PHILADELPHIA (AP) — 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.

PINCH-HIT PRO

Blanco went deep for the second time as a pinch-hitter this season and leads the majors with seven pinch-hit extra-base hits.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: LHP Cole Hamels threw a bullpen session without a problem. He remains on schedule to start Wednesday’s game against the Yankees. The Philadelphia ace missed his last start on Friday due to a strained hamstring.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: St. Louis is off on Monday and will resume play at Miami on Tuesday night when Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (7-3, 2.80) opposes Jose Urena (1-3, 4.18).

Phillies: RHP Kevin Correia (0-1, 1.69) start Monday night at Yankee Stadium against Michael Pineda (8-3, 3.54). Correia, who will be making his third start for the Phillies, is winless with a 1.35 ERA in two career outings against the Yankees.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Randal Grichuk hit two home runs, doubled and drove in four runs, and John Lackey pitched seven strong innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

Lackey (6-4) allowed one run on five hits to earn his first victory on the road this season away from Busch Stadium. He entered 0-3 with a 6.27 ERA in six road starts.

Jason Heyward had three hits with a double and two RBI, Jhonny Peralta had three singles with an RBI, and Yadier Molina singled, doubled and drove in a run for the Cardinals, who won their seventh in nine games while beating Philadelphia for the fifth straight time. The Cardinals pounded out 16 hits, tying their season-high set in Friday’s 12-4 win over Philadelphia.

Cody Asche homered for the Phillies, who have lost 11 of 12.

Aaron Harang (4-9) lost his sixth straight start for the first time in his career, giving up four runs on seven hits in six innings. Harang struck out six and walked one. The right-hander dropped to 7-17 in 29 career starts against St. Louis.

Phillies starters extended their club-record winless streak to 25 games. The last win for a Philadelphia starter came on May 23. Since then, they are 0-16 with a 5.97 ERA.

Grichuk sent Harang to the defeat with a 427-foot drive in the sixth inning. After Heyward and Molina singled leading off the frame, Grichuk drove them in by belting his fifth homer of season deep into the Phillies bullpen in center field.

Philadelphia had taken a 1-0 in the second on Asche’s solo shot to right.

But Lackey limited the Phillies to just four hits over the next 5 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Cardinals tied it in the fourth on Molina’s RBI double to left field. Peralta scored from first when Asche misplayed the ball in left field, thinking it was going to carom off the railing down the line before watching it carry to the corner.

Heyward’s two-run double highlighted St. Louis’ four-run eighth inning. The runs were charged to Seth Rosin, who was making his Phillies debut after being called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in place of right-hander Phillippe Aumont. Aumont was designated for assignment after allowing six runs in four innings on Friday.

Grichuk led off the ninth with a solo shot to left off Rosin, marking his first multi-homer game of his career. He also homered on Friday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn, on the DL since June 8, threw a bullpen session on Saturday to test his right forearm strain. The Cardinals will assess Lynn’s condition on Sunday, and then determine when he might be able to return to the rotation.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (9-2, 2.48) looks to continue his road success when he takes the mound for the series finale Sunday afternoon. Wacha is 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA in eight road starts this season.

Phillies: LHP Adam Morgan will make his big-league debut on Sunday, filling in for injured No. 3 starter Jerome Williams (left hamstring strain). Morgan was winless in 13 starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, going 0-6 with a 4.74 ERA.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Randal Grichuk homered and had three hits, and Kolten Wong and Yadier Molina also went deep as the St. Louis Cardinals set season highs for runs and hits in a 12-4 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

The Cardinals avoided their second three-game losing streak of the season while breaking out of the offensive funk that followed Tuesday’s news of a federal investigation into whether club officials illegally hacked into the Houston Astros’ player database.

The Cardinals batted .211 with five runs in the first three games after the story broke. If the investigation had any bearing on the lackluster offense, they certainly put it out of their minds against the Phillies.

St. Louis pounded out 16 hits, including six for extra bases. Jhonny Peralta doubled and had three RBI, Mark Reynolds had a two-run double and 10 Cardinals got hits.

Ryan Howard homered for Philadelphia, which snapped a nine-game losing streak on Thursday. The last-place Phillies sank 23 games under .500.

Tyler Lyons (2-0) won his second straight game after going 13 consecutive starts without a win dating back to 2013. He earned a victory Saturday over the Royals and cruised to his latest one behind double-digit run support.

Lyons allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings with five strikeouts and one walk. He also helped himself with the bat, singling twice with an RBI and scoring three runs.

Phillippe Aumont (0-1) struggled in a spot start for injured Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels, allowing six runs and five hits in four innings.

It was the first career start for Aumont, who entered 1-5 with a 6.13 ERA in 45 big league relief appearances. He switched to a starting role this spring in an attempt to improve his command and had some success in the minors, going 3-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 14 outings (10 starts). But against the Cardinals, Aumont walked seven and threw a wild pitch. Forty-eight of his 104 pitches were balls.

Two-run homers by Wong and Molina highlighted a four-run second inning that gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. In the fourth, Peralta drove in Matt Carpenter and Lyons — both of whom walked — to put St. Louis up by six. And the Cardinals scored five runs on six hits against Justin De Fratus in the fifth.

Aumont and De Fratus combined to throw 162 pitches in six innings, 67 of which were balls.

Howard homered for the second straight game, putting the Phillies on the board with a three-run shot in the fifth. A Missouri native whose favorite team growing up was the Cardinals, Howard homered for the 21st time in 62 career games against St. Louis.

Phillies starters have gone 24 straight games without a victory, dating to May 23. They are 0-15 with a 5.97 ERA during that stretch.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny said there’s no timetable for the return of RHP Lance Lynn (forearm), who has been on the DL since June 8.

Phillies: Hamels indicated he will make his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Yankees. Hamels missed Friday’s turn with a strained right hamstring.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (5-4, 3.59 ERA) looks for his first road win of the season Saturday night in the middle game of the series. Lackey is 0-3 with a 6.49 ERA in 11 starts away from home.

Phillies: RHP Aaron Harang (4-8, 3.24) will try to halt a five-game losing streak. Harang, whose last win came on May 15, has a 6.07 ERA during his skid. He is 7-16 with a 4.39 ERA in 28 starts against St. Louis.

— Associated Press —