Cincinnati Reds lose to St. Louis Cardinals 5-2, drop series

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Sonny Gray was not at his absolute best in this one, and certainly ran into some trouble against the St. Louis Cardinals lineup once he ran into them a second time through the order. Still, the Cincinnati Reds righty managed to post a perfectly cromulent outing stat-wise, one that kept his team in the game enough to where a bloop and a blast could’ve leveled the score.

That offense once again never showed up to back Gray, though, meaning Sonny’s win-loss record now sits at an unsightly 0-4. This is precisely why pitcher win-loss record is one of the dumbest stats in the game of baseball, though, so it’s yet another good chance to point that out.

On the whole, Gray fired 5 innings of 2 ER ball, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks against his 5 strikeouts. That’s an effective 3.60 ERA on the day, which now jives with his 3.64 ERA on the season. He even chipped in with a single on offense, too!

Honorable Mentions are due to: Wandy Peralta, who fanned 2 in an excellent, perfect inning of relief; Jesse Winker, who doubled; Scott Schebler, who doinked a 2-run double in the 9th inning; and Robert Stephenson, who tossed yet another scoreless frame from the bullpen.

Key Plays

• Jose Martinez got the Cardinals on the board first in this one, shooting a 1-out single into RF off Gray in the Bottom of the 4th after Gray had him down 2 strikes. That single scored Paul DeJong, who had earlier smacked a double into the LF corner. Unfortunately, Gray had also managed to walk Marcell Ozuna in between the PAs by DeJong and Martinez, which left the Cardinals LF on 3B with just 1-out - prime scoring position for Yadier Molina’s sac-fly to RF. Reds trailed, 2-0.
• Scott Schebler’s miserable 2019 season added another chapter in the Bottom of the 8th, and it was David Hernandez who bore the brunt of it. Schebler lost a routine pop-fly in the sun in CF to open the frame, and it fell in for a ‘double’ for Kolten Wong. That eventually burned when Hernandez got to 2-outs in the inning - that would’ve been 3, y’know - as Yadier Molina hit a bases-loaded single up the middle to drive in a pair of Cardinal runs only to have Dexter Fowler then follow with an RBI-single down the RF line a batter later. Reds trailed, 5-0.
• Schebler at least got a sliver of redemption in the Top of the 9th. After Winker led off with a double off reliever Dominic Leone and Jose Iglesias kept the rally alive with a 2-out single (and a swipe of 2B thanks to defensive indifference), Schebler stroked a 2-run double down the RF line to finally put some runs on the board. Unfortunately, the Cards turned to John Gant to get the final out, which he did by retiring Derek Dietrich. Reds lost, 5-2.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Outscoring the Cardinals 17-12 and still losing 2 of 3 games in this series is, unfortunately, a very on-brand result for these 2019 Cincinnati Reds.
• The Reds will leave the Toilet and head to Flushing later today, and on Monday they’ll begin a series against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Tanner Roark will toe the rubber for the Reds in the first game of the series on Monday, and he’ll be opposed by oft-rumored Cincinnati Reds trade target of yore Zack Wheeler. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET.
• Tunes.