A day after sparking the Cardinals’ game-winning rally, rookie Tommy Pham completed it on Tuesday night, his sacrifice fly lifting St. Louis to a 3-1 win over the Reds that also featured another strong start from John Lackey.
The win inched the Cardinals, who are already assured a playoff spot, closer to the one they want. With a four-game lead over the Pirates in the National League Central, the Cardinals’ magic number for a division title sits at eight. They are also comfortably ahead in the race for home-field advantage in the NL postseason.
Pham drove in both of the Cardinals’ runs en route to the team’s 52nd win at Busch Stadium. His one-out RBI double in the third erased the Reds’ early lead. He then connected for his first Major League sacrifice fly in the seventh after hits by Tony Cruz and Matt Carpenter.
“He’s feeling good at the plate, and we’re just trying to keep him there,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Pham, who has nine extra-base hits in his last 30 at-bats. “He believes in himself. He’s not a young guy straight out of college. He’s grinded through the Minor League seasons, and when you see those sorts of production numbers in the Minor League system, that’s usually a pretty good indicator of the kind of talent.”
Reds reliever Sam LeCure shouldered the loss after the Reds watched rookie righty Keyvius Sampson make one of the better starts of his young career. He scattered four hits and three walks while allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings.
Lackey was as he has been at home all season: sensational. He lowered his Busch Stadium ERA to 1.97 while making his 14th home start of at least seven innings.
“When you throw the ball well, you throw the ball well,” Lackey said. “It doesn’t really matter where it’s at. I think there is a comfort level here as a team, because it’s a fun place to play, great fan support. I think that kind of helps us all out.”
Lackey scattered eight singles after allowing a Jay Bruce home run on his seventh pitch of the game. But the Reds were held to one run on back-to-back nights despite having 11 hits. They went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.
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