Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 4, Reds 2
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals will have a chance to do something on Sunday that they have not been able to do since the end of June.
A second win over the Reds on Saturday night put the Cardinals in position to sweep the series in Cincinnati, which would be the first sweep for the Cardinals since their last trip to Ohio, when they swept the Guardians in Cleveland.
A two-run single from Nathan Church and solo home runs from Willson Contreras and Pedro Pages provided all of the offense Michael McGreevy and the bullpen needed for the victory.
Their third win in a row left the Cardinals moved them within a half game of the Reds in the battle for the final wild-card spot in the NL, but they still trail the Mets by 5 ½ games.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Church’s two-out single wiped out a 1-0 lead for the Reds in the fourth as the Cardinals took advantage of loading the bases on two walks and a hit batter … Contreras hit his team-leading 20th homer of the year in the seventh and Pages followed with his 11th homer, and second in two nights, in the eighth. Both homers came with two outs in the inning.
On the mound: McGreevy worked the first six innings. He gave up a run in the first inning but then blanked the Reds over the next five innings. He scattered five hits, walked two and did not strike out a batter … Jorge Alcala allowed a home run to Matt McLain in the seventh that cut the Cardinals lead to 3-2 … Kyle Leahy got the final four outs, working around two hits, to earn his first save.
Key stat: Pages’ homer was his fifth of the month, one less than Contreras, who leads the team with six homers in August. Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman hit six homers in June, tying Contreras for the most on the team in any month this season. The only other players with five homers in a month were Lars Nootbaar in April and Contreras in June.
Worth noting: Both catcher Jimmy Crooks and infielder Cesar Prieto are each expected to make their first career start on Sunday. Each made their major-league debut on Friday night, with Crooks coming in to catch in the ninth and Prieto striking out as a pinch-hitter in the 10th … Victor Scott II was 0-of-1 and walked in his second rehab game at Springfield. He also was thrown out trying to steal … Quinn Mathews tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out seven and walking four for Memphis.
Up next: Andre Pallante will try to break out of his long slump as the Cardinals go for the sweep on Sunday.
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