Cardinals hammer Reds
Jedd Gyorko #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium on June 26, 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri.
(June 26, 2017 - Source: Scott Kane/Getty Images North America)
The St. Louis Cardinals (35-40) defeat the Cincinnati Reds (31-44) 8-2 in the makeup game of 29 April.
The Cardinals took an early lead in the first inning. CF Tommy Pham led off with a walk and advanced to second base on a fly out from LF Randal Grichuk. He went on to steal third base and scored on a passed ball as RF Stephen Piscotty drew a walk.
3B Jedd Gyorko followed with a home run to put St. Louis up 3-0. It was his 12th long ball of the season.
The Reds got on the scoreboard in the fourth. They led off the inning with back-to-back singles from 2B Scooter Gennett and 1B Joey Votto. LF Adam Duvall hit a sacrifice fly ball next and drove in Scooter Gennett for Cincinnati’s first run of the game.
Cincinnati’s SP Brandon Finnegan (1-1), who was activated from the 60-day disabled list today, left the game with a left triceps strain in the fourth. He surrendered 3 hits, 4 walks and 3 earned runs while striking out 2. His ERA and WHIP rose to 4.15 and 1.69, respectively.
The Cardinals took advantage of the necessary pitching change. With RP Austin Brice on the mound 2B Paul DeJong singled to lead off the inning. He moved to second base on a one-out sacrifice bunt by SP Michael Wacha and came home when Tommy Pham hit a single.
Randal Grichuk homered next to give St. Louis a commanding 6-1 lead. It was his sixth home run of the year.
The Cardinals continued to score in the sixth. PH Greg Garcia was hit by a pitch to open the inning and came home after back-to-back singles from Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk.
St. Louis went on to load the bases when Stephen Piscotty reached on a fielding error by Scooter Gennett. Jedd Gyorko followed with a single and drove in Tommy Pham to put the Cardinals up 8-1.
Michael Wacha (4-3) pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned run while fanning 5. He now has a 4.50 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP.
The Reds scored the final run of the game in the eighth. SS Jose Peraza led the inning off but became the first out when Scooter Gennett hit into fielder’s choice. Scooter Gennett advanced to third base on a double from Joey Votto and came home on a sacrifice fly ball from Adam Duvall.
Jedd Gyorko went 2-for-3 with 1 run, 1 HR and 3 RBI. He is batting .298 and has 30 runs, 12 HR and 35 RBI this season.
The Cincinnati Reds return home to host a three-game seriest against the Milwaukee Brewers (41-37) from Tuesday to Thursday.
The St. Louis Cardinals go on the road to play a three-game series at the Arizona Diamondbacks (49-28) from Tuesday through Thursday.
