By MATT PIKE
A dropped fly ball by Cincinnati's Dane Myers in the ninth inning opened the flood gates to a a six-run inning, pushing the St. Louis Cardinals a 10-9 win over the Reds and a fifth straight series win at Great American Ballpark.
St. Louis took the lead first in the game, pushing ahead 4-0 through the first three innings. Jordan Walker drove in his first run of the game on a ground out in the first inning, scoring JJ Wetherholt. In the third inning Walker, the winner of the Home Run Derby, drove in three more runs with a three run home run, scoring Wetherholt and Iván Herrera. The Cardinals held the lead until the sixth inning when the Reds poured on five runs for their first lead of the game.
Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy, who prior to the sixth inning had given up one hit, gave up back-to-back singles to Héctor Rodríguez and Ke'Bryan Hayes to start the frame before retiring a batter for the first out, but then walked Sal Stewart to load the bases. Ryne Stanek replaced McGreevy and gave up a single to JJ Bleday, scoring Rodríguez, then struck out Tyler Stephenson for the second out. With two outs, Matt McLain gave Cincinnati the lead with a grand slam.
The Reds held a 5-4 lead going into the ninth inning, before things fell apart. Masyn Winn and Jose Fermin scored on Myers' error, with Wetherholt reaching second base,giving St. Louis the lead back. Alec Burleson's RBI single drove in Wetherholt before Cincinnati loaded the bases and issued a bases-loaded walk for another score to push the Cardinals ahead 8-5. Fermin came up for the second time in the inning and singled home Burleson and Walker for the final St. Louis runs, putting the Redbirds up 10-5 going into the bottom half of the inning.
The game was far from over though. Eugenio Suárez singled home Matt McLain and Sal Stewart drove in Meyers and Suárez to put the Reds down 10-8. The Cardinals called on closer Riley O'Brien, who would go on to walk Stephenson with the bases loaded and two outs, scoring Elly De La Cruz to make it a one-run game. O'Brien though would survive, forcing McLain to fly out deep to right field where Walker snagged the ball on the warning track to end the game, notching O'Brien his 33rd save of the season.
Peter Strzelecki pitched two scoreless, hitless innings while walking one and striking out one to get the win for St. Louis, improving to 1-1 on the season. At the plate, Fermin was 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Walker was 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.
Next, St. Louis kicks off a weekend series at Philadelphia tomorrow. Jesús Luzardo (11-5, 3.23 ERA, 185Ks) starts for the Phillies while the Cardinals have not announced their starter. First pitch is at 5:40pm, coverage begins at 5:30pm on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.