Friday’s Game Report: Cardinals 7, Reds 5 (10 innings)
By Rob Rains
When Masyn Winn delivered a go-ahead RBI double for the Cardinals in the eighth inning Friday night, he didn’t know that it would not be his last at-bat in the game.
He had to watch the Reds tie the game at 5 in the bottom of the eighth, but when he got another chance to bat in the 10th, Winn came through again.
His RBI single gave the Cardinals an insurance run, following a throwing error by Elly De La Cruz that had allowed the go-ahead run to score, and the Cardinals closed out the win over the Reds in Cincinnati.
The win came in the opener of a three-game series as the Cardinals trail the Reds, with both teams chasing the Mets for the third wild-card spot in the NL playoffs.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals took a 4-2 lead on a home run from Ivan Herrera in the first, a two-run homer from Pedro Pages in the second and the RBI single from Winn in the third, his first of three hits and three RBIs … It was the last hit for the Cardinals until Winn’s double with two outs in the eighth, which followed a leadoff walk to Herrera and a wild pitch … In the 10th, Nathan Church was the automatic runner on second and he went to third on a fly out by Lars Nootbaar and scored on De La Cruz’s error. Willson Contreras advanced to second on a walk to Nolan Gorman, and Contreras scored on Winn’s single.
On the mound: Matthew Liberatore allowed the first three Cincinnati runs, two of which scored in the first inning. Noelvi Marte homered in the first and Spencer Steeer homered in the third. Liberatore worked five innings and the Reds tied the game in the seventh off Gordon Graceffo, and after the Cardinals took the lead, Graceffo gave up a game-tying homer to Ke’Bryan Hayes in the eighth … Matt Svanson got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Ryan Fernandez earned his first save, striking out two in the 10th.
Key stat: This was the Cardinals first extra-inning game since June 21, when they also beat the Reds in 11 innings in St. Louis.
Worth noting: The Cardinals made a pair of roster moves before the game, placing Alec Burleson on the injured list because of inflammation in his right wrist and putting catcher Yohel Pozo into the seven-day concussion protocol after he was hit in the mask by a foul tip on Thursday. They were replaced on the roster by infielder Cesar Prieto and catcher Jimmy Crooks, whose contracts were purchased from Memphis. Crooks made his major-league debut when he came in to catch in the ninth, and Prieto had his debut as a pinch-hitter in the 10th, striking out … Victor Scott II began a rehab assignment on Friday night at Springfield and was hitless in three at-bats.
Up next: Michael McGreevy will get the start on Saturday night in the second game of the series against the Reds.
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