Genesis of a comeback: Phillies 5, Cardinals 3

The Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Wednesday night. While it was nice to see the Phillies pull off a comeback victory, the biggest story of the game was Cardinals pitcher Genesis Cabrera hitting Bryce Harper in the face with a 97 MPH fastball. In Cabrera’s (dis)honor, tonight’s recap shall be framed around songs by English rock band Genesis.

In Too Deep

In the third inning, the Phillies were trailing 3-1 and the offense looked lifeless. But with a runner on base and two outs, Brad Miller sent one into the seats to tie it up and spark the comeback.

Throwing it All Away

In the top of the sixth, the Cardinals brought in young lefty Cabrera. Cabrera throws hard which is dangerous on a night like this when he clearly has no idea where the ball is going.

I can’t believe Harper was able to walk away under his own power, because I’m pretty sure if a 97 MPH fastball hit me in the face, I would be dead.

Cabrera wasn’t done, as he followed that up by hitting Didi Gregorius with the very next pitch.

No Reply at All

Somehow Cabrera was allowed to remain in the game. The Cardinals were unable to remove him because of the three-batter rule, but the umpires’ only reaction was to warn both benches. This did not sit well with either Joe Girardi or television color man John Kruk.

Invisible Touch

Somewhat lost in the shuffle was that Andrew McCutchen followed up the dual hit batsmen with an RBI single. McCutchen has famously struggled this season, and had been moved down in the lineup from his customary leadoff spot. Perhaps this was a sign that things may be turning around for Cutch.

Follow You, Follow Me

With starting pitcher Vince Velasquez displaying his usual longevity (4.1 innings), the Phillies needed five relievers to get through the remainder of the game. Usually this isn’t a recipe for success, but the bullpen was up to the task on Wednesday, delivering 4.2 scoreless innings to preserve the win.

Hold on My Heart

Harper was sent to the hospital for CT scans of his face, and everyone was anxiously awaiting the results. Thankfully, after the game Harper reported that everything looked fine. He might have to miss a few games, but considering he was hit in the face by a 97 MPH pitch, missing a few games doesn’t seem too bad.

That’s All

With the win, the Phillies evened their record at 12-12. They’ll have Aaron Nola on the mound on Thursday as they go for the series victory. That will also be the last game between these teams in 2021, so if the Phillies are looking to deliver any payback for Wednesday, it will have to come then.