Final
Cardinals turn to Garcia against Reds
Aug 25, 2012 - 1:32 PMVideo
They now turn to Jaime Garcia, who looks to further cut into the Reds' advantage in his second start since coming off the disabled list.
The left-handed Garcia made his first start since June 5 on Sunday versus the Pirates and did not factor into what was eventually a 19-inning loss for St. Louis. Garcia pitched very well, allowing just two unearned runs over eight innings while striking out a career-high 10.
Though he showed no lingering effects from a left shoulder impingement, Garcia remained winless since May 16.
The 26-year-old is 3-4 with a 4.00 earned run average in 12 starts this season and has excellent career numbers against the Reds, going 7-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 11 meetings (9 starts). That includes a victory on April 18 in which Garcia spun seven innings of one-run ball.
Garcia gets the call for the second contest of the Cardinals' 10-game road trip that also goes through Pittsburgh and Washington. The Pirates are one team battling the Cards for a wild card spot, while the Nationals lead the NL East.
St. Louis, though, pulled to within six games of first-place Cincinnati with Friday's 8-5 win, also moving 1 1/2 games up for the league's second wild card.
Allen Craig and Yaider Molina hit back-to-back homers during a six-run sixth inning, with the latter following Craig's three-run blast.
"I was trying to get a sac fly in that situation," said Craig. "I was glad I got enough of it."
Craig and Molina both finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Cardinals, who were coming off a sweep of the Astros. They will now try to win five in a row for the first time since June 22-26.
Todd Frazier had three hits, a walk, an RBI and a run scored for the Reds, who went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
They'll try to avoid a third straight loss today behind right-hander Mike Leake, who seeks a bounce-back effort after getting drilled in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Leake, coming off a complete-game win over the New York Mets, yielded a season high seven runs on 10 hits and a walk over 4 1/3 frames of a 12-5 loss.
"Leake couldn't get the ball down," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "There were too many pitches up in the zone."
Leake, 24, fell to 5-8 with a 4.59 ERA in 24 starts this season and makes his third appearance of 2012 against the Cardinals. He has allowed five runs over 12 innings while going 0-1 in the previous two encounters and is 1-2 lifetime in this matchup with a 5.24 ERA.
The Reds had won their last four meetings with the Cardinals and the clubs have now split 10 encounters this season.
Cincinnati will look to draw a spark from the retirement of Barry Larkin's No. 11 jersey prior to the game, the highlight of a weekend honoring the former 12-time All-Star and recent Hall of Fame inductee who spent his entire 19-year career with the Reds.
- ST. LOUIS: 2
CINCINNATI: 8
Final
Aug 25 7:04 PM - Dioner Navarro single to left scored Jay Bruce with two out. On the play, Scott Rolen advances to third. Runners on first and third and Sean Marshall due up.
Cardinals 2, Reds 8 Bot 7, 2 OutsAug 25 6:35 PM - Scott Rolen single to center scored Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier with two out. On the play, Jay Bruce advances to third. Runners on first and third and Dioner Navarro due up.
Cardinals 2, Reds 7 Bot 7, 2 OutsAug 25 6:30 PM - Brandon Phillips two-out, solo Home Run (14) to right. Ryan Ludwick due up.
Cardinals 2, Reds 5 Bot 7, 2 OutsAug 25 6:22 PM - Pinch-Hitter Shane Robinson grounded into a double play, short to second to first scored Tony Cruz with two out. On the play, Rafael Furcal out at second. None on and Jon Jay due up.
Cardinals 2, Reds 4 Top 7, 2 OutsAug 25 6:09 PM - Jay Bruce one-out, two-run Home Run (27) to right scored Todd Frazier. Scott Rolen due up.
Cardinals 1, Reds 4 Bot 6, 1 OutAug 25 5:54 PM - Todd Frazier grounded into a fielder's choice, short to second scored Brandon Phillips with one out. On the play, Ryan Ludwick out at second. Runner on first and Jay Bruce due up.
Cardinals 1, Reds 2 Bot 6, 1 OutAug 25 5:53 PM - Matt Carpenter sacrifice fly to right scored Tony Cruz with two out. On the play, Jon Jay advances to second and Rafael Furcal advances to third. Runners on second and third and Matt Holliday due up.
Cardinals 1, Reds 1 Top 5, 2 OutsAug 25 5:23 PM - Brandon Phillips single to center scored Mike Leake with two out. Runner on first and Ryan Ludwick due up.
Cardinals 0, Reds 1 Bot 3, 2 OutsAug 25 4:56 PM - ST. LOUIS: 0
CINCINNATI: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Aug 25 4:06 PM
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