A comeback by the St Louis Cardinals came undone when their relievers allowed a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, then four runs in the top of the ninth, resulting in Monday night’s 11-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
The two division foes seeking a late surge of momentum in the chase for a wild card spot exchanged runs in the second inning, when Cincinnati got on the board with Sal Stewart’s solo home run, countered by Nolan Arenado’s single to bring home Willson Contreras. Cincinnati retook the lead in the third, with a two-RBI single driven to center field by Miguel Andujar, who would advance to third on a fielding error. The Cardinals took the lead in the sixth with a double by Alec Burleson scoring Brendan Donovan and Iván Herrera, then come home on a Contreras single.
The Reds reclaimed the lead in the seventh with a ground-rule double from Matt McLain that scored two. TJ Freidl brought McLain home with a single. The Cardinals tied the game back up after the stretch when Donovan and Herrera each had RBI singles. The game would begin to come unglued for the Cardinals, when Ryan Fernandez gave up a one-out single to Sal Stewart, then back-to-back walks, before he was replaced by Kyle Leahy. Will Benson hit a sacrifice fly for the ultimate game winner, but Leahy struck out McLain to earn a return trip to the mound in the ninth. That would prove disastrous for the Cardinals, as Leahy would allow a leadoff walk, then three singles and a bases-clearing double.
The loss went to Fernandez, who was charged with the earned run on one hit and two walks in his one-out appearance. Leahy was charged with four runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two in his full inning. Matthew Liberatore completed six innings in his start, striking out six while allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk.
The Cardinals slide to 73-78, 4.5 games behind the Mets for the third wild card spot, with the Reds, Giants and Diamondbacks ahead of them. Michael McGreevy will get the start Tuesday evening, with first pitch at 6:45 p.m.
The Royals were off Monday as they prepare for their final six regular season games at home. Michael Wacha returns to the mound after missing his last start because of a suspected concussion, as the Royals seek to make a last-gasp charge toward the playoffs against a Seattle Mariners squad that recently overtook the Houston Astros for the AL West lead. Pregame is at 6 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9, with first pitch from Kauffman Stadium at 6:40 p.m.