With Tony Cingrani returning to the mound on Thursday after missing two starts with a strained lower back, manager Dusty Baker questioned how much he would get from the 24-year-old left-hander. The answer, thanks in part to a strong offensive attack, turned out to be more than enough, as Cingrani lasted 5 1/3 innings and gave up just two runs en route to a 6-2 win over the Cardinals at Great American Ball Park.
Cingrani put any doubts regarding his health to rest early. After working around a two-out single in the first, he struck out the side in the second. In the bottom of the inning, he hustled down the line for a bunt single before recording the first stolen base of his career and eventually scoring the game’s first run.
“Love him to death, man,” third baseman Todd Frazier said of Cingrani. “I love his energy, I love his poise out there. I’m very happy with what he did, and he’s healthy.”
With his performance, Cingrani showed no ill effects in coming back from the injury, proving able to continue to fill in for Johnny Cueto, who likely will be headed to the bullpen when he returns from his own injury.
Although Cingrani felt some discomfort in his back on Thursday, it was nothing severe.
“Just getting out there and throwing it and getting that same torque on my back and that adrenaline, it was good,” Cingrani said. “It felt pretty good to get back out there.”
From an even bigger perspective, Cingrani’s effort helped the Reds, who took two of the previous three from the Cardinals, win their first series over St. Louis in their last eight tries. The win pushed Cincinnati to within 1 1/2 games of second-place St. Louis and three games of idle Pittsburgh in the National League Central with less than a month to play.
And it was all sparked by Cingrani, who after allowing a single in the first retired seven straight before walking two in the fourth.
It wasn’t until the fifth that Cingrani surrendered a run — a solo shot off the bat of David Freese. After setting down three in a row to end the inning, he struck out pinch-hitter Brock Peterson to open the sixth, but Matt Carpenter followed with a triple to right-center. Carpenter then scored on a wild pitch, and after a single and a walk in consecutive at-bats, Cingrani’s day was done. He allowed four hits and three walks on the night to go with seven strikeouts.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
