Flaherty, Molina help Cardinals defeat Reds

[April 29, 2019]  Jack Flaherty allowed four hits over seven shutout innings as the host St. Louis Cardinals secured a series victory with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon.

St. Louis' Yadier Molina had a two-run single in the eighth inning to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Molina also collected the 67th sacrifice fly of his career in the fourth to tie Ted Simmons for the second-most in franchise history.

Dexter Fowler ripped an RBI double and Jose Martinez had a run-scoring single for the Cardinals, who benefited from a season high-tying three double plays to record their seventh victory in eight outings.

While Paul Goldschmidt went 0-for-4 to see his 13-game hitting streak come to an end, Kolten Wong's double in the eighth inning extended his stretch of reaching base to a career high-tying 15 consecutive contests.

Scott Schebler ripped a two-run double with two outs in the ninth inning for the Reds, who have dropped back-to-back contests to fall to 4-10 on the road. Derek Dietrich was unable to continue the rally, as he lined out to first base to end the game and hand John Gant his second save of the season.

Flaherty (3-1) struck out four and overcame a 24-pitch first inning before exiting after tossing 60 of his 89 pitches for strikes.

Molina broke open a tight game with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning by slapping a first-pitch slider from David Hernandez up the middle to plate Marcell Ozuna and Wong and give St. Louis a 4-0 lead. Fowler followed with an RBI double to right field, although he was called out to end the inning after his foot came off second base.

Cardinals left fielder Marcell Ozuna (23) celebrates with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) after scoring a run on his sacrifice RBI against the Cincinnati Reds during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

Paul DeJong ripped a one-out double to left field off Sonny Gray (0-4) for the Cardinals' first hit of the contest in the fourth inning. Ozuna drew a walk before Martinez's single to right field drove in DeJong for the first run of the game.

Molina doubled the advantage with a sacrifice fly to right, deep enough to allow Ozuna to beat the strong throw to the plate by Cincinnati's Yasiel Puig.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.