On Sunday night, following a day full of rainy weather, the St. Louis Cardinals had the chance to sweep the Cincinnati Reds, a team they’ve had the number of (especially when playing at Busch Stadium) for years.
And it was a chance they capitalized on.
In a game that was just over two hours, the Cardinals were able to defeat the Reds 2-1, thanks to solid pitching, and clutch hitting.
Pitcher Mike Leake got the start on the evening for Cincinnati, and right away, the Cardinals’ bats sparked. In the bottom of the first inning, third baseman Matt Carpenter hit a solo home run (calculated at 423 feet) over the center field wall, putting the Cardinals up 1-0. It was his ninth extra base-hit in his last 11 at-bats. Matt Holliday would also extend his hitting streak to 11 games with a single into right field, although St. Louis would not score again in the inning.
On the mound for St. Louis was ace Adam Wainwright, who entered the game with a 1-1 record. The top of the second started with a leaping catch-out by Matt Adams to get out Reds’ powerhouse Jay Bruce. Zack Cozart would then pop-out to Adams again, but Brennan Bosch would get on base with a two-out double, the Reds’ second hit of the night. Tucker Barnhart would fly-out to end the inning.
Jon Jay led off the bottom of the second inning, lining out, which brought up Yadier Molina, who grounded out to Todd Fraizer. The inning would turn out to be a 1-2-3 inning for Leake when Kolten Wong grounded out to Brandon Phillips, keeping the score at 1-0 in the Cardinals’ favor.
In the top of the third, after getting the first two batters out, Wainwright would face Joey Votto, who got his second hit of the evening, singling to left field, and then walking Fraizer. Phillips would then hit a bloop single to center, scoring Votto, and tying the game at 1-1. However, Wainwright would be able to get out of the inning allowing just that run.
The bottom of the third resulted in a 1-2-3 pitched by Leake, and Wainwright responded in the top of the fourth with a 1-2-3 inning of his own.
For the next inning, both pitchers traded back-and-forth 1-2-3 innings in a 1-1 game. At one point, Wainwright and Leake threw 38 pitches to get 12 outs combined. Heading into the start of the bottom of the sixth, Leake had retired 14 straight batters. That streak extended to 15, but then ended when Carpenter lined a single into center field.
The pitching duel continued on as the game flew by. It wasn’t even 8:45 by the time the eighth inning had begun, and both starters showed no signs of slowing down.
But in the top of the eighth, the Reds put Wainwright in a jam. With two outs and Fraizer on, Phillips would single into shallow right field. Then, Bruce would walk, but Wainwright would not exit the game, despite manager Mike Matheny coming out to talk to his starting pitcher.
Turns out the decision to keep him in worked, as Kozart would ground out to end the inning with the bases loaded.
As for the bottom of the eighth, Jay would get a lead-off double off of Leake, and Molina would sacrifice a hit, sending Jay to third, bringing up Wong. He would hit a fly ball out to left, sending home Jay to thunderous applause, as the Cardinals would retake the lead, 2-1, with Leake visibly disappointed.
Jordan Walden would then entire to close the game, but it started off rough, as a diving effort by Adams to stop a Bosch single failed. Barnhart would strike out, but Bosch would steal second base. Bryan Pena would pop-out on the first pitch he saw, and Schumaker would then ground-out to end the game, as the St. Louis Cardinals would sweep the Cincinnati Reds.
Wainwright improved to 2-1, as he went eight innings, seven hits allowed, one run, two walks and four strikeouts. The Cardinals are now 8-3, extend their win streak to five, and head to Washington, D.C for a series against the Nationals.
(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)
