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PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies finally got a victory from a starting pitcher. And Adam Morgan might have been the most unlikely candidate to break their monthlong drought.
Winless in the minors this year, Morgan won his major league debut in surprising style, outpitching Michael Wacha and leading Philadelphia past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-2 Sunday.
“I’m just very, very happy for the opportunity. Very grateful,” Morgan said. “I didn’t want to try to do too much or overthink. The main thing was keeping the ball down.”
Morgan (1-0) allowed one run and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, striking out six and walking two against the team with the best record in the majors.
The 25-year-old lefty had been 0-6 in 13 starts at Triple-A this season, and was 13-28 lifetime in the minors. He was called up before the game to pitch in place of Jerome Williams, who’s out with a strained left hamstring.
Morgan snapped a club-record 25-game stretch without a win for a Phillies starter dating to May 23, a string that stretched from Memorial Day to Father’s Day.
With his dad, mom and fiancee in the stands, Morgan said he was determined not to get overcome by the moment. He said he “looked down the whole game” until he was taken out.
“Morgan really stepped up with the opportunity,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. “He showed a lot of composure out there and was terrific.”
“He controlled the baseball, had good fastball command on both sides of the plate. He had a real good look as if he was under control right from the get-go. He was impressive and fun to watch.”
Sandberg said Morgan earned another start.
Morgan got the first two batters in the sixth before a single by Jason Heyward and walk to Jon Jay. The crowd of 30,423 booed Sandberg when he pulled Morgan with a 5-1 lead, and reliever Luis Garcia retired Tony Cruz on a grounder to end the inning.
Wacha (9-3) gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings.
“They made me pay for my mistakes,” Wacha said. “I just didn’t have it today.”
Wacha entered tied for the major league lead with six road wins, going 6-1 with 2.08 ERA in eight road starts.
“He’s been real good for us,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “It was just one of those days.”
Andres Blanco homered while Ben Revere and Maikel Franco each got three hits for the Phillies in their highest-scoring game of the season.
“Guys played amazing defense and were swinging the bats great,” Morgan said. “It was a great team win.”
The Phillies won for just the second time in 13 games. Ranked at or near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories, they were outscored 22-5 in losing the first two games of the series.
“We had offense up and down the lineup,” Sandberg said.
Heyward and Jhonny Peralta homered for the Cardinals, who lost for the first time in their last six games against Philadelphia.
“We missed a couple of opportunities early,” Matheny said. “It’s tough to keep scoring after a couple of big-run games. It’s going to slow down a little.”
The Phillies scored three times in the second on Cody Asche’s RBI double and Cesar Hernandez’s two-run single.
After Peralta upped his team-leading homer total to 11 with a solo shot leading off the fourth, the Phillies scored twice in the fifth on an RBI double by Franco and a single by Ryan Howard.
Blanco had a three-run, pinch-hit homer in the seventh.
HOT HEYWARD
Heyward homered off Jonathan Papelbon leading off the ninth. He is batting .550 (11-for-20) in his last five games.
“I don’t know what else we could ask for the way he’s hitting the ball,” Matheny said.