Cardinals 7 - 6 Reds
Final
  for this game

Cardinals drop Reds after lengthy delay

Apr 4, 2014 - 2:18 AM Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Jhonny Peralta smacked a two-run homer and Matt Adams went 3-for-5 with two runs scored as the St. Louis Cardinals waited out another long rain delay before posting a 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Matt Holliday added two hits, including an RBI double, and Trevor Rosenthal shut the Reds down over the final 1 1/3 innings to enable the defending National League champions to take the season-opening three-game series between the division rivals.

Rosenthal's efforts preserved a victory for Lance Lynn (1-0) after the St. Louis starter allowed three runs while striking out seven over five innings.

Cincinnati's Homer Bailey (0-1) wasn't as effective in his season debut, permitting four runs on seven hits and walking three before exiting after 4 1/3 innings.

All of the Reds' scoring came via the home run, with Jeff Frazier belting a three-run shot as well as a solo blast and Jay Bruce cracking a two-run homer as part of a 2-for-4 day. Joey Votto finished with three hits and two runs scored in the loss.

"I'll [rather] take 0-for-4 and get a 'W' any day of the week," said Frazier afterward.

The start of the game was pushed back three hours and 42 minutes by the weather. Wednesday's matchup, a 1-0 Reds' walk-off win, was delayed two hours and 40 minutes by rain.

"It's tough to stay mentally into it, but that's what we had to do to make sure we go out there and perform," Adams said.

Bailey was able to escape out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third inning to keep an early 3-2 lead intact, but St. Louis reached the right- hander for single runs in each of the next two frames to move in front.

Adams led off the fourth with a double and Jon Jay singled him home two batters later to tie the score, and Bailey issued a costly walk to Kolten Wong in the fifth that turned into the go-ahead run after Holliday followed with a double down the left-field line.

Back-to-back bases-loaded singles by Allen Craig and Yadier Molina in the top of the seventh extended the Cardinals' lead to 6-3, with Holliday tacking on an important insurance run later in the inning by crossing the plate on Logan Ondrusek's wild pitch.

The final run proved to be pivotal, as Frazier greeted reliever Pat Neshek in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run homer that brought the Reds back within one. Votto and Bruce reached on a walk and single, respectively, off Kevin Siegrist in front of the blast.

Rosenthal shut the door, however, upon entering with a man on and two out in the eighth. He fanned Brandon Phillips to close out the inning, then set the Reds down in order in the ninth.

A series that had the first two games each decided by 1-0 scores saw plenty of early offense in the rubber match. Votto doubled before Bruce's towering homer well into the right-field seats, with Frazier following with a no- doubter into the upper deck in left that quickly staked the Reds to a 3-0 lead.

"After the first inning, I was able to make some pitches when I needed to," Lynn said.

The Cardinals closed the gap in the second courtesy of the long ball, with Peralta's screaming liner wrapping around the left-field foul pole with Adams on base.

Game Notes

Siegrist had a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings, the longest active stretch in the majors, halted after being charged with a pair of runs ... Frazier's first homer was estimated to have traveled 474 feet ... Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart, who hails from the same hometown as Lynn (Brownsburg, IN), went 0-for-4 in his major league debut ... Bruce, who turned 27 on Thursday, is 7-for-16 with two homers lifetime against Lynn ... Reds leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton went 0-for-4 and is now hitless in 12 at-bats to begin the season.






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