For the St. Louis Cardinals to have a good chance of taking down the Cincinnati Reds and their All-Star starter Chase Burns Wednesday night, they'd need the best version of Matthew Liberatore. They got that and some clutch two-strike hitting, too. Well, they got that for 5 innings. The 6th inning was a different story entirely. By the time the late innings arrived, even the Cardinals were helping to defeat the Cardinals. Let's sort out this mess that eventually became a very dramatic ending.
Both pitchers were shutting down the opposing lineups for the first 3 innings, but the St. Louis Cardinals finally broke through in the top of the 4th inning. They almost scored in the top of the 3rd inning when JJ Wetherholt ripped a double to center with Blaze Jordan running on the pitch, but he did not live up to his first name and was easily thrown out at the plate. I'm not one to talk, but Blaze seriously looked like he was running in slow motion. The 4th inning would be different, though, as Alec Burleson drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Burns. He would fortunately run a lot faster (so to speak) than Blaze Jordan and scored when Nathan Church singled on a two-strike count giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
After Masyn Winn walked which moved Church up to second, Bryan Torres also singled with two strikes to score Church doubling the St. Louis lead to 2-0.
Matthew Liberatore accomplished many things Wednesday night. First, his game management was stellar as his pitch count was only in the 60's by the time he reached the bottom of the 5th inning. He also surpassed his career high for strikeouts in a season. The one thing he did not accomplish was getting through the 6th inning without allowing damage. It all started innocently enough when McLain hit a one-out double to left. Next up was Elly De La Cruz who hit a shot up the middle that a leaping JJ Wetherholt could not snatch as it glanced off of his glove into centerfield giving the Reds runners at first and third with just one out. Matthew then unfortunately grooved a 94 mph four-seam fastball to Sal Stewart who blasted it 422 into the grass above the centerfield wall for a 3-run homer giving the Reds their first lead of the game at 3-2.
Matthew Liberatore's night could be separated into the first 5 innings when he was the lights out shut down pitcher we all hoped he would become. He struck out 9 and didn't walk anyone, but since he was allowed to enter the bottom of the 6th, we have to count that against him. Just a couple of meatball pitches, but that was enough to allow the Reds to takeover the lead which is a crying shame.
The Cardinals threatened to strike back in the top of the 7th when Herrera and Walker drew walks, but José Fermín popped out with runners at first and third to end the St. Louis 7th with no runs to show for it. Manager Oli Marmol brought in Luis Gastelum to handle the Reds in the bottom of the 7th. He was up to the task and set the Reds down 1-2-3.
The Reds removed Chase Burns after 5 innings as his pitch count hit 104. Moll, Burke and Mey were their relievers Wednesday night with Mey facing the Cardinals in the top of the 8th. He struck out Masyn Winn to start the inning. Next up was Joshua Baez who had a great at-bat where he drew a very patient walk. Blaze Jordan was unable to advance Baez into scoring position when he struck out after a wise ABS challenge. Baez did steal second on the second strike to Jimmy Crooks to get himself into scoring position, but it would be all for naught when Crooks struck out to end the Cardinals 8th.
The Cardinals apparently decided to help the Reds defeat them in the bottom of the 8th inning when Trevino led off with a single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch by St. Louis reliever Justin Bruihl that he threw to the backstop. McLain then laid down a nearly perfect sacrifice bunt that Blaze Jordan double-pumped on and then threw the ball past Burleson at first into right field scoring Trevino and giving Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. Elly De La Cruz flew out to center which advanced McLain to third with just one out. The Cardinals intentionally walked Sal Stewart which was smart, but also ended up being useless when Myers laid down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in him at first when no one covered first scoring McLain and giving (literally) the Reds a commanding 5-2 lead. It could have been worse. If not for the pop-out by Friedl with the bases loaded, the game could have really gotten out of control.
The top of the St. Louis Cardinals order would need to dial up some heroism to make a comeback in the top of the 9th to salvage the dumpster fire that was the bottom of the 8th inning. JJ Wetherholt, who had 2 hits on the night, lead off the inning by being hit by a pitch. Iván Herrera flew out to left for the first out as the rain started to pick up again. Alec Burleson ripped a ball down the first base line, but his bat broke and the ball was grabbed by Stewart who stepped on first base for the second out. The Cardinals were not quite done as Jordan Walker blasted a pitch to the opposite field over the wall for a 2-run homer getting St. Louis within a run at 5-4.
José Fermín then ripped a double down the left field line to give the Cardinals the tying run at second base and the potential winning run coming up to the plate in the form of Masyn Winn. The Reds seemed interested in helping the Cardinals as Pagan threw a wild pitch that moved Fermín to third. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Masyn Winn grounded out weakly down the third base line that Pagan managed to grab and throw him out at first. So freaking close.
The St. Louis Cardinals wrap up the Cincinnati part of their road trip Thursday afternoon as they take on the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Michael McGreevy will start the game for the Cardinals while the Reds will turn to RHP Brady Singer. First pitch is scheduled for 11:40am central time and the game broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.
