Joey Votto and Jonathan India both returned from the injured list and homered. Hunter Greene returned from the injured list and allowed just one hit while striking out nine batters in six innings. That was more than enough for the Reds who picked up a 7-1 win as Cincinnati avoided being swept in the 3-game series by the St. Louis Cardinals.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals (63-80) |
1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (74-71) |
7 | 10 | 1 |
| W: Greene (4-6) L: Mikolas (7-11) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Hunter Greene returned to the mound after missing a start while on the injured list. He worked around a walk in each of the first two three of the game. In the bottom of the 3rd his offense gave him a lead to work with. Jonathan India, fresh off of the injured list, led off with his 15th homer of the season. Will Benson would add a solo homer of his own – his 10th of the year – and Cincinnati grabbed a 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals would get one of those runs back in the top of the 4th. Nolan Arenado reached on an error by Spencer Steer at third base to begin the inning. Greene walked Tyler O’Neill to follow. After a strikeout and a pop up it was Andrew Knizner who came through with a 2-out RBI on a single into center. He would steal second base to move into scoring position, but Greene struck out Masyn Winn to end the inning and strand two runners and hold onto the lead.
Hunter Greene rebounded in the 5th with two strikeouts and a pop up. That left him with 98 pitches on the day. He returned for the 6th inning and needed just three pitches to get two outs. But he fell behind Luken Baker 3-0 before battling back and striking him out on the 8th pitch of the at-bat. It was Greene’s 9th strikeout of the day.
TJ Friedl lined a triple into the gap in right-center, but on the headfirst slide into third his arm got caught up in a funky way and he stayed down for a bit. The training staff headed out there and gave him a look over and spoke with him for a bit, but he remained in the game. Spencer Steer followed up with an RBI single to make it 3-1. Nick Martini then lined a triple off of the wall in right-center that hit the wall so hard it flew back into the field past the centerfielder and Cincinnati grabbed a 4-1 lead. That led to a pitching change, and the Reds also sent Harrison Bader in to pinch run for Martini. With a new pitcher on the mound, Joey Votto grounded out, but the ball easily scored Bader to make it 5-1.
Buck Farmer entered the game for the Reds to start the 7th inning with a 4-run lead. He made easy work of the Cardinals, throwing just eight pitches to retire them in order. In the bottom of the inning TJ Friedl added to the lead with a solo home run into the seats in right field.
Tejay Anton came out of the bullpen to pitch the 8th inning. He walked Lars Nootbaar to start the inning but got the Cardinals out in order from there. In the bottom of the inning Joey Votto led off with a 437-foot home run to make it 7-1.
Alexis Diaz entered the game in the 9th to try and shut things down. With a 6-run lead to work with, the All-Star closer had plenty of wiggle room – but he didn’t need it. Diaz threw nine pitches in recording three outs in what felt like a must-win game for the Reds.
Key Moment of the Game
The 6th inning, 3-run rally put together by the Reds that turned a 2-1 ballgame into a 5-1 contest and put things out of reach.
Notes worth noting
Andrew Knizner’s 4th inning single was the only hit of the day for the Cardinals.
TJ Friedl is the first player since Corey Patterson in 2006 with the Orioles to have 15 bunt hits and 13 or more home runs in the same season.
Will Benson picked up three hits as he remained hot in September. He’s now hitting .375/.464/.792 during the month. His big day has his slugging percentage back over .500 on the year (.502).
JOEY VOTTO
9th player since 1900 to homer on his birthday at age 40 or older, joining:
2015 Alex Rodriguez
2012 Chipper Jones
2011 Jim Thome
1999 Tony Phillips
1998 Wade Boggs
1988 Darrell Evans
1983 Joe Morgan
1957 Bob Thurman https://t.co/6EaOiycaBp— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 10, 2023
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Detroit Tigers
Tuesday September 12th, 6:40pm ET
TBA vs Joey Wentz (2-11, 6.65 ERA)
