Cincinnati Reds use pitching and power to dominate the Cardinals

Last night’s game in St. Louis was an offensive onslaught by the Cincinnati Reds’ bats, but don’t discount the pitching performance either.

While fans will focus on the five home runs that the Cincinnati Reds sent out of Busch Stadium last night, it was the pitching performance that was most impressive. The St. Louis Cardinals had won five straight games heading into last night, but the Reds’ pitching held the Cards to just one run.

Last night’s 12-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals was the closest to a perfect all-around game that you’re likely to see from this Cincinnati Reds team all season. Eugenio Suárez got the offense out of the gates quickly in the top of first inning with a solo shot to left field and it just got better from there.

Jesse Winker played long ball in the fourth inning with a towering shot to straight-away center and Joey Votto joined the home run party with a rocket shot to right field in the top of the fifth inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 4-0 lead.

The Reds bats chased Miles Mikolas after five innings of work, but that didn’t stop Yasiel Puig from adding his name to the list with a 2-run shot to center field in the top of the eighth inning. His blast made the score 6-1.

Not to be outdone, José Peraza got his groove back with a flat out bomb to left field in the top of the ninth inning. Peraza belted his second homer of the season and gave the Reds a 7-1 lead. The offense would play add-on in the remainder of that inning and wound up with 6 total runs in the ninth and walked out of Busch Stadium with a 12-1 victory over their division rivals.

It’s easy to see why most of Reds Country was enamored with the offensive performance of the Cincinnati Reds. We hadn’t seen an offensive output like that since the 14-0 stomp of the Miami Marlins a few weeks ago. But, while the Reds power was impressive, don’t sleep on the pitching performance from Anthony DeSclafani and the bullpen.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in first place in the National League Central. They’re a good team, especially offensively. To be honest, the fact the Cards surrendered so many homers should come as no surprise as they lead the league in that category. However, the fact that the Reds hurlers kept the St. Louis bats in check, that’s impressive.

During the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak, St. Louis put up a total of 38 runs, including a 10-run outburst against the New York Mets and a 13-run onslaught against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals are not a feeble offensive team.

Paul DeJong, the Cardinals shortstop, is slashing .340/.393/.612 on the season. He drove in the Cardinals only run and struck out, going 1-for-4 on the night. Marcel Ozuna didn’t reach base and the Cardinals didn’t have an extra-base hit all night long.

Anthony DeSclafani certainly didn’t have his best stuff, as he issued three walks, but he kept the Cardinals off the board during his 6 innings of work. He wiggles his way out of trouble countless times throughout the night and the Cardinals stranded 10 men on base.

Amir Garrett was not his normally dominant self, allowing a walk and the Cardinals only run during his 0.2 innings of work, but he, Michael Lorenzen, and Jared Hughes pitched well enough to keep the Cardinals at bay. In fact, none of the Cincinnati relievers recorded a strikeout.

After a wet, soggy delay during the team’s victory on Thursday night over the Atlanta Braves, it was nice to see a complete performance from the bats and the arms last night in St. Louis. The Cincinnati Reds will try to make it three-straight series wins when they play the Cardinals this afternoon.