ST. LOUIS — Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 7, Reds 3
Despite the fact that the Cincinnati Reds are in last place in the NL Central, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol knew before Friday night’s game that they aren’t a team that can be taken lightly.
They went out and showed that on the field, putting a ninth-inning scare into the Cardinals before Ryan Helsley was able to close out the win in the series opener at Busch Stadium.
The Reds loaded the bases and with the tying run at the plate, Brandon Drury hit a fly ball to dead center that Dylan Carlson caught at the wall, just a couple feet shy of being a game-tying grand slam, to end the game.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Back in the starting lineup for the second consecutive night after recovering from an illness, Brendan Donovan drove in three runs. He hit one of two sacrifice flies in the first inning, with Nolan Arenado hitting the other, and then capped the Cardinals’ scoring with a two-run single in the seventh … The Cardinals took advantage of eight walks by the Reds, with four of those runners coming around to score … A home run by Nolan Gorman, his ninth of the year, broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth … The other RBIs came on a double by Carlson in the second and a single by Corey Dickerson in the sixth … Carlson reached base four times, drawing three walks in addition to his double.
On the mound: Andre Pallante worked the first five innings, allowing three runs, including the first two batters of the game … Giovanny Gallegos pitched the sixth, allowing one hit, but recording three strikeouts before Jordan Hicks retired all four batters he faced … After getting two outs in the eighth, Genesis Cabrera came back for the ninth and gave up consecutive hits before exiting in favor of Helsley. A leadoff single loaded the bases with no outs, but Helsley then got a fly ball and a strikeout before Drury’s game-ending fly out to center.
Key stat: The single by Nick Senzel was only the second hit allowed by Helsey to the first batter he faced in 31 games this season. By stranding two inherited runners, Helsley has now allowed only one of 14 inherited runners to score.
Worth noting: Dakota Hudson is expected to miss only one start after being placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday because of a neck strain. Marmol said Hudson had tried to pitch through the injury the last two starts, but the decision was made to put him on the IL to allow for more rest and treatment. Because of the All-Star break and off days, the team can use only four starters until Hudson would be eligible to return … Juan Yepez also went on the injured list because of a strained right forearm which he suffered on a throw to the plate on Thursday night … Zack Thompson and Lars Nootbaar were recalled from Memphis, which was playing in Nashville. Nootbaar had just been sent down on Thursday when Tyler O’Neill was activated and he never even made it to Nashville, getting the news on Friday to turn around and come back to St. Louis while he was in Chicago.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start on Saturday’s game, which begins at 1:15 p.m.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains.
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