Cards head home after 11-game trip as near victory becomes stunning loss

PHILADELPHIA -- After a tumultuous couple days in Philadelphia, the Cardinals looked like they were going to get a much-needed win on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park to close out an 11-game road trip.

And then the ninth inning happened.

Kyle Schwarber hit a Statcast-projected 459-foot tie-breaking, two-run walk-off home run off Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien over the batter’s eye in center field to cap off Philadelphia’s shocking six-run, two-out, ninth-inning rally. It was a crushing 6-4 defeat for the Cardinals, who now return to St. Louis.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” said O’Brien, who dropped to 3-5 and has converted 33 of 38 save opportunities. “Regardless of how many saves I have before, it doesn’t make something like this ever feel any better. Just gotta take what I can from it, build off it, and make sure I’m ready to go for our next game.”

It never appeared for a second like there would be so much heartbreak for the Cardinals.

Starter Kyle Leahy pitched four scoreless innings, José Fermín’s fifth-inning solo homer was one of four runs off All-Star Game starter Cristopher Sánchez, and four Cardinals relievers blanked Philadelphia through eight innings. O’Brien entered looking to finish it with a four-run cushion.

After Bryce Harper doubled to start the ninth, O’Brien got a pair of flyouts. But he then allowed J.T. Realmuto’s single and walked Justin Crawford to load the bases. Edmundo Sosa pulled a bases-clearing double down the third-base line, and Bryan De La Cruz tied it at 4-4 with a single that scored Sosa.

That set the stage for Schwarber, who fell behind 0-2 before driving a 2-2, 98-mph sinker.

“Had a lot of two-strike counts and didn’t put them away,” O’Brien said.

The ninth inning undid lots of good from Sunday in a game the Cardinals needed to stay close in the NL Wild Card race.

“That’s why the ninth kind of stinks because you can’t enjoy the fact that you did a lot of things well,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “I thought the guys executed at a really high level in all areas.”

The defeat continued an unfortunate weekend for the Cards that included losing right-handers Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante and outfielder Everson Pereira to the injured list.

Oh, and Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn remained out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight day on Sunday with a left thumb injury that will require further testing in St. Louis.

But it looked like everyone on the visiting team charter would be feeling better on the plane ride home based on the first eight innings.

Cardinals batters took an aggressive early approach against Sánchez, who was unable to increase his NL-leading wins total to 17. Four of the five St. Louis batters in the first inning swung at the first pitch.

Leadoff hitter JJ Wetherholt’s first swing of the game was a dribbler to the right of the mound that just eluded Philadelphia’s starting left-hander. Maintaining the aggressive mindset, Wetherholt stole second. After Sánchez retired the next two batters in what should have been a 1-2-3 first, Alec Burleson smoked the first of his two RBI singles into right field to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

It was just the start the Cardinals needed.

Leahy backed the offense with a sharp outing, allowing just two hits and striking out four. The converted reliever was limited to just 63 pitches, 36 of which were strikes, as the club kept with its plan to scale back Leahy’s workload in spite of the sudden absence of Dobbins and Pallante in the rotation.

Leahy wanted to continue, but understands the club’s plan with him.

“Honestly, it’s a weird feeling,” Leahy said. “I want to give the team more, and I feel good. I appreciate the team prioritizing my health. At the same time, I fought to stay in the game.”

With a finally rested bullpen after a long trip that included a five-game series in Cincinnati and an extra-innings loss on Friday, Marmol next used Luis Gastelum, Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, and George Soriano. The four relievers surrendered just two hits in four scoreless frames to set the stage for O’Brien.

“It lined up really well,” Marmol said. “The end was unfortunate.”