Eugenio Suárez delivered the swing Cincinnati needed, and Rhett Lowder gave the Reds enough to make it stand up in a 4-2 win over the Cardinals on Friday night at Busch Stadium.
The Reds spent much of the game wasting chances, and for a while it looked like another one that might slip away because of missed opportunities. That changed in the seventh inning, when Suárez launched a two-run homer to push Cincinnati back in front 3-2. It was the big hit the Reds had been chasing all night, and it ended up deciding the opener.
Lowder’s outing was a sharp rebound after his rough start against the Rockies, when he gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings. Against St. Louis, he was in control early, striking out four and keeping the Cardinals hitless through his first four innings.
The fifth inning, though, turned the game on him. After he hit Ivan Herrera with a pitch earlier in the frame, Blaze Jordan lined a two-run double into left-center to give St.
Louis a 2-1 lead and snap Lowder’s no-hit bid. Even with the final line taking a hit, it was still a much-needed step forward for the young right-hander.
Cincinnati had opened the scoring in the fourth after Dustin May had worked cleanly through the first three innings, allowing only two hits while striking out five. When May finally wobbled, the Reds’ lower third made him pay. Tyler Stephenson ripped a ground-rule double into the Cardinals bullpen to put Cincinnati ahead 1-0.
That bottom-of-the-order production has been a real bright spot. Entering the night, the Reds’ 7-8-9 hitters were batting .339 since the All-Star break, second-best in the majors, and they kept that momentum going by accounting for three of Cincinnati’s 11 hits.
The Reds still didn’t do much with runners in scoring position for most of the game, but the steady work from the back end of the lineup gave them enough support to survive the missed chances.
Cincinnati and St. Louis continue the series Saturday night, with Hunter Greene (2-1, 6.06 ERA) set to face Andre Pallante (10-6, 4.02 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., and Greene is aiming for his third straight quality start.
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Acostas latest step forward came in Dayton, where he delivered a breakthrough game that hinted at more than just a hot night at the plate. For a trade that once looked like a footnote, that kind of performance matters, because the Reds are still waiting to see whether this is the start of a real climb or just another brief flash in a long, uneven development path. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Risk Making Their Ke'Bryan Hayes Mistake Even More Costly
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That is what makes the next step so tricky for the front office. Hayes still carries a contract that runs through 2029, and if the Reds decide to move him again, they have to be careful not to turn a disappointing acquisition into a bigger problem by attaching him to other valuable pieces just to clear the books. [Read more 🡒]