Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Chase Utley smoked the go-ahead two-run
home run in the eighth inning and Roy Halladay spun eight outstanding innings
on the mound, as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1,
in the opener of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Utley's long ball was his 196th as a Phillie, which moved him past Bobby Abreu
and into ninth place on the team's all-time list. Domonic Brown ripped an RBI
single and Kevin Frandsen added two hits for the Phillies, who have won four
of their last six games.
Halladay (6-6) allowed one run on two hits to go with eight strikeouts and no
walks. He retired the final 12 batters he faced. Jonathan Papelbon made it
interesting in the ninth, but nailed down his 25th save of the season.
Carlos Beltran belted a home run and Barret Browning (0-1) took the loss after
allowing Utley's homer. Starter Kyle Lohse battled Halladay pitch for pitch as
he lasted seven innings and yielded one run on four hits with seven strikeouts
and two walks. The defending World Series champs have dropped three of their
last four games.
The Sports Network