PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A change of scenery has done Jerome Williams well.
Jimmy Rollins homered and Williams tossed eight strong innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
“I’m just happy that I’m actually doing the job that I’ve been doing,” Williams said. “My stuff was there. It’s just I wasn’t using it right. I think I’m using it right now.”
Williams (2-0) continued his fine form with Philadelphia, his third team this season. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits while setting a season high for innings. He was claimed off waivers Aug. 10 from Texas and has a 1.77 ERA since coming to the Phillies after pitching to a 6.71 ERA prior to his arrival in Philadelphia.
Ben Revere had a pair of hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, which took two of three from the Cardinals for consecutive series wins for the first time since April.
Jhonny Peralta and Oscar Taveras had a pair of hits for St. Louis, which lost for just the third time in 11 games.
Justin Masterson (2-2) was lifted after giving up five runs and six hits in three innings. His ERA ballooned to 7.43 ERA in five starts since the Cardinals acquired him from Cleveland on July 30.
“It’s frustrating but I’m trying to stay positive,” Masterson said. “It’s my responsibility to pitch better. It’s a hard thing when you’re not doing it.”
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny stood behind Masterson.
“It was just one of those days,” he said. “We’ll continue to work with him. He’s a worker. He wants to help us do better.”
Chase Utley’s RBI single put Philadelphia in front in the first. The Phillies scored two more in the second on Williams’ bunt and Revere’s single, and Wil Nieves’ RBI single in the third made it 3-0.
Nick Greenwood relieved Masterson and retired 10 straight batters before Revere’s one-out single in the seventh. Rollins followed with a drive over the wall in left. It was the 16th homer for Rollins, who hit just six last season.
St. Louis got its lone run in the fourth on Taveras’ single. But the Cardinals couldn’t get anything else off Williams.
Revere, who began Sunday two points behind Justin Morneau for the NL batting lead, raised his average to .314 with his 26th multihit game since June 26.
— Associated Press —