By MATT PIKE
The St. Louis Cardinals fell to the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 evening up the series and setting up a rubber match in the series finale on Thursday at Great American Ballpark.
The Cardinals took the first lead of the game in the fourth inning after Alec Burleson walked with one out, advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Nathan Church. Masyn Winn walked, moving Church to second, and Bryan Torres extended the lead in the inning with an RBI single, driving in Church to put St. Louis up 2-0 at the end of four innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Reds took the lead, Sal Stewart hitting a three run home run, bringing home Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz for a 3-2 advantage.
Cincinnati extended the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. McLain's RBI single drove in Jose Trevino and McLain later scored on an RBI single from Dane Myers to cap the scoring. In the ninth, Jordan Walker cut the lead to one with a two run home run, scoring JJ Wetherholt. José Fermín doubled, and moved to third on a wild pitch, but Winn grounded out to first base ending the game. Matthew Liberatore took the loss, falling to 5-11 on the season, giving up three runs on four hits in six innings, striking out nine.
At the plate, Wetherholt was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Walker was 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and two RBIs. Torres was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Church was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
St. Louis and Cincinnati wrap up their series tomorrow. Michael McGreevy (5-9, 3.48 ERA, 91Ks) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Brady Singer (5-11, 4.66 ERA, 104Ks) for the Reds. First pitch is at 11:40am, coverage begins at 11:30am on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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