ST. LOUIS — It was a streak that Jordan Montgomery knew had to end sometime. He was just glad that time came on Friday night.
The Cardinals had failed to get a win in each of Montgomery’s last 10 starts before he got some early offensive support and earned his first win since April 8, in his second start of the season, in the series opener against the Reds at Busch Stadium.
Montgomery, who personally was 0-7 in those 10 starts, shut out the Reds on just three hits before leaving with a 5-0 lead after the sixth inning.
The bullpen made it interesting but got an insurance home run from Nolan Gorman, the third of the game for the Cardinals, to secure their first back-to-back wins since May 20-21.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer in the first and Jordan Walker added his own two-run blast in the second to stake Montgomery to a 4-0 lead … Walker’s second of three hits, a two-out single in the fourth, led to the Cardinals’ fifth run, on an RBI single by Brendan Donovan. Donovan also had a three-hit game and scored twice … The three-hit game for Walker was the first of his career … After the Reds made it a 5-2 game, Gorman hit his team-leading 15th home in the seventh inning to increase the lead. The homer came after he had struck out in his first three at-bats.
On the mound: Montgomery allowed a leadoff double in the first but was able to strand the runner at third and then gave up only two more hits during his outing. He walked one and struck out six, retiring the last 11 hitters he faced in ending the longest winless streak of his career … The Reds scored two runs off Jordan Hicks in the seventh, but the Cardinals avoided further damage when Willson Contreras threw out a runner at second to end the inning and strand a runner at third … Chris Stratton gave up the final two Cincinnati runs in the eighth before Giovanny Gallegos recorded the final four outs.
Key stat: The home run for Arenado was the 311th of his career but the first he has ever hit on a 3-0 count. It was also the first home run on a 3-0 pitch by any Cardinal hitter this season out of their total of 88 home runs.
Worth noting: Dylan Carlson was activated from the injured list after playing three rehab games at Memphis following his recovery from a sprained ankle. He made his first start of the year in right field, with the Cardinals electing to keep Tommy Edman as the starter in center, shifting Walker to left. “Our outfield play hasn’t been ideal,” said manager Oli Marmol. “It’s an area we need to stabilize. Edman does that for us.” … Juan Yepez was optioned to Memphis to make room for Carlson’s return, while in another roster move pitcher Jake Woodford, who was on a rehab assignment in Memphis, was activated and then optioned to the Triple A team. He will continue to work there as a starter.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start in the second game of the series at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday.
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