By MATT PIKE
The St. Louis Cardinals split a day-night doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, winning the opener 2-1, and falling in the afternoon game in extra innings 6-5.
In the low scoring opener, Joshua Báez was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and Iván Herrera walked. After Jordan Walker struckout for the first out of the first inning, Alec Burleson continued his hot month of August, hitting his 32nd double of the season driving in Báez and Herrera to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Burleson has driven in 21 runs in the month of August, a season high in one month. Dane Meyers led off the fourth inning with a solo home run for the lone run by the Reds against Cardinals starter Quinn Matthews.
Matthews was just shy of earning his first major league win in the opener, throwing four innings and giving up one run on two hits, walking three and striking out seven. Luis Gastelum threw one clean inning of relief, striking out two to improve to 3-2 on the season. Riley O'Brien earned his 31st save of the season striking out the side in the ninth inning. At the plate, Burleson was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Walker was 2-for-4 with a double as well. Masyn Winn, Blaze Jordan, and Everson Pereira also recorded hits in the win.
In the second game, the Reds opened the scoring in the first inning with a sacrifice fly by Eugenio Suárez, driving in Elly De La Cruz. St. Louis took the lead in the fourth inning, tying the game on a leadoff solo home run by Herrera, before Winn drove in Burleson with an RBI single giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. The Redbirds extended the lead in the top half of the sixth inning scoring two more runs on RBI singles by Nathan Church and Jordan, Church bringing home Walker and later scoring on Jordan's hit.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the Reds rallied to tie the game scoring three. A double from Michael Toglia drove in JJ Bleday and a single by Héctor Rodríguez drove in two, scoring Suárez and Toglia. Bryan Torres gave the Cardinals the lead back in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI single, bringing home Walker after he stole third base, but in the bottom of the ninth inning Meyers hit his second home run of the day, pinch hitting for Jose Trevino, to tie the game and force extra innings.
St. Louis stranded the go ahead run at second base in the top of the 10th inning, Manager Oli Marmol was also ejected after a strikeout on Winn, then in the bottom half of the 10th reliever Justin Bruihl gave up a double to De La Cruz on a 3-2 count, scoring Tyler Stephenson to give the Reds the win. Bruihl fell to 0-1 out of the bullpen taking his first loss, not recording an out. Walker was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in the loss. Herrera was 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk with an RBI.
St. Louis and Cincinnati continue their five game series tomorrow. Kyle Leahy (9-4, 3.38 ERA, 105Ks) starts for the Cardinals against Andrew Abbott (6-7, 4.13 ERA, 102Ks) for the Reds. First pitch is at 5:40pm, coverage begins at 5:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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