Davidson's pinch-hit slam lifts Reds past Cards

[August 22, 2020]    Matt Davidson launched a pinch-hit grand slam to power the visiting Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

Davidson's sixth-inning blast off reliever Tyler Webb erased the Cardinals' 2-0 lead and tagged Genesis Cabrera (1-1) with the loss.

Michael Lorenzen (1-1), the second of five Reds pitchers, earned the victory. Raisel Iglesias closed out the ninth to earn his third save and atone for his loss Thursday night.

Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings before hitting his pitch limit for the game. He allowed one hit and two walks while striking out six batters in 74 pitches (49 strikes).

Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani allowed two runs on four walks and three hits with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

His wildness helped the Cardinals score first. Harrison Bader drew a one-out walk, Kolten Wong bunted for a hit and Tommy Edman was hit by a pitch to load the bases in the third inning.

DeSclafani struck out Paul Goldschmidt, but he walked Matt Carpenter to force home a run and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Brad Miller hit an inning-ending grounder to leave the bases loaded.

Wong walked leading off the bottom of the fifth inning and Goldschmidt walked one out later. Lorenzen relieved DeSclafani and walked Carpenter to load the bases.

Miller grounded into a run-scoring fielder's choice to put the Cardinals up 2-0. He stole second base, but Lorenzen coaxed an inning-ending pop-up from Tyler O'Neill to strand two runners in scoring position.

Eugenio Suarez reached third base with two outs in the sixth after Bader misjudged his fly ball to the center field warning track. That mishap opened the door for the Reds' comeback.

Cabrera walked Mike Moustakas, then plunked pinch hitter Phillip Ervin with a pitch to load the bases. Webb replaced Cabrera and Davidson, hitting for Josh VanMeter, greeted him with his towering grand slam over the left field bleachers.

--Field Level Media

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.