The Cardinals had a chance to grab a much-needed win Wednesday night in Cincinnati, but one ugly eighth inning turned the whole thing upside down.
St. Louis was still hanging around late, down by a run when the bottom of the eighth began. Then the inning unraveled fast, with a wild pitch, two bunt plays and a pair of defensive mistakes handing the Reds the cushion they needed.
It opened with a leadoff single from Jose Trevino, who moved to second on a wild pitch and immediately put pressure on the Cardinals. From there, Matt McLain - batting ninth with a .192 average - dropped a one-strike bunt into the space between third baseman Blaze Jordan and pitcher Justin Bruhl.
Jordan got to the ball but couldn’t secure it cleanly in his glove. Instead of taking the out and moving on, the 23-year-old rookie tried to make a play at first, and his throw sailed about ten feet wide. Trevino scored from second on what should have been an easy out.
McLain kept moving and ended up at third with one out. Sal Stewart was then intentionally walked to set up a double play, and Dane Myers stepped in next.
The Reds went back to the short-game approach. Myers laid down another bunt, this one up the first-base line, and a breakdown in communication left both the pitcher and first baseman charging the ball on a safety squeeze.
Bruhl eventually handled it, but by then McLain was home and everybody else was safe.
In the end, the Reds’ winning runs came from two bunt plays that weren’t defended cleanly, plus the wild pitch that started the mess.
Afterward, Oliver Marmol called it a “tough” loss.
“These guys care,” Marmol said. “They want it, they want it bad.
So, yeah. That’s a tough one.
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