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Matt Carpenter, wild pitch help Cardinals beat Phillies

St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Matt Carpenter (L) celebrates with teammate Tommy Edman (R) after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
1 of 5 | St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Matt Carpenter (L) celebrates with teammate Tommy Edman (R) after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

April 30 (UPI) -- Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run and the St. Louis Cardinals scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the final game of a series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cardinals pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim out-dueled Phillies ace Aaron Nola in the 4-3 victory Thursday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Kim allowed seven hits and just one run in five innings. Nola allowed four hits and three runs in six innings.

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The Cardinals and Phillies split the four-game series.

Neither team plated a run for the first two innings. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto brought in the game's first run with an RBI double to center field in the fourth at-bat of the third frame.

The Cardinals responded in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kim retired the Phillies in order in the top half of the inning. Cardinals left fielder Tyler O'Neill struck out in the first at-bat in the bottom of the inning.

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Andrew Knizner followed with a single to center field. Justin Williams struck out in the next at-bat.

Nola then issued an intentional walk to Edmundo Sosa to set up a two-out exchange with Kim, but the Cardinals opted to put Carpenter in the game as a pinch hitter for their starting pitcher.

Nola started the exchange with a fastball for a called strike. The Phillies ace issued a 77.1-mph knuckle curve for his second pitch of the exchange.

Carpenter smashed the off-speed offering to right center field for a three-run homer. The blast traveled 387 feet, with an exit velocity of 97 mph, according to Statcast.

The Phillies responded in the top of the seventh inning. Veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen scored Nick Melton with an RBI double to cut the deficit to one run. Alec Bohm followed with an RBI single, which plated McCutchen and tied the score at 3-3.

Neither team scored for the next two innings, which prompted a 10th inning.

Matt Joyce started the extra inning on second base for the Phillies. Bohm struck out in the first at-bat of the inning. Rhys Hoskins grounded into a double play two pitches later.

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O'Neill started on second base for the Cardinals in the bottom of the 10th inning. Phillies relief pitcher David Hale forced Knizner to ground out in the first at-bat of the half inning. Hale followed with an intentional walk to Williams, which put runners on first and third.

Hale started his final exchange of the game with a 94.4-mph fastball for a ball to Sosa. The Cardinals shortstop fouled off the next two pitches. Hale's final pitch, an 86.1-mph curveball, went way outside and got away from Realmuto for a wild pitch.

The errant throw allowed O'Neill to score the winning run from third base.

Knizner went 2 for 4 with a run scored in the win. McCutchen and Realmuto collected two hits and one RBI apiece. Phillies shortstop Nick Maton also had two hits in the loss.

The Phillies (12-13) host the New York Mets at 7:05 p.m. EDT Friday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Cardinals (13-12) battle the Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:35 p.m. EDT Friday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith crushes a three-run home run in the fourth inning for the Dodgers' first hit and taking the lead over the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Reds defeated the Dodgers 6-5. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

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