Reds vs Cardinals Recap: Cards Rally Past Reds 5-3

The Cincinnati Reds came into Busch Stadium looking to bounce back after losing 3-0 the night before. But they didn't waste any time. In the third inning, Matt McLain stepped up and absolutely crushed a ball to center field. It rocketed 411 feet into the air and cleared the wall. The crowd went silent as McLain rounded the bases. Then Tyler Stephenson stepped right up and did the exact same thing. His homer flew 373 feet to right field. Just like that, the Reds jumped ahead 2-0 and had the Cardinals on their heels. Cincinnati was hungry after dropping that previous game. McLain and Stephenson showed up ready to battle. You could feel the momentum shifting east toward the visiting dugout.

St. Louis didn't panic. In the fifth inning, Jordan Walker doubled to center field and got Alec Burleson across home plate. Then Bryan Torres stepped up and launched a rocket to right field. His homer flew 368 feet and brought Walker racing home. Suddenly it was tied 2-2. The game had completely flipped. But the Reds weren't done fighting. In the seventh inning, Matt McLain came back up. He crushed his second home run of the day, this one traveling 405 feet to center. The ball was absolutely smoked. McLain made it 3-2 Cincinnati. The teams were trading punches back and forth. Neither side wanted to give an inch. Every swing mattered in this tight contest.

The eighth inning was pure chaos. St. Louis needed to answer and fast. Victor Scott II grounded the ball to the pitcher, but things went haywire. A throwing error by Cincinnati's pitcher allowed Jose Fermín to score. The Cardinals got one run back. Then Ivan Herrera grounded into another fielding error, this time by Matt McLain at shortstop. Nelson Velázquez scored on the mistake. St. Louis went ahead 4-3 and then added another run to make it 5-3. Those errors hurt. Cincinnati fought hard all game but couldn't overcome the miscues. The Cardinals held on for the win. St. Louis improved to 35-28 with a four-game winning streak. Cincinnati fell to 31-33. Both teams battled fiercely.