Game Overview
On a warm August night at Great American Ball Park, the Cardinals turned a tightly contested duel into a gritty extra‑inning win over the Reds, 7‑5. Both clubs opened the night with power, exchanging long balls and lead changes that kept the scoreboard flickering until the 10th. By the time the ninth inning ended, the game was dead‑locked at five runs apiece, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
St. Louis entered the contest with a 66‑68 record and a pressing need to claw back into fourth place in the NL Central. Cincinnati, meanwhile, was trying to halt a three‑game slide that had already cost them a foothold in third. The night promised fire‑power, and the first inning delivered exactly that. Ivan Herrera opened the scoring with a towering 395‑foot blast to right‑center, instantly putting the Cardinals ahead. The Reds answered in kind when Noelvi Marte drilled a 444‑foot homer, erasing the lead and announcing that this would be a night of long balls.
Early scoring set a frantic tempo, but it was the middle innings where the contest truly erupted. Both starters—Matthew Liberatore for St. Louis and Zack Littell for Cincinnati—worked deep into their assignments, each surrendering just enough runs to keep their teams within striking distance. Liberatore, despite a 4.27 ERA on the season, managed six solid innings, while Littell, a 3.62 ERA veteran, went five innings with three hits allowed. Neither pitcher factored in the final decision because the game would head into extra innings.
Key Moments and Decisive Plays
The second inning saw Pedro Pages launch a 407‑foot two‑run homer to left field, giving the Cardinals a 3‑2 edge. That swing not only added runs but also shifted momentum, showing St. Louis could match the Reds’ power. Masyn Winn, the night’s offensive catalyst, followed with an RBI single in the third, pushing the lead to 4‑2 and setting the tone for his later heroics.
Mid‑game, Cincinnati fought back. Spencer Steer’s center‑field blast in the sixth trimmed the deficit to 4‑3, while Miguel Andújar’s RBI single in the seventh knotted the game at 4‑4. The Reds seemed to have found their rhythm, and the question on everyone’s mind was whether they could carry it into the later innings.
In the eighth, the seesaw continued. Winn turned a double into a go‑ahead run, making it 5‑4, only for Ke’Bryan Hayes to respond with a 371‑foot homer that tied it again. The stadium buzzed as fans realized they were watching a potential extra‑inning battle.
The 10th inning delivered the decisive drama. A routine grounder turned chaotic when shortstop Elly De La Cruz mis‑threw, allowing Willson Contreras to reach safely. Ryan Church sprinted home on the error, giving St. Louis a 6‑5 lead. With the Reds now scrambling, Winn stepped up once more. He crushed a single to left, driving in Contreras for insurance and loading the bases. Nolan Gorman advanced to third, positioning the Cardinals for a final, unassailable run.
Beyond the headline‑making plays, several supporting details shaped the outcome. The Cardinals’ bullpen kept the Reds silent in the 10th, while Cincinnati’s relievers struggled to contain St. Louis’s surge. Defensive miscues—most notably De La Cruz’s error—highlighted the thin margin between victory and defeat in high‑stakes games.
Statistically, the night was a showcase of offense. Both teams combined for 12 runs, four home runs, and a total of 28 hits. The Cardinals logged 52 strikeouts across both teams, reflecting the power‑hitting environment of a slick, summer night at an open‑air stadium.
Looking ahead, the win nudges St. Louis toward a .500 record on the road and keeps them in the division’s fourth slot, a crucial stepping stone as the season enters its final stretch. For Cincinnati, the loss drops them to 68‑67, slipping them out of third place and intensifying the pressure to rebound in upcoming home games.
Fans left Great American Ball Park with a story that will be replayed on highlight reels for weeks: a game defined by back‑and‑forth power, a pivotal defensive lapse, and a young infusion of clutch hitting from Masyn Winn. As the NL Central battle tightens, both clubs will remember this night as a reminder that every at‑bat can tip the scales in a season that still has plenty of twists to offer.
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