There was nothing the Cincinnati Reds needed more than a win to start the most important homestand of 2025. They didn’t get it.
Coming off a 3-6 west coast road trip, the Reds on Aug. 29 opened a vital nine-game homestand with a 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in 10 innings at Great American Ball Park.
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A back-and-forth game saw the Reds battle back to tie the game or take a lead four times went awry in the 10th. Elly De La Cruz’s two-out error, his second of the game, allowed the Cardinals to take a 6-5 lead. Nathan Church scored from third base for St. Louis when a Wilson Contreras dribbler forced a rushed throw from De La Cruz that first baseman Spencer Steer couldn’t scoop.
Zack Littel gave up runs in each of the first three innings but settled down to pitch seven innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits with no walks.
Two batters later, a Masyn Winn single gave the Cardinals a much-needed insurance run. In the bottom of the 10th, the Reds failed to respond.
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De La Cruz then came to bat representing the winning run in the bottom of the 10th and struck out to end the contest.
The defeat was Cincinnati’s seventh in eight games. They dropped to one game over the .500 mark at 68-67, and lost ground in the National League wild card race. The Reds fell 4 1/2 games behind the New York Mets, who were winning big but still playing, with 27 games to play.
Reds starter Zack Littell set the tone for a punchy effort from Cincinnati as he went seven innings with four runs allowed (three earned). The Reds had reliever Sam Moll warming to possibly replace Littell in the third inning with one out and the bases loaded, but Littell controlled the damage, held St. Louis to a 4-2 lead, and went on to retire 14 consecutive batters to end his night.
The Enquirer will update this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds lose again, this time in 10 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals