Chicks may love the long ball, as one mid-’90s commercial put it, but these Chicks were no Baby Cardinals. On Wednesday night in Cincinnati, the Reds used five home runs to defeat St. Louis in three games and move into second place in the National League’s Central Division.
| final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals (60-61) |
2 | 10 | 2 |
| Cincinnati Reds (60-61) | 9 | 13 | 0 |
| W: Minor (3-1) L: Gibsons (7-5) |
|||
| Match report | Match thread | |||
After a quiet first two innings, the Reds managed a walk and a single with one out to start the 3rd. Jonathan India then hit a 3-run home run into the left field seats. Two batters later, Tyler Stephenson took his turn and hit a solo blast into the right field seats to cap a 4-run inning.
Two innings later, it was India again who got the party going. Cincinnati’s second baseman opened the inning with a 416-foot home run that made it 5-0. TJ Friedl joined in the fun when he hit a solo home run later in the inning that made it 6-0. The Reds weren’t done yet, though. After a throwing error extended the inning and left two men on base, Jake Fraley came through with an RBI infield hit on a chopper to second base that extended the lead to 7-0.
St. Louis showed signs of life early in the 6th inning when they got four consecutive hits from Carson Spires and scored two runs before he struck out both Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt. From there, the Reds went to the bullpen and shut down the Cardinals.
TJ Friedl gave himself a birthday present later in the 7th inning when he hit his second home run of the day, his ninth of the season. In the next inning, Elly De La Cruz capped things off for Cincinnati with an RBI double that put the Reds ahead 9-2. Fernando Cruz came out for the 9th inning and walked two baserunners to complete the win and give the home team a 3-game sweep that put them in a tie for second place in the division.
Key moment of the game
In the 5th inning, the Reds scored three runs and thus decided the game.
Noteworthy information
Jonathan India had three hits and scored four runs. TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Noelvi Marte all had two hits.
The bullpen game went well that night, as six pitchers combined to allow just two runs, walk one batter, and have seven strikeouts.
With the win, the Reds are tied with St. Louis at 60-61 this season. They are eight games behind the Brewers for first place in the division. They are four games out of the final wild-card spot, but that could change depending on the outcome of the game against Atlanta, which they lead 5-0 in the 1st inning as I write this.
The last time the Reds were one game away from the .500 mark was on June 14, when they were 34-35. They went 5-10 in their next 15 games to end the month.
Next up for the Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals vs. Cincinnati Reds
Friday, August 15, 6:40 p.m. ET
Michael Lorenzen (5-6, 3.79 ERA) vs. Nick Martinez (6-5, 3.16 ERA)
