The St. Louis Cardinals appeared to be on their way to completing a doubleheader sweep of the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, but a combination of missed opportunities, defensive mistakes and bullpen fatigue ultimately turned a promising game into a painful 6-5 loss in extra innings.
St. Louis entered the night with plenty of momentum after winning the first game of the doubleheader. Andre Pallante received the assignment in the second game, and although he did not have his sharpest outing of the season, he kept the Cardinals within striking distance for six innings. The offense, meanwhile, received important contributions from Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Iván Herrera.
The Reds struck first in the bottom of the opening inning. Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and JJ Bleday opened the frame with three consecutive singles, loading the bases with nobody out. Eugenio Suárez followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, giving Cincinnati an early 1-0 advantage. Pallante avoided further damage by inducing a double play and limiting the Reds to a single run.
St. Louis responded in the fourth inning. Herrera, who had just thrown out De La Cruz on the bases, delivered a much bigger contribution at the plate by launching a 93 mph sinker into the right-center-field seats. His solo home run immediately tied the game at 1-1.
The Cardinals continued the rally when Burleson and Walker followed with consecutive singles. Joshua Báez then reached on a fielder’s choice, moving Burleson to third. Masyn Winn kept the inning alive with a single to right field, allowing Burleson to score and putting St. Louis ahead 2-1.
Pallante came through with another important escape in the bottom of the fourth. Bleday and Suárez began the inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third with nobody out. Pallante responded by striking out Michael Toglia and McLain before getting Rodríguez to ground out, preserving the Cardinals’ one-run lead.
St. Louis finally added insurance in the sixth. Walker’s aggressive baserunning produced a double to left field, and Nathan Church followed with a single to bring him home. Two batters later, Blaze Jordan singled to left, scoring Church and extending the Cardinals’ advantage to 4-1. However, Bryan Torres was thrown out attempting to advance to third, another missed opportunity that would become significant later.
The Reds immediately fought back. Bleday and Suárez opened the bottom of the sixth with singles, and Toglia doubled to left, bringing Bleday home and cutting the deficit to 4-2. Cincinnati then took advantage of another defensive mistake when a throw from Torres sailed toward home plate. The Reds did not send the runner from third, but they eventually received the big hit they needed when Rodríguez delivered a two-run single to tie the game at 4-4.
Pallante finished his outing after six innings, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs while striking out five and walking one. He did not dominate, but he gave St. Louis six innings and put the team in position to win.
Peter Strzelecki then became the Cardinals’ primary bullpen weapon. He worked a scoreless seventh and continued into the eighth, keeping Cincinnati from taking control. St. Louis regained the lead in the top of the eighth thanks largely to Walker’s hustle.
Walker opened the inning with a single and eventually advanced to third after Winn drew a walk. Walker then stole third base and scored when Torres placed a well-positioned single into left-center field. That gave St. Louis a 5-4 lead, but the Cardinals could not add more runs despite having additional opportunities.
Strzelecki returned for the bottom of the eighth and again held Cincinnati scoreless. A bizarre double off the third-base bag by Suárez created some danger, but Strzelecki escaped without allowing the tying run.
The Cardinals had another chance to create breathing room in the ninth when JJ Wetherholt reached on an infield single. However, Herrera struck out, Burleson grounded into a force play and Walker also struck out. With no insurance run added, St. Louis was forced to protect a one-run lead for the second straight inning.
Strzelecki remained on the mound for the ninth, looking to complete three innings of relief. He quickly recorded two outs by striking out McLain and Rodríguez. But the final out never came. Pinch-hitter Dane Myers launched a home run into the left-field seats, tying the game 5-5 and sending the contest into extra innings.
The Cardinals struggled to capitalize on their free runner in the 10th. Walker began the inning at second base under the extra-inning runner rule. Báez was hit by a pitch but was ruled to have swung, turning the play into a foul ball. He eventually struck out on a 96 mph fastball.
José Fermín walked after a successful challenge, giving St. Louis another opportunity. Winn worked the count full but was called out on a check swing that manager Oli Marmol strongly disputed. Marmol’s argument resulted in his ejection, adding even more frustration to an already tense inning. A force play by pinch-hitter Pereira ended the Cardinals’ opportunity without a run crossing the plate.
That left Cincinnati needing only one run to end the game, and the Reds got it.
Elly De La Cruz hit a ball toward third base that went through Blaze Jordan and rolled into the left-field corner. The error-like defensive breakdown allowed Cincinnati’s winning run to score, giving the Reds a dramatic 6-5 victory and preventing St. Louis from completing the doubleheader sweep.
The defeat was especially frustrating because the Cardinals held leads of 2-1, 4-1 and 5-4 during the contest. They repeatedly created opportunities to put the game away but failed to deliver the decisive hit or defensive play when it mattered most. The bullpen was also stretched thin, with Strzelecki being asked to cover three innings before the final frame went to Justin Bruihl.
Walker was one of the brightest spots for St. Louis. His hitting, speed and aggressive baserunning repeatedly created opportunities, including the eighth-inning stolen base that helped produce the Cardinals’ fifth run. Burleson and Herrera also provided important offensive contributions, but the team’s inability to convert those moments into a comfortable lead ultimately proved costly.
The Cardinals will now turn their attention to the next game of the series Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. Kyle Leahy is scheduled to start for St. Louis, while Cincinnati is expected to send Andrew Abbott to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. Central time.
After coming so close to sweeping both games of Monday’s doubleheader, the Cardinals will have to quickly regroup and avoid allowing the late-game mistakes from Game 2 to carry over into the next matchup.
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