ST LOUIS _ Scott Kingery, with a looming loss and a rough month weighing on him, steadied himself in the batter's box with two outs in the eighth inning of Saturday afternoon's 7-6 win over the Cardinals.
It had been nearly three weeks since Kingery's last extra-base hit. He was batting just .177 in his previous 64 trips to the plate and was hitless Saturday in his first three at-bats. His throwing error an inning earlier _ his second key defensive lapse in two days _ led to St. Louis' taking a one-run lead. Kingery's rookie season, which began with such excitement and promise, seemed to be skidding.
He fell behind two strikes against Greg Holland, last year's saves leader. The Phillies trailed by a run and the eighth inning felt all but over with their struggling rookie down to his final strike. But Kingery refused to fold. Holland threw a low slider and Kingery turned on it, golfing it off the left-field wall for a triple. He slid into third base with a sense of relief. The game was tied and Kingery's weight was lifted.
Jorge Alfaro, who was scratched from the game with knee soreness, followed with a pinch-hit single to give the Phillies a 7-6 lead. Holland, who signed with the Cardinals in March for $14 million, was booed when he walked off the mound after being removed. The Cardinals were a strike away from carrying a lead into the ninth inning. But then Kingery held his ground.
Seranthony Dominguez needed just 12 pitches to retire the three batters he faced in the eighth. He returned for the ninth and retired the three batters he faced to record his first professional save. The Phillies are nine games over .500, have won eight of their last 10, and will try to win the four-game series on Sunday with Aaron Nola on the mound.
Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer in the third inning to reach base for the 45th-straight game, the fourth-longest stretch in franchise history. Two more runs scored on his fielder's choice in the fifth when the Cardinals failed to complete an inning-ending double play as Jedd Gyorko's throw skipped past first base.
Zach Eflin allowed four runs, two of which were earned, in 42/3 innings. Eflin had a strong fastball, which touched 97 mph, and flashed a moving slider before his outing was shortened by a thunderstorm that delayed the game in the fifth inning. Eflin struck out four, walked three, and allowed three hits.
The Phillies will have to make a decision soon on their starting rotation because Jerad Eickhoff is nearing a return from the disabled list. Eickhoff will start Sunday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley and the Phillies plan to slide him into the rotation at the end of his rehab, which could make Eflin the odd man out.
Eflin cruised through the first three innings, needing just 32 pitches to retire the first nine batters in order. Trouble came in the fourth. Eflin appeared to induce an inning-ending double play, but first baseman Carlos Santana misfired on his throw to second and the ball zoomed past Kingery and into left field to score a run. With the inning still alive, Gyorko followed with a two-run single. Eflin allowed one more run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly before the umpires halted the game when the skies darkened.
