A half-inning after the Reds squandered a bases-loaded opportunity against Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals capitalized on a leadoff double by Jon Jay in the eighth to break a tie and position themselves for a series-sweeping 2-1 win at Busch Stadium on Sunday night.
Kolten Wong’s one-out sacrifice fly was plenty deep to score Jay, who had moved to third on a productive groundout by Yadier Molina. Those eighth-inning at-bats represented the Cardinals’ only ones with a runner in scoring position against Reds starter Mike Leake, who had retired 20 of 22 after allowing a leadoff homer to Matt Carpenter.
“Basically the same pitch that [Jay] hit for the double,” Leake said of his pitch to Carpenter. “Just a fastball that was supposed to be in. It just went back over the plate for him to hit. They both made me pay.”
After the Reds evened the game with Brandon Phillips’ third-inning RBI single, Leake and Wainwright matched each other with one brisk inning after another. Combined, the two retired 20 consecutive batters beginning in the top of the third. Wainwright induced 13 outs on first- or second-pitch contact. Leake had 11 such outs and finished eight innings with only 86 pitches.
The Cardinals’ one-run lead was entrusted not to Trevor Rosenthal, but to Jordan Walden, the closer du jour. Walden allowed a leadoff single, but stranded the potential tying run at second. The win wrapped up a 5-1 opening homestand for St. Louis.
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