Cardinals' bullpen implodes in 10-2 loss

ST. LOUIS -- Placido Polanco took one for the cause. So did a lot of his teammates.

The Philadelphia Phillies' fifth-place hitter got plunked on a full count with the bases loaded for the tying run, fueling a season-best nine-run eighth in a 10-2 rout against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. He bruised his left pinky and was removed for a pinch hitter but felt OK afterward.

"It's still a little sore, but it's not bad," Polanco said. "It's not broken and yeah, we won."

The Phillies busted out of an offensive slump in large part by making pitchers throw strikes. St. Louis issued four of its season-worst nine walks in the eighth. They became the first team to score at least 10 runs without an extra-base hit since they won 10-2 at Florida on Sept. 17, 2005. They totaled 11 hits in this one, all singles.

Carlos Ruiz had four hits and one of two bases-loaded walks in the eighth for the NL East-leading Phillies, who have won Roy Halladay's last seven starts but put it together too late for the right-hander to become the majors' first 10-game winner. Cole Hamels missed his bid for No. 10 in a 2-0 loss at Seattle two days earlier.

Cardinals relief pitcher Jason Motte reacts after hitting Phillies batter Placido Polanco with the bases loaded during the eighth inning Tuesday in St. Louis. (JEFF ROBERSON ~ Associated Press)

"Anytime we put together some runs, it's encouraging," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Both teams, we were having a hard time hitting. There wasn't a lot going on."

Halladay allowed a run and four hits in six innings, matching his season low in his first official appearance in St. Louis but on the mound where he started for the American League in the 2009 All-Star game. He has worked six or more innings in 62 consecutive road starts, the majors' best such streak since Walter Johnson put up 82 in a row from 1911 to 1915.

Daniel Descalso had two of St. Louis' five hits in the Cardinals' first game since Albert Pujols broke his left wrist. St. Louis has dropped eight of 10 and fell a half-game behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead.

"Katy bar the door," reliever Trever Miller said. "They torched the entire bullpen. Mind-boggling, to say the least."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Pujols' absence was not on his mind during the game.

"You control what you think about. That's a silly thought to have," La Russa said. "The reality is that Albert's not available and we've got to win with the guys we have."

The Phillies are among four teams with a winning record on the road, going 18-16, and busted out of a three-game stretch in which they'd totaled seven runs.

Halladay struck out five to take the major league lead at 119. He failed to reach 100 pitches for the first time in 16 starts this year when he was lifted ahead of pinch-hitter Ross Gload's RBI single against Kyle McClellan that tied it at 1-1 in the seventh.

"Really, unless you're winning the game there, more times than not you're going to come out," Halladay said. "Yeah, I definitely understood. It's part of the National League."

Miller (0-1) retired one of the three batters he faced to start the eighth, and it got much worse from there for the Cardinals.