CINCINNATI — The Cardinals went into the series opener on Monday in Cincinnati hoping to extend their winning streak and get back to .500 for the first time in more than a month.
It didn’t happen, primarily because the Cardinals basically had no offense after a Paul Goldschmidt home run in the first inning.
The team had just four hits after the home run, all singles, and saw nine of their final 11 batters strike out as the Reds stopped the Cardinals’ winning streak at a season-best five games.
The Reds retired 16 of the last 17 Cardinals batters after a two-out single by Dylan Carlson in the fourth; their lone hit a leadoff single by Alec Burleson in the sixth.
Lance Lynn was the tough-luck loser as two of the three runs by the Reds were unearned after Nolan Arenado and Goldschmidt both committed fielding errors in the second inning.
The last time the Cardinals’ record stood at .500 was on April 16 when they were 9-9.
Here is how Monday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt’s homer was his third in four at-bats after he hit two on Sunday night … Masyn Winn extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the third inning … The Cardinals best chance to score after the first came in the fourth when they had runners on first and second with two outs but Nolan Gorman grounded out to end the inning.
On the mound: Lynn gave up a first inning home run, then was not able to pitch around the two errors in the second before the Reds scored twice. He allowed only one more hit and a walk until leaving after the sixth inning … The Reds loaded the bases in the seventh before Kyle Leahy pitched out of the threat to keep it a two-run game.
Key stat: Arenado was dropped to fifth in the batting order for the first time since 2015. He was hitless in four at-bats and over his last 17 games, since May 5, he is 14-of-73, a .192 average, with one home run and four RBIs. He is just 3-of-24 over his last six games with one RBI.
Worth noting: The Cardinals have now committed at least one error in their last 12 games … Lars Nootbaar was out of the lineup for a second consecutive day because of a tight hamstring … Matthew Liberatore pitched to four batters in the seventh, getting two fly outs and walking two, and his 13-pitch outing could make him unavailable to start on Wednesday. The Cardinals have still not listed a starter for that game.
Looking ahead: Kyle Gibson will get the start in the second game of the series on Tuesday night.'
