Martinez stays hot on road as Cardinals beat Reds 5-2

NY was set to host Washington later.

Finally, the Cincinnati Red strung together three straight hits in the seventh to knock Martinez from the game and cut the Cardinals’ lead to 5-2.

Billy Hamilton left the game in the third after holding up on swing with an apparent oblique injury. He was replaced by Tyler Holt. After the team’s trainer attended to Hamilton, manager Bryan Price brought in Tyler Holt to finish the at-bat and play in center. “I don’t expect to see him play for the next two or three days”.

Rosario watched Hamilton turn a possible two-run double into an inning-ending double play, then was credited with a bases-loaded passed ball that allowed Hamilton to score the go-ahead run from third in what eventually turned into a 9-1 Reds romp. He walked five and struck out six while improving to 8-1 in 13 road starts this season.

“He’s going to be careful with certain guys”, Matheny said. “I hit it good”. “Later in the game, he got a little exhausted”.

“That had to be the biggest hit of the evening”, he said. “He’s a top-tier pitcher”.

Seung Hwan Oh (4-3) walked Zack Cozart on four pitches to open the ninth, putting the potential winning run on base.

Grichuk followed Stephen Piscotty’s double with his 21st homer this season and second of the series, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Dan Straily (11-7) gave up 3 hits, including Jedd Gyorko’s home run, and a career-high 7 walks in only 5 2/3 innings.

Sunday’s slate features a twin billing at 1:10 PM EDT, when J.A. Happ and Chris Archer will face off at Tropicana Field and Carlos Martinez and Tim Adleman will go head-to-head at the Great American Ball Park.

“I don’t think I threw the ball that good”, DeSclafani said. I wasn’t in a lot of jams today.

St. Louis increased its lead when Wong belted a solo shot, his fourth, to make the score 3-0 in the fifth.

“I really don’t know if I’m in his head or not”, said Hamilton, who reached base on each of his last three trips to the plate and set a single -season career high with his 58th stolen base – with, of course, Rosario still behind the plate. “He did what he was supposed to with it”. Brandon Moss. preserved that lead for a 5-2 victory, enabling the Cardinals to avoid a series sweep against the National League Central Division bottom feeders.

Cardinals: LH Jaime Garcia (10-10) has allowed at least five runs in three straight starts for the first time in his career.

The Reds broke through in the seventh on pinch-hitter Ivan DeJesus Jr.’s RBI double and a run-scoring single by Holt.

The Reds had their first two hits off Martinez in the fourth. Moss made a flawless, one-hop throw to the plate and Yadier Molina tagged out the sliding Holt to end the inning.

The right-hander walked the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth before Blake Wood came in and got – who else? Instead of moving up, the Cardinals helped the Reds rally and end a four-game losing streak. “That was a nice tag by (Molina), too”.

Not only was Brayan Pena added as a third catcher when he was removed from the Cardinals’ 60-day disabled list Sunday.

Cardinals: RH Mike Leake will fly into Cincinnati on Sunday morning and threw in the bullpen before the final game of the series. He’s been on the disabled list since August 22 with the shingles.