Tag: Ohio Cincinnati Reds

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ryan Helsley closed for his major league-leading 29th consecutive save and Alec Burleson drove in the lone run, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Helsley pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Left fielder Brendan Donovan made a leaping catch in front of the wall in left on a ball hit by Stuart Fairchild to end the game.

“I thought it had a chance to go,” said Donovan, a former utility Gold Glove winner. “I know how fly balls play in this ballpark. I got a good bead on it.”

St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol was impressed.

“He got a good jump. It went further than I thought,” Marmol said. “A really nice play. He’s made several good catches like that over the last few weeks. He’s been really good out there.”

Cincinnati manager David Bell said he thought Anderson had tied it.

“Off the bat, yeah, I thought it had a chance. This is a big ballpark,” Bell said. “All you can do is put a good swing on it. We came up short. We weren’t able to score. Give the Cardinals pitchers credit.”

Helsley hasn’t blown a save since March 30, his first outing of the season against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Helsley did earn the victory in that game.

With one more save, Helsley will tie the 30 saves that Hall of Famer Lee Smith posted in 1993 before the MLB All-Star Game, a Cardinals record.

Andre Pallante (4-3) pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, checking the Reds on four hits. He struck out five, walked three and hit a batter. Pallante has won all five decisions against the Reds in his career over his 14 appearances.

“As long as I got the ball in decent spots, I had good results on it,” said Pallante, who developed a blister on his big toe in the third inning and worked through it. “It’s the command that’s important.”

Pallante wriggled out of a two-out bases-loaded jam in the fifth by getting Elly De La Cruz to ground out.

“I felt pretty confident there against De La Cruz,” Pallante said. “I thought my fastball was really good against him. I trusted it and got it inside.”

Frankie Montas (3-6), who signed as a free agent in the offseason, allowed one run on two hits in six innings.

“I thought it was a really good game by both sides,” Montas said. “I was throwing strikes today, attacking the hitters. I wasn’t being too predictable.”

The Cardinals scored on a sacrifice fly to short center by Burleson in the third inning. Shortstop De La Cruz caught the ball with his back to the infield. Michael Siani led off with a double and took third on a ground out.

“I’ve played with Elly,” Siani said. “I know how talented he is. I know he’s going after the ball. I know he was pretty far out there. In that spot, take a chance and go. I mean, he’s got to make a perfect throw to get me out. Play aggressive.”

Transactions

Reds: Selected C Austin Wynns from Triple A-Louisville. They also placed C Tyler Stephenson on the paternity list, and designated OF Peyton Burdick for assignment.

Cardinals: Called up RHP Gordon Graceffo, the team’s No. 8 prospect and a fifth-round pick in 2021, from Triple-A Memphis. He was 8-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 14 starts. … Optioned RHP Kyle Leahy to Memphis.

Trainer’s Room

Reds: OF Jake Fraley (right calf contusion) and 3B Jeimer Candelario (hamstring tendinitis) each missed their third straight game. Neither player is expected to require an IL stint.

Cardinals: OF Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain) began a rehab assignment at Double-A Springfield on Friday. He was hurt May 29.

Up Next

Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (9-4, 2.81) was set to start Saturday against RHP Carson Spiers (1-1, 3.45).

MILWAUKEE (AP) — TJ Friedl went 3 for 5 with a homer, and the Cincinnati Reds withstood a five-error performance and a ninth-inning comeback attempt to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Friday night.

Jeimer Candelario also went deep for the Reds, who won for the ninth time in their last 11 games. William Contreras hit a solo shot for the NL Central-leading Brewers.

“Like I always say, no matter how you get the W, you want the W,” Candelario said.

The Brewers trailed 6-3 when Christian Yelich and Willy Adames opened the ninth inning with back-to-back singles off Alexis Díaz. The Brewers loaded the bases when Rhys Hoskins hit a slow roller that shortstop Elly De La Cruz mishandled for his third error of the night.

After Sal Frelick lined to second, Joey Ortiz walked to cut the lead to 6-4 and keep the bases loaded. Jackson Chourio then singled in a run, and pinch runner Jake Bauers attempted to score the tying run from second as right fielder Will Benson threw home.

Home plate umpire Will Little initially ruled Bauers safe, but the call was overruled when replays showed Bauers’ left hand hit catcher’s Tyler Stephenson’s glove before touching the plate.

“Just a great play all around,” Reds manager David Bell said. “Will charging, very aggressive, obviously made a great play. That was the game. The tag at the plate, that’s a really tough play for a catcher, especially in that situation, being able to hold on to the ball long enough to get the out.”

With the potential tying run on third and winning run on second, Blake Perkins then popped up a bunt that Díaz caught to convert his 15th save in 17 opportunities.

Perkins said after the game that “I think I kind of let the moment get a little bit too big for me.”

“Listen, no one is more disappointed in the outcome of the events than me,” Perkins said. “I guess the best way to put it is I know the guys behind me are statistically better hitters. And I thought it would be a surprise to them and I thought it would be a higher-percentage for me, and just me in general. We’ve got someone who’s fast at third with a big lead. I just was trying not to be the hero, I guess is the best way to put it, and obviously it was a mistake.”

Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (4-4) entered Friday having thrown 17 2/3 straight scoreless innings against the Reds. Peralta extended the streak to 19 2/3 innings on Friday before Friedl’s homer broke a scoreless tie in the third.

The Reds hit Peralta hard the rest of the night. Peralta worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed a season-high six runs and a career-high 10 hits while striking out six and walking one.

Over his last three starts, Peralta has allowed 13 runs — 12 earned — over 13 2/3 innings and his ERA has climbed from 3.61 to 4.38.

“This game is about results, and that’s what I am not having right now,” Peralta said. “I just have to keep forcing, keep going, keep working. The most important thing for me is that I’m healthy. You have to move forward to the next one.”

Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene (5-2) struck out five, walked five and allowed three hits and two runs in five innings.

Milwaukee stayed in the game by scoring unearned runs in the fifth and sixth. De La Cruz committed two errors on one play in the fifth, and Candelario did the same in the sixth.

Reds’ Move

The Reds recalled OF/1B Nick Martini from Triple-A Louisville. OF Blake Dunn has been optioned to Louisville.

Trainer’s Room

Brewers RHP Jakob Junis (right shoulder) will pitch a second simulated game Monday in Arizona. Brewers OF Garrett Mitchell (left index finger) went 1 of 4 on Friday in a rehabilitation appearance with Triple-A Nashville.

Up Next

LHP Andrew Abbott (5-5, 3.28) pitches for the Reds and RHP Bryse Wilson (3-3, 4.19) starts for the Brewers when this series continues Saturday.