Gray, Reds end Cardinals' winning streak

[August 16, 2019]    Sonny Gray allowed one hit and struck out 10 to highlight his third straight scoreless start as the host Cincinnati Reds recorded a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong (16) steals second against Cincinnati Reds shortstop Freddy Galvis (3) during the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Eugenio Suarez had an RBI single and Jose Iglesias joined him with two hits for Cincinnati, which snapped a four-game losing streak. St. Louis' five-game winning streak ended.

Gray (8-6) yielded a two-out single in the fifth to Dexter Fowler before concluding his night after completing the inning. He walked three and threw 97 pitches.

The 29-year-old extended his scoreless innings streak to a career-best 18 and became the first Reds pitcher to post three consecutive scoreless starts in the same season since Tom Browning in 1989.

Gray's scoreless streak is the longest by a Cincinnati pitcher since Jared Hughes, who went a career-high 19 2/3 innings without allowing a run from May 4-June 17, 2018.

The Reds scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, and the Cincinnati bullpen made the advantage stand up.

Robert Stephenson struck out two in the sixth inning, and Michael Lorenzen fanned a pair while tossing 1 2/3 innings.

Raisel Iglesias induced a harmless flyout from Paul Goldschmidt to end the eighth inning with a runner on first.

In the ninth, St. Louis' Kolten Wong hit a two-out RBI double down the third base line, but Iglesias retired pinch hitter Matt Wieters on a flyout to center field to secure his 24th save of the season.

Michael Wacha (6-6) took the loss after permitting two runs on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Iglesias led off the fifth inning with a single against Wacha and advanced to third base after Tucker Barnhart was hit by a pitch and Gray laid down a sacrifice bunt. Iglesias didn't stay on third for long as he opened the scoring by beating the throw home from second baseman Wong on rookie Nick Senzel's infield grounder.

Senzel advanced to second on a fielder's choice grounder from Josh VanMeter before coming around to score on Suarez's single to center field.

VanMeter, who finished 1-for-4, drew a spot start at first base after veteran Joey Votto was scratched from the lineup due to lower back tightness.

--Field Level Media

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