The Reds left St. Louis with a series win, but they had to grind for it.
Cincinnati pulled out a 5-3 victory in 10 innings on Sunday, leaning on a pair of clutch swings in the extra frame to finish off the Cardinals and cap a 6-3 road trip through Colorado, Seattle, and St. Louis. The Reds took two of three in each series.
The game opened with missed chances on both sides. In the second inning, Nathaniel Lowe and Dane Myers singled to put two runners aboard for Cincinnati, but the inning fizzled out after a force out and a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play.
St. Louis answered in its half of the inning with a leadoff double and a single to put runners in scoring position, then Jose Fermin lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
Cincinnati answered in the third when Elly De La Cruz launched a long homer to left-center. That tie didn’t last long. Ivan Herrera matched him with a solo shot of his own to left-center in the bottom of the inning, putting the Cardinals back in front at 2-1.
The Reds pulled even again in the fifth on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ blast down the left field line. Hayes turned on a fastball up in the zone and sent it into the seats to make it 2-2.
The next at-bat brought a scare. Spencer Steer fouled off the 0-1 pitch, then started shaking his right arm. The training staff came out, and after some testing and talking, he left the game with what was later described as right wrist pain.
Cincinnati’s bullpen had to navigate danger late. In the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals put together a two-out threat when Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn singled, then Jose Fermin reached on catcher interference to load the bases. Tejay Antone gave way to Brock Burke, and Burke kept the game tied by getting a fly ball out to strand everyone.
Neither club scored in the ninth, sending the game to extras. With Tyler Stephenson starting the 10th as the free runner, the Reds sent Sal Stewart up to pinch hit for Hayes, and Stewart delivered an RBI single to put Cincinnati ahead.
Elly De La Cruz followed with a single, Edwin Arroyo laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up, and after a pitching change brought in a lefty, JJ Bleday struck out. St.
Louis then intentionally walked Eugenio Suarez to set up another left-on-left matchup, and Nathaniel Lowe made it hurt with a blooper into shallow left that brought in two more runs and stretched the lead to 5-2.
Julian Garcia took over in the bottom of the 10th and got help right away from De La Cruz, who ranged to his right for a nice grab and fired across the infield for an out while keeping the runner at second. Herrera then singled just past a diving De La Cruz to put runners on the corners, and Burleson followed with an RBI bloop single into shallow left to cut it to 5-3. Garcia settled things from there, striking out Masyn Winn before getting JJ Bleday tracked down a fly ball in left-center to end it.
Nathaniel Lowe’s two-run single in the top of the 10th was the key moment of the game.
Julian Garcia picked up his first save two days after earning the first win of his big league career.
Andrew Abbott’s turnaround kept rolling as well. Over his last 16 starts, he has a 2.95 ERA, which has lowered his season mark to 3.85 after a rough start.
Elly De La Cruz, Nathaniel Lowe, and Noelvi Marte all finished with multi-hit games.
The Reds are back in action Monday at 7:10pm ET.
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