Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Match Player Stats On Aug 31, 2019 Game 2

Pinch hitter Matt Carpenter delivered a walk-off RBI single as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the visiting Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Saturday night to complete a doubleheader sweep.

The Cardinals, who beat the Reds 10-6 earlier in the day, won for the 17th time in 21 games. They increased their National League Central lead over the Chicago Cubs to 2 1/2 games.

They trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth against Reds closer Raisel Iglesias (2-11). Tommy Edman started the comeback with a leadoff single into right field.

Iglesias hit Yadier Molina with a pitch, then allowed Harrison Bader's game-tying RBI single through the left side. Kevin Gausman relieved Iglesias and allowed Carpenter's game-winning hit into right field.

Cardinals reliever John Gant (10-0) held the Reds scoreless in the ninth inning to earn the victory.

The Reds wasted another great outing by starting pitcher Sonny Gray, who held the Cardinals to one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings to finish August with a 0.74 ERA in six starts.

Josh VanMeter and Joey Votto provided the Cincinnati offense with solo homers in the first and third innings, respectively.

Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha allowed those homers while lasting seven innings for the first time since June 28.

Down 2-0 in the seventh, the Cardinals scored one run in the inning but could have had more. Edman led off with a single, then VanMeter misplayed Matt Wieters' routine fly into left field to put runners on first and second.

Center fielder Nick Senzel picked up VanMeter by racing back to catch Bader's fly ball while crashing into the wall. That prevented a two-run triple.

Fowler dropped a two-out RBI single into left field to cut the lead to 2-1. Wieters pulled up sore at second base and left the game for a pinch runner.

Amir Garrett relieved Gray and struck out Kolten Wong to strand the runners. Michael Lorenzen dispatched the Cardinals in the eighth, but Iglesias and Gausman failed to close out the victory in the ninth.

--Field Level Media