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 With runners on second and third and one out, Price had a choice to
pitch to center fielder Jon Jay or intentionally walk him and pitch
to catcher Yadier Molina with the bases loaded. He chose to have
starter Johnny Cueto walk Jay.
One pitch later, Price would have liked a do-over.
Molina hit Cueto's first pitch into the left-field corner, clearing
the bases and sending the Cardinals to a 6-1 victory.
"It seemed to me to make sense to walk Jay to get to Molina, who's a
guy that hits well in the clutch, but you had to set up the double
play," Price said. "He doesn't hit Johnny as well as Jay does, and
he ends up hitting the ball right down the line to clear the bases
and break it open.
"There's really no reason to get beat right there by Jay. He's
disciplined enough to not chase pitches. ... In the end, it's just
the best decision really to walk Jay."
Molina understood why Price decided to walk Jay, who even after
being retired twice Friday night, was 12-of-29 in his career against
Cueto. Molina had nine hits in 36 career at-bats against Cueto.
"That's baseball," Molina said, adding that the walk did not change
his approach to that at-bat. "Try to get a good pitch to hit and try
to make good contact. Everybody knows I've been in the league 12
years and I'm an aggressive guy. It was special, a good moment. Glad
we got the win."
Watching from the dugout, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could see
the determination in Molina to come through.
"He can't wait to step up there," Matheny said. "He's feeling much
more comfortable at the plate and we like it when he's in the spot
he's in."
Molina had begun the season 0-for-10, but has raised his average to
.281 by going 9-of-22 in his last six games.
"We knew he was going to come around," Matheny said. "He's a
perfectionist, so the outs he was making early on were frustrating
him, but you could see he was getting to a better spot. I don't
think we have any doubts that he can come through. This guy thrives
on this. He had a good game plan and he stuck with it."
Molina's hit made a winner of Michael Wacha, who was locked in a
duel with Cueto. After giving up a homer to Joey Votto in the first
inning, Wacha blanked the Reds on three hits from the second through
the seventh.
Cueto, meanwhile, was mowing down the Cardinals after they tied the
score in the bottom of the first on Matt Carpenter's leadoff double,
a groundout and a sacrifice fly by left fielder Matt Holliday.
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Cueto also allowed only two hits from the second through the sixth
innings, and had struck out the last five St. Louis batters before
Holliday led off the seventh with a single
After first baseman Matt Adams struck out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta
doubled to left, sending Holliday to third, and bringing Jay to the
plate.
Cueto, through a translator, agreed with his manager's decision.
"I was looking for a double play," he said.
The loss dropped Cueto to 0-2 this season. Before Molina's hit, he
had allowed only two earned runs in his first 20 innings covering
three starts.
The Cardinals increased the lead to 6-1 with two runs in the eighth.
Carpenter led off with his second double of the night and later
scored on a fielding error by second baseman Brandon Phillips.
Peralta added the final RBI with a sacrifice fly.
NOTES: C Devin Mesoarco rejoined the Reds after missing a series in
Chicago while getting treatment for a sore left hip. He was
available to pinch-hit but has not been cleared to catch. ... The
Reds recalled C Tucker Barnhart from Louisville and optioned C Kyle
Skipworth to the Triple A club. ... The Reds also announced that RHP
Daniel Corcino, who was designated for assignment on Monday, was
claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... Cardinals LHP
Jaime Garcia threw live batting practice at the team's facility in
Jupiter, Fla., but is still likely at least six weeks from possibly
rejoining the team as he recovers from thoracic outlet syndrome
surgery in June. ... In a pregame ceremony, the Cardinals honored
the 70th anniversary of Red Schoendienst's major league debut on
April 17, 1945. ... Reds RHP Homer Bailey will make his 2015 debut
on Saturday against Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez.
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