Sunday’s Game Report: Reds 4, Cardinals 1
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals’ five-game winning streak evaporated in the excessive heat on Sunday at Busch Stadium.
The offense wilted in the mid 90’s temperature, which rose to more than 100 degrees when factoring in the heat index. They only managed three hits, all in the first two innings, in falling to the Reds.
The Cardinals only had one baserunner after the second inning, on a one-out walk to Jose Barrero in the eighth, as the Reds retired 24 of the Cardinals final 25 batters.
Miles Mikolas allowed back-to-back doubles to the Reds’ eighth and ninth place hitters in the fifth that snapped a 1-1 tie and sent the Reds to the victory.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals’ third and final hit of the game was an RBI single from Yohel Pozo, who started behind the plate. Pozo is now 8-of-20 this season against lefthanded pitching with six RBIs … Pozo’s single scored Nolan Arenado, who led off the second with a single and advanced on an error … The only other hit for the Cardinals was a first-inning single by Masyn Winn … Despite going 0-of-4, Alec Burleson is hitting .323 as he has started each of the last 15 games for the Cardinals. It snapped his nine-game hitting streak and was only his second hitless game in that stretch of 15 consecutive starts since June 7.
On the mound: After giving up a one-out homer to Matt McLain in the first inning, Mikolas allowed just one hit over the next three innings before running into trouble in the fifth. The back-to-back doubles were followed by a passed ball and a sacrifice fly that produced their second run … Mikolas fell to 0-3 with two no-decisions in his last five starts and hasn’t picked up a victory since May 23 … A leadoff double and two groundouts off Kyle Leahy in the sixth produced the Reds final run.
Key stat: The Cardinals have lost their last four games on Sunday and have only one win in their last six Sunday games, on May 25 against Arizona. They fell to 5-4 this season when they had a chance to complete a series sweep.
Worth noting: Needing a fresh arm in the bullpen the Cardinals optioned Andre Granillo to Memphis on Sunday and recalled Gordon Graceffo. Granillo had pitched in five games, allowing one run and three hits. “I didn’t want to send Granillo out,” said manager Oli Marmol. “He did a good job and I loved having him up here. But we needed a fresh arm.” … Graceffo allowed a leadoff single in the eighth but got a double play and worked two scoreless innings with two strikeouts … Pitching on Sunday at Memphis, Tekoah Roby worked six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Up next: The Cardinals will play the Cubs for the first time this season beginning on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series at Busch Stadium. Matthew Liberatore is the scheduled starter.
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