‘08 Phightin’s split with ‘46 Redbirds to stay tied for first

9/20-9/21 - Citizens Bank Ballpark
GAME 1 - Phillies 3, Cardinals 1
Brett Myers (4-1, 2.85) put in a strong 7 inning performance where he surrendered only a solo run in the final inning of his 7 innings of work.  Madson/Romero and Lidge (10 saves) did the rest.  Philly broke a scoreless tie in the 6th when a Marty Marion error and 3 consecutive singles did in Max Lanier (1-1, 1.57). Pedro Feliz hit a clutch 2 out single to knock in 2 runs to cap off the 3 run outburst.

GAME 2 - Cardinals 6, Phillies 0
Red Munger carried a shutout into the 9th then gave way to Mury Dickson, who finished it out and preserved the shutout.  Cole Hamel (3-4, 3.48) had one of his poorest outings of the season giving up 5 runs in 6 innings.  Stan Musial, who went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI's hit a 2 run shot in the 3rd to break the ice.  Marty Marion, who's error the day before opened the floodgates for the Phightin's, atoned for his error with an RBI triple in the 4th to make it 3-0.  Kurowski hit a solo shot in the 5th and the Cards added another that inning to end Hamels day on an unhappy note.

9/23-9/24 - Sportsman Park
GAME 3 - Phillies 5, Cardinals 2
J.A. Happ (2-1, 0.69) had a 1 hit shutout going after 5, when Phils manager Gary Bringhurst felt he was tiring and wanted to lift him for a pinch hitter (Geoff Jenkins) in an attempt to break the game wide open.  Jenkins hit a one hopper back to the box, which turned into a rally killing DP.  By this point the Phils were up 4-0 thanks to a 3 run shot by Greg Dobbs off of Cardinal starter Burkhart in the top of the 4th.  The Cards posted solo runs in the 7th and 8th, but could not make it closer.

GAME 4 - Cardinals 5, Phillies 4 (13 inn)
In this battle for first the Cardinals found themselves down a game heading into the series finale.  A split would ensure them a tie heading into the final 4 games of the season.  St. Louis had a comfortable 4 run lead heading into the 8th when the Phightin's came back to life.  Once again Matt Stairs came off the bench and hit a big 2 run homer with 2 outs to tie the game in the 9th.  This would eventually force extra innings.  Happ who turned out to be Philly's 8th pitcher on the day started the 13th and got the first out easily, but then wound up getting into trouble by giving up a big double to Stan Musial.  He then walked pinch hitter Joe Garagiola to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out and Terry Moore coming to the plate.  That brought a call to the pen and Rudy Saenez came on to face Terry Moore who lined Saenez' first pitch into the left center gap for a game winning RBI double.