In a game where offense often ruled the night, the Cardinals pounded out a 12-7 victory over the Reds on Wednesday using four home runs — including two by Brandon Moss — and evened the three-game series at one game each.
The starting pitchers from both clubs were beat up in this one. Jaime Garcia lasted 4 2/3 innings for St. Louis while allowing five earned runs and 13 hits — including two homers. Reds starter Alfredo Simon pitched five innings with six earned runs, seven hits, five walks and two homers.
“It was rough, that’s all there is to it,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “You look how that second inning went, there was hard-hit balls and walks and walking the pitcher. He just created a lot of stress, a lot of traffic and fortunately the offense was relentless in how they kept coming back. That was a tough one for him.”
Cincinnati played catch-up all night. Three batters into the game, St. Louis’ Matt Adams socked a three-run homer to right field. It was 4-1 in the second inning as the Reds pecked away against Garcia before Zack Cozart hit a bases-loaded RBI single through the middle and Joey Votto lofted a soft RBI single to center field. Cozart led off the fourth with a homer to left-center field against Garcia to make it a 4-4 game.
Moss’ first homer was a no-doubt two-run drive into the upper reaches of the right-field moon deck that put the Cardinals back ahead.
“Three hitters into it, and we’re down, 3-0. He didn’t seem like he really ever settled in,” Reds manager Bryan Price said of Simon. “Even some of the innings where he was able to be a bit more competitive, from a command standpoint, he was extremely erratic.”
Tucker Barnhart got a run back for the Reds with his solo homer to left field, but Moss made it a two-run game again in the seventh by hitting a two-out solo homer to right field against reliever Josh Smith. A four-run top of the eighth against JC Ramirez, including Jhonny Peralta’s three-run homer, put the game away.
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