The visiting Cincinnati Reds defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4 on Thursday night thanks to the play of Noelvi Marte, who returned from an 80-game PED suspension and finished 3-for-5 with a stolen base, three runs, and an RBI.
For the Reds, Spencer Steer drove in two runs and added two more runs. Will Benson went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to break out of a 0-for-25 slump.
Despite walking six batters in five innings, Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott (7-6) only gave up two hits and two runs.
The Cardinals lost their second game in a row despite a two-run home run by Nolan Arenado.
Miles Mikolas (6-7), the starting pitcher for the Cardinals, gave up 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Elly De La Cruz’s triple and Jonathan India’s single in the first inning gave the Reds the lead.
Despite walking three batters in the bottom of the inning, Abbott got away with it. With one out and the Cardinals loading the bases, Abbott retired the next two batters.
In the second, Cincinnati extended its lead to 2-0. Benson scored on India’s double after hitting a single.
Three runs scored in the third on doubles from Steer, Nick Martini, and Marte; Benson’s sacrifice fly put the score at 5-0.
After Arenado hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals’ deficit was reduced to 5-2.
Steer’s two-run home run and a single by De La Cruz gave Cincinnati a 7-2 lead in the fourth inning.
Marte singled, stole second base, and scored on Benson’s double in the fifth inning. It was 10-2 after Stuart Fairchild scored on Luke Maile’s sacrifice fly after reaching base on an RBI double and advancing on a passed ball.
It was 11-2 after singles by Marte, Santiago Espinal, and Fairchild in the eighth inning. Brendan Donovan and Dylan Carlson.’s RBI doubles in the eighth inning gave the Cardinals two runs back.