Reds Broom Broke As The Cardinals Avoid The Sweep

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The St. Louis Cardinals used the home run ball and the double play ball to avoid the first sweep at the hand of the Reds since July 1012..

In spite of being outhit 11-5, the Cardinals held onto a 5-2 win.

Tim Adleman's eighth start of the season was contaminated by a pair of home runs.

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It is a theme that has played through his last three games.  The Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels spoiled competitive starts with home runs.

The Cardinals are making a habit of hitting home runs.  When Randall Grichuk hit his 21st of the season with a man on and two outs, it extended a franchise record for home runs in 23 straight games.  Kolten Wong added his fourth with the bases empty in the fifth.  At that point, the Cardinals have scored their last seven runs with the longball.

 "Outside of a few pitches, I did a pretty good job of minimizing damage. It was better today. I wasn't in a lot of jams today," Adleman said.  "The first one (home run) in the second inning, the pitch got too much of the plate. Maybe in another park it doesn't go out. I don't know. The second won to Wong was a curve over the plate. You have to tip you hat. He did what he was supposed to with it."

Adleman finished with five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walks.

 "If this was August instead of September, I wouldn't have taken Adleman out but I had four or five guys that needed to pitch. He'd done enough to keep us in the game," Bryan Price said.

Cardinals' starter Carlos Martinez yielded two walks and nothing else in the first three innings.

The Reds got some action in the fourth.  Joey Votto led with a single but was erased on a 6-4-3 double play grounder.  Scott Schebler walked and Jose Perazza singled.  Ramon Cabrera popped out to the thirdbaseman. 

Jumbo Diaz entered the game in the sixth frame.  The Reds morphed into the infamous Wiedemann Brewers of the St. Bernard Tuesday Co-ed Softball League or as former Reds manager used to say the Barefoot Bears.

Stephen Piscotty topped a slow grounder just inside the first base line with one out. Cabrera fielded it and made a clean throw but Votto dropped it.  Diaz ;threw to first and appeared to have Piscotty picked off but the Cardinals beat Votto's throw and the Reds' video review.  Yadier Molina singled sharply to center.  Piscotty had to stop at third.  Diaz second throw to first did more damage than his first attempt, sailing over Votto's head.  Piscotty scored.  Molina scored with two outs on a wild pitch.

The Reds threatened Martinez in the bottom of the inning.

Votto walked. Suarez singled.  After Schebler took a called third strike. Perazza grounded his second single into leftfield to load the bases but Cabrera hit into a double play.

Wandy Peralta, who was added to the Reds' roster, on Friday, pitched the seventh inning. He issued a two-out walk to Matt Carpenter but struck out Jedd Gyorko to end the inning.

Hernan Iribarren singled in his first Major League game since 2009.  Iribarren was added to the roster on Sunday.  He is leading the International League with a .327 batting average with two games to play. Ivan De Jesus Jr. pinch hit for Peralta and doubled to score Iribarren, who replaced Brandon Phillips in the lineup.  Phillips was scratched with a sore foot that took a direct hit from a foul ball on Friday.  Holt sent Martinez to the showers with a single up the middle to score De Jesus Jr.

 "The inflammation and soreness in Brandon's foot is not going to get better by running him out there. I could have used him as an emergency pinch hitter," Price said. "We could see him in the next couple days. We'll see how he feels."

Former Red Zach Duke replaced Martinez with no on out in the seventh.

Zack Cozart lined out to right but Votto reached base for the third time in a row with his second single. Suarez singled off Duke's glove to fill the bases. Schebler got ahead in the count 3-0 but hit a fly to left on a 3-2 pitch.  Brandon Moss threw Holt out at the plate to short circuit the rally.

'Offensively, we're down by three runs and you think you're going to be conservative but you still have to score runs. Moss makes a nice play," Price said. "We had to take a chance with two outs."

Keyvius Sampson pitched a scoreless eighth aided by Scheblers leaping catch against the rightfield fence to rob Molina.

Perazza opened the eighth against Kevin Siegrist with his third single of the game.  Cabrera hit a hot smash to third that Greg Garcia turned into the Cardinals' fourth double play of the game.

Ross Ohlendorf made his 200th career appearance in the ninth.  He allowed two base runners but struck out Matt Adams and Carpenter to end the inning.

Seumg Hwan Oh entered the ninth, looking for his 15th save. Two of his three losses have been to the Reds at GABP.

Pinch hitter Adam Duvall greeted Oh with a single. Holt struck out. Cozart struck out. Votto flied out to left.

Billy Hamilton left the game with a strained left oblique with a 2-1 count in his second at bat in the third inning.  Tyler Holt replaced him and drew a walk.

 "It is an oblique and that strikes fear into everybody. I don't expect to see him play for the next two or three days," Price said.