PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa homered, Bryce Harper doubled and singled and the Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Friday night for their seventh consecutive win at home. Aaron Nola (7-2) pitched into the seventh inning for the Phillies, who entered tied with the Yankees for most wins in baseball.
Philadelphia improved to 40-18. Sosa put the Phillies up 3-0 with a 439-foot, two-run drive into Ashburn Alley in center field in the second inning against Miles Mikolas (3-6). It was the first ball to reach the walkway beyond the outfield seats since July 22, 2022, when Darick Hall hit a drive there.
“That ball definitely went a little far,” Sosa said through an interpreter. “I was just aggressive, trying to look for a ball near me.” Nola allowed a pair of home runs among his three hits while striking out six and walking two.
“Nola was really good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. Nolan Arenado and Brandon Crawford hit the homers for the Cardinals, who lost for just the fourth time in the last 16 games. “We fought hard,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
The Phillies returned home after losing four of six on a road trip in Colorado and San Francisco. They were welcomed back by another sellout crowd, their largest of the season of 44,742, on a beautiful night for baseball. The Phillies improved to 23-8 overall at home and followed three-game sweeps over the Nationals and defending World Series champion Rangers by opening this three-game set against t.
