Cincinnati took a lead into the 9th inning but saw their bullpen blow yet another lead and they would have to head to extras. Pierce Johnson and the defense stepped up and kept the Cardinals scoreless in both the 10th and 11th innings. That set up the Reds for a walk-off win in the 11th when Blake Dunn drove in Spencer Steer as Cincinnati earned a split with St. Louis in Saturday’s doubleheader.
After blowing out the Reds in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader the Cardinals didn’t waste too much time scoring again in the second game. Chase Petty helped out in the effort as Cincinnati’s pitcher walked the leadoff batter in the 2nd inning then gave up a single before a sacrifice fly put St. Louis up 1-0.
Petty settled in after that and kept the opposition off of the board through the 5th inning outside of that sacrifice fly. The Reds hadn’t scored by that point, either, but in the bottom of the 5th that changed. P.J Higgins and Blake Dunn would single. That brought Elly De La Cruz to the plate with two on and one out and De La Cruz got his team on the board with an opposite field 3-run home run to put Cincinnati on top. Sal Stewart struck out on a full count to end the inning…. but he didn’t as he challenged the call and it was overturned and he drew a walk. That was pivotal because Nathaniel Lowe came to the dish and clobbered a 435-foot 2-run home run that nearly hit the power stacks.
Holding a 5-1 lead, Chase Petty headed back to the mound for the 6th. His first pitch of the inning hit Ivan Herrera. His second pitch was smoked down the right field line for a double. Petty then had a 7-pitch battle with Jordan Walker before it ended in a 3-run to left-center that brought the Cardinals within a run. That ended the day for Petty and Brock Burke came on to finish out the inning.
The Reds went back to work in the bottom of the inning. Spencer Steer lined a double into left-center to lead things off. A sacrifice bunt moved him over to third base. With TJ Friedl due up, manager Terry Francona sent Dane Myers to the plate instead and that move paid off as Myers lined his own double into left-center to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 6-4.
Burke returned for the 7th and gave up a 1-out walk, which ended his day. The Reds turned to Graham Ashcraft and he gave up a single to the first batter he faced and that left runners on the corners for the Cardinals middle of the order hitters. Alec Burleson would fail to come through as he popped up to Elly De La Cruz in shallow left field. Jordan Walker, who has been crushing the ball all season and had already hit two home runs during the doubleheader, struck out to end the threat.
Ashcraft came back out for the 8th inning and retired the side in order. Cincinnati then sent Tony Santillan to the mound for the top of the 9th to try and hold the lead. St. Louis sent pinch hitter Jose Fermin to the plate to begin the inning and he took the third pitch he saw and lined it into the first row of seats in left field to make it a 1-run ballgame.
Santillan then walked Victor Scott II in an 8-pitch battle and then got a visit from pitching coach Derek Johnson as St. Louis turned the lineup over. The Reds reliever then got a lazy fly ball to right field for the first out and struck out Ivan Herrera on three pitches for the second out of the inning. Alec Burleson then walked on four pitches to put two men on, bringing the Cardinals best hitter to the plate in Jordan Walker. He came through with an RBI single past a diving Sal Stewart at third base and the game was tied up. A fly out followed to send the game to the bottom of the 9th.
Cincinnati got a single from Elly De La Cruz in their half of the 9th, but he was thrown out trying to steal second base. The Reds challenged the call but the call was upheld. JJ Bleday then struck out to send the game into the 10th inning.
St. Louis would move their free runner over to third base in the top of the 10th with a groundout to begin the frame. Bryan Torres then hit a grounder to first base and Thomas Saggese took off for home, but Nathaniel Lowe fielded the ball and fired to the plate where P.J. Higgins applied the tag for the out. A pop up followed as Pierce Johnson got his job done by keeping the Cardinals off of the board.
St. Louis began the bottom of the 10th by intentionally walking Sal Stewart to set up a lefty-lefty matchup with Nathaniel Lowe, but the Reds sent Eugenio Suarez to the plate to pinch hit and that left the Cardinals to then go to their bullpen and bring in former Reds minor league reliever Riley O’Brien and he got the job done against Suarez by recording a strikeout. A groundout moved both runners up a base, but Spencer Steer struck out to end the inning and send the game to the 11th.
Pierce Johnson returned to the mound for the 11th and he got the job done once again. And once again his defense helped him out. With the free runner at third base and two outs, Ivan Herrera hit a blooper into right field but Blake Dunn made a sliding catch to end the threat.
Cincinnati would get a sacrifice bunt by P.J. Higgins to move Spencer Steer to third base to start the bottom of the 11th. Dane Myers then came to the plate to face Riley O’Brien and a 5-man infield and he walked on four pitches. Blake Dunn then hit the ball back up the middle and Masyn Winn fielded it and fired home, but Steer slid in ahead of the tag as the Reds walked it off.
Key Moment of the Game
Blake Dunn’s 11th inning catch and then his 11th inning walk-off RBI.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds 10-game losing streak against National League Central teams came to an end.
Blake Dunn had three hits during the doubleheader and extended his hitting streak to a team best six games. He’s now hitting .351/.400/.541 through his first 13 games for the Reds this year.
Dunn, along with Elly De La Cruz and Nathaniel Lowe all had 2-hit games for Cincinnati in the second game of the doubleheader.
Cincinnati batters had five walks and 16 strikeouts. St. Louis hitters had five walks and just six strikeouts. The Cardinals simply couldn’t make all of that contact count enough as they went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position. The Reds went 3-for-11 in those situations.
Tony Santillan’s nightmare month of May continued. He’s now allowed 10 earned runs on 12 hits and four walks in 6.1 innings during the month.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds
Sunday May 24th, 1:40pm ET
Matthew Liberatore (2-2, 4.70 ERA) vs Brady Singer (2-4, 6.26 ERA)