Brandon Williamson had another outstanding performance in his second start of 2024, but the offense didn’t have the same kind of night as the Cincinnati Reds fell 2-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals to even up this three game series at one win apiece.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (71-76) |
1 | 5 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals (73-72) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
|
W: JoJo Romero (7-2) L: Buck Farmer (3-1) SV: Ryan Helsley (44) |
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| Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Cardinals threatened in each of the first two innings when Brandon Williamson allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base. In the first inning, he walked Masyn Winn. A bad throw by Ty France on a pickoff play and a single by Paul Goldschmidt got Winn to third base, but Williamson got Nolan Arenado to ground into a double play to end the threat.
Meanwhile, the Reds were squandering golden opportunities. Jake Fraley and Noelvi Marte led off the third inning with back-to-back singles, but with runners on first and third with no one out, Lance Lynn struck out Luke Maile, Jonathan India, and Elly De La Cruz in consecutive order. In the fourth inning, Spencer Steer had a leadoff double. Santiago Espinal eventually delivered a base hit with two outs after an 11-pitch at-bat to drive in Steer. Steer had stolen third base for his 25th steal of the season to make it an easy trot home on the bloop single.
Nolan Arenado had an answer for Espinal’s RBI hit when he tied the game with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the 4th inning. Williamson didn’t let the home run phase him. He allowed just one base runner after the home run and finished his night by retiring the side in the fifth. His final line was three hits and one run over five innings with five strikeouts and just two walks.
The missed opportunities continued for the Reds in the fifth inning. Marte led off the inning with a walk and stole second base, but was held up at third on a Jonathan India bloop single to center. It would prove to be futile as De La Cruz struck out looking and Steer flied out to end the inning.
Fernando Cruz and Brent Suter combined for two innings of shutout baseball in the sixth and seventh innings, but Buck Farmer did not get the same luxury. He allowed a leadoff single to Michael Siani in the eighth, and after a terrible throw by Luke Maile on a pitch out to allow Siani to swipe his 17th base of the season, Farmer put Alec Burleson on base with a hit by pitch with one out. The next batter was Paul Goldschmidt and he absolutely tattooed a baseball to straightaway center field, scoring Siani from second base. TJ Friedl made a valiant effort, but couldn’t come up with catch. David Bell intentionally walked Nolan Arenado and brought in Justin Wilson. Wilson retired both batters he faced, but the damage had been done.
The Reds’ offense went stagnant after the fifth inning, with the last 12 Reds batters being retired in order. Ryan Helsley, the co-leader in saves, finished out the game for the Cardinals to earn his 44th save of the season.
Key Moment of the Game
Paul Goldschmidt’s one-out double to score Michael Siani and put the Cardinals up 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth.
Notes
-With his single in the fifth inning, India snapped his 0-for-20 hitless streak.
-Nolan Arenado’s home run in the fourth inning ended the Reds pitching staff’s 24-inning scoreless streak.
-It was Lance Lynn’s first appearance since July 30 when he allowed one run in five innings against the Texas Rangers. Lynn has more wins against the Reds than any other team. While he didn’t get the win tonight, he did continue his dominance against Cincinnati by allowing only one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in just five innings.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Thursday, September 12th, 1:15 PM EDT
Jakob Junis (4-0, 2.82 ERA) vs Sonny Gray (12-9, 3.84 ERA)