St. Louis Cardinals @ Cincinnati Reds
Michael Wacha vs. Raisel Iglesias
12:10 p.m. CT
Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, Ohio
Today's Lineups -
| ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | CINCINNATI REDS |
|---|---|
| Matt Carpenter - 3B | Jason Bourgeois - RF |
| Stephen Piscotty - 1B | Ivan De Jesus - 2B |
| Jason Heyward - RF | Joey Votto - 1B |
| Yadier Molina - C | Todd Frazier - 3B |
| Greg Garcia - SS | Eugenio Suarez - SS |
| Tommy Pham - LF | Adam Duvall - LF |
| Jon Jay - CF | Tucker Barnhart - C |
| Kolten Wong - 2B | Raisel Iglesias - RHP |
| Michael Wacha - RHP | Billy Hamilton - CF |
Some News -
- Pirates, at the time of this post, are tied to the Brewers 6-6 - MLB.com
- Phillies beat the Cubs 7-4 - MLB.com
Things we were looking for -
It's been a rough series for the Cards thusfar, having lost three in a row to the Reds. Today, a different defense - we've got Piscotty at first, Jay in center, and Pham in right. Matt Belisle was activated from the DL yesterday, but we haven't seen him in action yet.
Things that happened -
Top halves -
The Cardinals had a shot in the first - Stephen Piscotty singled, and then Jason Heyward reached on a throwing error by Iglesias. Unfortunately Yadier Molina couldn't take advantage, and grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Iglesias had 1-2-3 second and third innings, mostly with fly outs.
In the fourth, Piscotty walked, but not before he lined a would-be double down the line. Jim Joyce called it foul, and after a video review, the call was upheld. It was close and could have gone either way.
In the fifth, Jon Jay doubled to the wall in left, and then reached third on a wild pitch. Kolten Wong beat out an infield single for an RBI, the first Cardinal run of the game. Wong moved on around to third on a Wacha sacrifice bunt and a balk. Matt Carpenter tied the game, singling to right, driving in Wong. Eugenio Suarez helped extend the inning by making an errant throw towards first on a Piscotty ground ball, putting runners on the corners. Heyward left them there, though, grounding out to second. Game tied 2-2.
The fifth inning was Iglesias' last. His final line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 89 pitches thrown.
The Cards finally took a lead in the sixth, and they did it off of Sam LeCure. With one out, Greg Garcia walked, and then Tommy Pham blasted a 2-run dinger into left. Jay's second double of the game chased LeCure from the game in favor of Brandon Finnegan, who walked Wacha, but was able to finish out the inning. Cards lead 4-2.
Heyward doubled off Ryan Mattheus in the seventh. Yadi reached on an error through Mattheus' legs, and then Garcia walked to load the bases. Mark Reynolds, who checked in defensively for Pham (with Piscotty moving from first to left), struck out, and Jay grounded out to end the bases-loaded opportunity.
Carlos Contreras' wildness and some POWER helped contribute to a big eighth for the Cards. Wong rocketed a a double in the gap, and he came around to score on two separate wild pitches. Contrearas walked Piscotty, and then Heyward racked up another double to drive him home. Brian Price had seen enough of Contreras, and brought in Josh Smith. Yadi kept the train a'movin', singling to center, scoring Heyward. That's when Mr. Big City himself checked in to pinch hit in the pitchers' spot. He hit an absolute bomb (423 footer) to right for a couple more tallys in the runs column. Reynolds added a double for good measure. Cards lead 9-2.
Collin Balester pitched an uneventful ninth for the Reds.
Bottom halves -
Jason Bourgeois singled, but then tried to steal second, and Yadi was having none of that.
Todd Frazier led off the second inning with a homer to center field. Reds lead 1-0.
Michael Wacha's control started to waver. In the third, he issued a walk, but was able to work around it. In the fourth, he issued two more and hit Adam Duvall by a pitch. Tucker Barnhart took advantage, sac-flying in the Reds' second run. Reds lead 2-0.
Wacha worked a 1-2-3 fifth. Ivan DeJesus Jr. was denied a home run by Jason Heyward, who did a textbook job of finding the wall, jumping at the right time, and stealing the homer to preserve the tie.
Michael worked around a bloop-style Joey Votto single and a Duvall walk in the sixth to finish out his day. His final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 100 pitches thrown.
Jonathan Broxton had the seventh inning duties for the Cards. He allowed a single to Billy Hamilton, but that was OK, because it set up the biggest Yadi smile for quite some time. Billy Hamilton, noted base-stealer extraordinaire, had attempted 10 steals against Yadier Molina, noted base-stealer-denier, and had been successful each and every time. Not today, though. Yadier rocketed a throw down to Pete Kozma to nab Billy for the first time in their three-year rivalry.
Kevin Siegrist was efficient, using 8 pitches to get through the 2-3-4 hitters in the Reds' order in the eighth.
Matt Belisle, who hasn't pitched since June 25 came in to close down the win for the Cardinals. He showed a little rust. With two outs, he hit Brennan Boesch in the foot and walked Skip Schumaker, but was able to preserve the 7-run lead for the win. Cards win 9-2.
Final Notes -
- Wacha lost his control in the second half of his outing, but was able to mostly work around the trouble, stranding five throughout his day.
- At one point in the game, the home plate umpire warned both benches after a few pitches up and in, and a Wacha HBP. There was a fair amount of chirping between the teams, but I didn't see any pitches that were obviously intended to hit the opposing batters.
- The Cards racked up two homers and six doubles, including two apiece from Heyward and Jay.
- Fangraphs
- Gamenotes: Cardinals | Reds
Looking ahead -
Tune in Tuesday as the struggling Cards look to rebound in Milwaukee. Carlos Martinez vs. Ariel Pena. 7:10 CT. On the offday, head to your local Mobil On-the-Run and grab up some 50 cent drinks because six is a serious number. You earned it.