Wednesday’s match report: Reds 9, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
The bad news for the Cardinals on Wednesday night was that they allowed five home runs as the Reds completed the sweep of their three-game series in Cincinnati.
The worse news is that the Cardinals, who have currently lost four games in a row and are below .500 on the year, will face a slew of opponents on their home trip, starting with the Dodgers and Brewers, who lead the NL Central.
The tone for the recent loss was set early when the Reds hit their first two home runs in the third inning with four runs against Kyle Gibson.
This followed similar results in the first two games of the series, when the Cardinals did not lead after any of the 27 innings between the two teams, hitting 10-1 more home runs and outscoring them 19-4.
By winning the series, the Reds reached a tie with the Cardinals, who are closer to last place than first in the division.
This is how the game went on Wednesday evening:
On the plate: An inning typical of the Cardinals’ offensive woes in the Series came in the fifth, when Brendan Donovan came in with a double to first and never left second base. Paul Goldschmidt retired with a groundout, Lars Nootbaar retired with a strikeout and after Tommy Pham was hit by a pitch, Victor Scott II retired with a strikeout…The Cardinals got lucky with the batted balls and bloops and grounders that sneaked through the infield to give them both runs in the sixth inning, but they had runners on first and second base with no outs and the two runs were in before three consecutive outs…Jordan Walker, out of the starting lineup for the second straight game, batted for Nootbaar when the Reds brought in a left-hander and retired on the first pitch.
On the hill: Four of the Reds’ home runs came from starter Kyle Gibson, tying his career high. Jonathan India and TJ Friedl each hit two home runs…Seven of the Reds’ runs came from Gibson, which is the most he’s allowed in a game this season…Gibson is now 0-2 with four no-decisions in his last six starts since July 7.
Important statistics: The Cardinals are now 4-9 in August and 10-15 since the All-Star break. They have been outscored 70-42 in their 13 games this month.
Noteworthy: At 60-61, the Cardinals are below .500 for the first time since 36-37 on June 19 … Walker stayed in the game after his pinch-hitter and later got his first hit since being recalled from Memphis, an infield single … Goldschmidt was 2 of 12 in the series … Top prospect Tink Therefore pitched four scoreless innings for Springfield on Wednesday night, allowing just one hit with no walks and six strikeouts.
Outlook: After an off day on Thursday, the Cardinals will host the first-place Dodgers at Busch Stadium this weekend. Miles Mikolas is the scheduled starter in the opening game.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
