PHILADELPHIA • If any team was ready, in sports parlance, for a "laugher," it was the Cardinals. Ten of their previous 12 games had been decided by two runs or fewer and six of those were one-games.
And then they played the Philadelphia Phillies, who lately have been a balm for anything that possibly could ail anyone. The Phillies had lost nine of their last 10 games and 19 of 23 before the Cardinals came to town, including a 19-3 setback at Baltimore. The Cardinals were well on their way to another such drubbing Friday night.