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Twenty-four hours after managing three singles in a shutout loss, the Reds found their swings when the game needed them.
Cincinnati pushed three runs across in the tenth inning at Busch Stadium on Sunday and beat the Cardinals 5-3, taking the rubber match of the series and climbing to 49-55.
The celebration came with a caveat, because Spencer Steer left the game in the fifth inning with right wrist pain, and the early word afterward did little to calm anyone down.
The game reached extras tied 2-2.
Elly De La Cruz answered an early St. Louis sacrifice fly with his 18th homer of the season, a 410-foot drive to left center per the Associated Press, Iván Herrera responded for the Cardinals, and Ke'Bryan Hayes evened it in the fifth.
The score held there until Tyler Stephenson started the tenth at second base and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Sal Stewart lined a single to right that brought him home, De La Cruz followed with a single, and after a sacrifice bunt, Nathaniel Lowe dropped a two-run single into left for a 5-2 cushion that survived Alec Burleson's run-scoring hit in the bottom half.
Julian Garcia recorded the final three outs for his first career save, two days after earning his first win, and he treated the moment with a calm attitude.
"Just grab the ball and throw it. I've played baseball for my whole life. I mean, it's nothing different. Just playing catch with the catcher," Garcia said, per MLB.com.
Every bullpen needs one arm that treats the ninth inning like a backyard game, and Cincinnati may have stumbled into one at the perfect time.
Lowe sees the road win as part of something bigger.
"I like this group a lot, so anything can happen. We just need to perform a little sharper every night and then just keep some momentum," Lowe said.
He hit 18 homers with 84 RBIs a season ago, and his bat in the tenth turned a nervous lead into a comfortable one.
Terry Francona's postgame update on Steer was uneasy.
"He didn't fight me to come out of that game. That makes me nervous. We'll get him looked at, we'll get him imaged, and then they're setting up an appointment with the hand specialist," Francona said.
Steer exited mid-at-bat after an uncomfortable swing, and any extended absence would complicate a lineup already stretched thin, even with the trade questions surrounding him and the landing spots rival clubs have eyed.
Andrew Abbott gave the Reds six innings of two-run baseball, a steady outing from a starter who posted a 2.87 ERA across 166 and a third innings last season, and the bullpen covered the final four frames without an earned run.
Stewart keeps stacking moments in his All-Star summer and continuing to back up Dave Roberts praising him publicly earlier this month, and his tenth-inning knock was the swing that put Cincinnati ahead for good.
The Reds needed a day like this one, and they needed it in exactly this building.
Continue reading...
Cincinnati pushed three runs across in the tenth inning at Busch Stadium on Sunday and beat the Cardinals 5-3, taking the rubber match of the series and climbing to 49-55.
The celebration came with a caveat, because Spencer Steer left the game in the fifth inning with right wrist pain, and the early word afterward did little to calm anyone down.
The Tenth Broke It Open
The game reached extras tied 2-2.
Elly De La Cruz answered an early St. Louis sacrifice fly with his 18th homer of the season, a 410-foot drive to left center per the Associated Press, Iván Herrera responded for the Cardinals, and Ke'Bryan Hayes evened it in the fifth.
The score held there until Tyler Stephenson started the tenth at second base and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Sal Stewart lined a single to right that brought him home, De La Cruz followed with a single, and after a sacrifice bunt, Nathaniel Lowe dropped a two-run single into left for a 5-2 cushion that survived Alec Burleson's run-scoring hit in the bottom half.
Julian Garcia recorded the final three outs for his first career save, two days after earning his first win, and he treated the moment with a calm attitude.
"Just grab the ball and throw it. I've played baseball for my whole life. I mean, it's nothing different. Just playing catch with the catcher," Garcia said, per MLB.com.
Every bullpen needs one arm that treats the ninth inning like a backyard game, and Cincinnati may have stumbled into one at the perfect time.
Lowe sees the road win as part of something bigger.
"I like this group a lot, so anything can happen. We just need to perform a little sharper every night and then just keep some momentum," Lowe said.
He hit 18 homers with 84 RBIs a season ago, and his bat in the tenth turned a nervous lead into a comfortable one.
The Steer Injury Changes the Mood
Terry Francona's postgame update on Steer was uneasy.
"He didn't fight me to come out of that game. That makes me nervous. We'll get him looked at, we'll get him imaged, and then they're setting up an appointment with the hand specialist," Francona said.
Steer exited mid-at-bat after an uncomfortable swing, and any extended absence would complicate a lineup already stretched thin, even with the trade questions surrounding him and the landing spots rival clubs have eyed.
Small Wins Worth Keeping
Andrew Abbott gave the Reds six innings of two-run baseball, a steady outing from a starter who posted a 2.87 ERA across 166 and a third innings last season, and the bullpen covered the final four frames without an earned run.
Stewart keeps stacking moments in his All-Star summer and continuing to back up Dave Roberts praising him publicly earlier this month, and his tenth-inning knock was the swing that put Cincinnati ahead for good.
The Reds needed a day like this one, and they needed it in exactly this building.
Continue reading...
