CINCINNATI (AP) – Sonny Gray struck out 10 while pitching five scoreless
innings, and the Cincinnati Reds held off the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on
Thursday night.
Gray, Robert Stephenson, Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias combined for a
two-hitter. Iglesias surrendered Kolten Wong’s check-swing RBI double in the
ninth before retiring pinch-hitter Matt Wieters on a fly ball to center to
finish his 24th save.
Nick Senzel and Eugenio Suarez each drove in a run for Cincinnati, which
stopped a four-game slide.
St. Louis had won five in a row to move into a virtual tie with Chicago for the
NL Central lead. The Cubs had a chance to move in front again, but they lost 7-5
at Philadelphia on Bryce Harper’s game-ending grand slam.
Dexter Fowler had St. Louis’ first hit, a two-out single in the fifth. Gray
then struck out Matt Carpenter to extend his scoreless streak to 18 innings.
Gray (8-6) walked three and hit a batter while throwing 97 pitches. Stephenson
pitched the sixth inning and Lorenzen got five outs before Iglesias closed it
out.
St. Louis had won Michael Wacha’s last 13 starts against Cincinnati, dating to
September 2014. He had earned the win in 10 of them, including each of the last
seven.
Wacha (6-6) extended the St. Louis pitching staff’s streak of consecutive
scoreless innings to 22 before the Reds pushed across two runs in the fifth.
Jose Iglesias led off with a single and went to second when Tucker Barnhart was
hit in the shoulder and head with a pitch. The runners moved up on Gray’s
sacrifice bunt, and Iglesias scored on Senzel’s fielder’s-choice chopper fielded
by second baseman Kolten Wong behind the mound with no time to throw out
Iglesias at the plate.
One out later, Suarez drove in Senzel with a line drive single to center.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: Inflammation in OF Jose Martinez’s right shoulder was clearing up
enough for him to receive a cortisone shot later Thursday or Friday, manager
Mike Shildt said.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (8-8) allowed nine hits and seven runs in 3 1/3
innings in his last start against Cincinnati on July 19, a 12-11 St. Louis win.
Reds: Luis Castillo (11-4) has allowed seven hits and two runs over 12 innings
in two starts against St. Louis this season. Cincinnati won both games.
Game time is 6:10 with the pre-game at 5:20 on KTLO-AM.
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