The Cincinnati Reds secured a 5-3 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in extra innings on Sunday, marking their third consecutive road series win for the first time since 2023.
Sal Stewart delivered a critical pinch-hit single in the 10th inning against Cardinals reliever Matt Svanson, driving in automatic runner Tyler Stephenson to put the Reds ahead. Eugenio Suárez was intentionally walked, loading the bases with two outs, before Nathaniel Lowe added insurance with a two-run single to left field.
The Reds' road trip concluded with six wins in nine games as they returned from the All-Star break. Cincinnati took two of three games from Colorado, Seattle, and St. Louis, despite entering the trip in last place in the NL Central.
Elly De La Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes each hit solo home runs for Cincinnati. However, second baseman Spencer Steer exited the game in the fifth inning with right wrist pain after fouling a pitch. Team officials stated that Steer will undergo imaging and be evaluated by a hand specialist on Monday.
For the Cardinals, Iván Herrera homered, while Alec Burleson contributed three hits, scored a run, and drove in one more. Despite their efforts, St. Louis dropped its seventh game in the last 10 outings.
Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy achieved a career-high nine strikeouts over six innings. Leahy allowed two solo home runs among six hits and issued just one walk. For the Reds, Andrew Abbott pitched six innings, allowing three hits, two runs, and four walks while striking out four.
Brock Burke earned the victory for Cincinnati after a pivotal performance in the eighth inning, stranding the bases loaded by getting Lars Nootbaar to foul out. He then delivered a clean ninth inning. Rookie Julian Garcia recorded his first career save despite allowing the Cardinals’ automatic runner to score on Burleson’s 10th-inning RBI single.
The Cardinals begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday evening at Busch Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.