in scoring position 4 times without scoring any of them.
The Phillies would travel to take on St. Louis in 4 games. RHP’s Adam Wainwright and Zach Wheeler would go toe to toe in a rubber match. Wainwright’s lone runs given up were a pair of solo home runs by Rhys Hoskins, his 7th and 8th on the year. Hoskins now leads the majors in home runs for the time being. Wainwright would go all 9 innings allowing 6 hits, those 2 Hoskins runs, no walks and 8 punch outs. Wheeler would go 8+ as he’d go into the 9th and start it off with a walk to Matt Carpenter. At 114 pitches, Neris would come in for Wheeler. Tommy Edman would single, followed by a Carlson groundout that would move both runners, scoring Carpenter. Neris would settle down, getting Goldschmidt to pop out and Arenado to fly out as he’d drive one deep to center that looked as if it were to go over but died at the track. In the rubber match the Phil’s held on 2-1.
The following night the Phillies bats would return to being as silent as ever. They recorded just 3 hits all night, 2 of them from Harper who is seemingly carrying the team on his back. Realmuto and Gregorius both had RBI’s in the game, but neither of them was by a hit. JT sac fly and Gregorius groundout. Meanwhile the Phillies third arm in the rotation, Zach Eflin, wasn’t at his best. Allowing 5 credited ER, 11 hits and 8 K’s. Coonrod had another rough night where he came in during the 7th and left one right down the middle for Goldschmidt to crush off the wall oppo. Both runners would score and, in a night, where the Phillies couldn’t hit a beach ball if it was thrown at them, 5-2 seemed daunting that late in the game. They would go onto lose on that score.
Drama would unfold in the series’ third game. Beforehand, the Phil’s backup catcher Andrew Knapp would actually get an RBI in the second by recording a hit, for once. It would only be thwarted by a Tyler O’Neil homer to left field, scoring 2 and taking the lead the next half inning. Velasquez had another average start. Wasn’t great but wasn’t bad either. After the O’Neil homer, he’d give up another homer (solo) to Goldschmidt in the 3rd, but only give up 2 singles along with an intentional walk. He finished with just those 3 ER on 5 hits with 2 walks and 5 K’s through just 4.1 innings. For Vince, the night would’ve looked a lot better had he not given up one of the two big flies. Brad Miller would get the Phillies on the board in the 5th inning when he took a hanging off-speed pitch over the right field fence for a 2-run homer, his second of the season, tying the game at 3.
The 6th inning is where tempers start to fly all over the place. Cards south paw reliever Genesis Cabrera came in to start the 6th. His very first pitch got away from him and plunked Harper right in the face. Harper somehow didn’t stay down long, wore it like a champ and walked off under his own power. He would get a CT scan at a nearby hospital, showing everything was alright. Harper is very lucky he got away from that with no serious damage. However, the very next pitch, just the second pitch of the inning, Cabrera plunks Gregorius in the ribs. McCutchen and Girardi come out to aid the shortstop. Cutch signaling Cabrera should be done and gone from the game and then Girardi gets heated with the umpires. He “threw out” home plate umpire Chris Segal before he threw out Girardi. Girardi was no doubt angrier at the fact that the umpires warned both clubs, yet the Phillies hadn’t done anything wrong to begin with. Cabrera would stay in and pitch to Cutch. Cabrera would only get to throw 3 against him as Cutch ripped an RBI single to score pinch runner Matt Joyce. The Phillies would only get one run after getting the first three on base. They almost were able to plate more on a Maton ripped liner that was snagged by the diving Arenado, a gold glover for a reason. The bullpen
relief of Kintzler, Brogdon, Alvarado, Coonrod and Neris would do a great job at not allowing the Cards to score anymore the rest of the way. There were times where even Goldschmidt was a little skittish at the dish when Brogdon was pitching, expecting to wear one, but never did. Coonrod had some words for the Cardinal dugout as he left the field after his stint on the mound, it even continued as he went into the dugout then came back out as the Cards were on the field before the next half started. In the 7th the Gregorius would get a sac fly that would score Alec Bohm on a poor throw from centerfielder Dylan Carlson, making the game 5-3, which would be the final for the night.