photo: Kolten Wong via Zoom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Thursday, August 20, 2020 – Cardinals 5, Reds 4
In the first game of the first series played at Busch Stadium since the opening set of the season, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Reds in a walk off win on Thursday.
Adam Wainwright made the start and went seven innings, yielding four runs on six hits. The right hander struck out four and issued no free passes. Wainwright took a no decision as the Reds held the lead until the ninth inning. A messy first inning on the field, with errors by third baseman Brad Miller and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, did Wainwright no favors.
Following Wainwright on the mound in relief was Alex Reyes, who pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit, fanning one and walking one. Seth Elledge pitched the ninth, and though it was a lengthy stint with three walks and a bases loaded jam, Elledge emerged unscathed to receive his first major league win.
The Reds took an early 3-0 lead, but the Redbirds made a dent in the bottom of the second inning. In his first game back from a positive COVID-19 quarantine, Yadier Molina never missed a beat. The veteran catcher singled with the bases loaded in his first at-bat and brought two runs home to decrease the lead to 3-2.
The Reds added another run in the top of the third to make it 4-2. The Cardinals were unable to respond until the ninth inning. Brad Miller led off and was hit by a pitch. Tyler O’Neill drew a walk. Dexter Fowler singled on a ground ball to right field.
Once again it was Molina at the plate with the bases loaded. He singled to plate Miller and make it 4-3. With O’ Neill on third, Fowler on second, and Molina on first, Reds closer Raisel Iglesias balked and O’Neill came home to tie the score. With two in scoring position, Dylan Carlson fanned for out no. 1. With Kolten Wong coming to the plate, the Reds pulled Iglesias. On a 2-1 count, Wong tattooed the ball into the right center field gap to score Fowler for the walk off win.
There was a socially distanced celebration after.
The Cardinals are now 7-7 on the season and in second place, 4.0 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division.
Friday’s game: vs. Reds at 7:15 pm. Dakota Hudson (0-2, 5.40) vs. Anthony Desclafani (1-1, 6.23). FS Midwest/KMOX/WIJR/Cardinals Radio Network
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