Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 13, Reds 4
Coming into Friday night’s game, the Cardinals had a combined total of five hits and two runs in the first six innings in their previous three games on this road trip.
Apparently tired of those slow starts, the Cardinals’ jumped on Reds’ All-Star Luis Castillo and by the time they were done batting in the sixth, they had scored 12 runs and had 15 hits en route to the blow out win in Cincinnati.
Dexter Fowler hit a three-run homer in the second, Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer in the third and Paul Goldschmidt added a two-run homer in the fifth to give Adam Wainwright plenty of support.
The win pushed the Cardinals into sole possession of first place in the NL Central, one game ahead of the Cubs, who suffered their second consecutive walk-off loss on Friday night.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: Every Cardinal starter except Matt Carpenter had at least one hit and scored at least one run … Kolten Wong had a four-hit night, including the Cardinals’ fourth homer of the night in the seventh … Fowler, Tommy Edman and Marcell Ozuna all finished with three hits as the Cardinals recorded a season-high 18 hits … Fowler drove in four runs and Goldschmidt three, while Edman and Wong each scored three runs … The four hits for Wong raised his average since the All-Star break to .383 (36-of-94) … Fowler had a total of eight hits in 46 at-bats in 13 games as the leadoff hitter coming into the game.
On the mound: Wainwright allowed just two hits and shut out the Reds through the fifth before giving up three runs in the sixth, including a two-run homer by Aristides Aquino, his 10th since he was called up from the minor leagues at the beginning of the month. Wainwright left the game with two outs in the seventh, his longest outing in his 12 road starts this season … John Brebbia retired all four batters he faced and Giovanny Gallegos retired the Reds in order in the ninth … The bullpen has not allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings in the four games on the road trip … Gallegos extended his scoreless streak to 17 1/3 innings.
Key stat: Carpenter’s 0-of-4 night left him just 7-of-34 since he returned from the injured list on Aug. 4, dropping his season average to .214.
Worth noting: Molina had been just 1-of-12 since coming off the injured list and is now 2-of-17 after his 1-of-5 night … The Cardinals’ previous high for hits in a game this season was 17 on April 22 against Milwaukee … The 18 hits were their most in a game in Cincinnati since a 19-hit game on Aug. 4, 2013.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start on Saturday night.
