It was one of those games where everything seemed to go in the Cardinals favor.
Whether it was on the mound, at the plate, or in the field, Cincinnati did not have an answer on Wednesday at Busch Stadium, as St. Louis dominated from the first pitch to the last en route to a 10-2 victory. They hit four home runs in a game for the first time since July 11th, 2014.
The starting pitchers for the evening’s game were Lance Lynn (11-10, 3.28) and Brandon Finnegan (4-0, 2.53).
In the bottom of the second inning, Randal Grichuk kicked off the scoring for the Cardinals by hitting a solo home run, his 17th of the season, to make it 1-0.
Not too long after, in the bottom of the third inning, Matt Carpenter belted a two-run home run, his 25th of the season, to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. Two at-bats later, Matt Holliday made his return to the starting lineup, and hit an RB double that scored Tommy Pham to make it 4-0.
As for Lynn, who has been through a major slump in recent weeks, was sharp on Wednesday night. When the Reds hit two straight singles in the fourth inning, Lynn was able to bounce back and get out of the jam. He also garnered his eighth hit of the season in the bottom of the fifth. During that same inning, Carpenter hit another two-run home run, making it 26 on the season.
While having a six-run lead was big for St. Louis, it was still far from over.
The following inning, Stephen Piscotty and Grichuk were issued back to back walks, making way for Mark Reynolds, who then hit a two-RBI double to make it 8-0 Cardinals. Matt Adams later pinch-hit for Lynn, whose final line of the game was: 6.0 H, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 Ks. Adams singled to score Reynolds, and suddenly it was a 9-0 game.
Cincinnati’s first run didn’t come until the top of the seventh, when Joey Votto hit a solo home run with Tyler Lyons on the mound. But in the bottom half of the inning, St. Louis responded when Peter Bourjos hit his fourth home run of the year to give them a 10-1 lead.
Catcher Travis Tartamella made his debut for the Cardinals in the bottom of the eighth, and took the first pitch thrown his way for a single, as he received an ovation from the Busch Stadium crowd.
The Reds’ second (and final) run came in the top of the ninth, when David DeJesus scored Skip Schumaker to make it 10-2. And that turned out to be the final score, as the Cardinals improved to 96-56, and the magic number dropped to seven.
On Thursday, Michael Wacha will get the start for St. Louis.
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
