The Cincinnati Reds scored three runs in the 7th inning and another in the 8th as they took the lead and then added to it, but the bullpen couldn’t get the final six outs without coughing it back up. St. Louis could tie the game up in the 9th and then the Cardinals would walk things off in the 11th to earn a 6-5 win and guarantee themselves a series win.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (39-38) | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals (42-35) | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| W: Maton (1-2) L: Petty (0-3) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Walks will haunt, as the old saying goes. And on Saturday afternoon Brent Suter found out that it was true. He issues a 1-out walk to Masyn Winn in the bottom of the 1st inning and then gave up a 2-run home run to Alec Burleson.
Cincinnati would get a leadoff single from Spencer Steer to lead off the 2nd inning and he’d get second base on a throwing error on the play. A ground out moved him to third base, but a grounder to third and then a strikeout would strand him there as the Reds couldn’t capitalize.
The Reds gave it another attempt in the 3rd inning. Matt McLain singled on a broken bat looper into center to lead off the inning. TJ Friedl then singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Gavin Lux grounded into a double play, but McLain did score on the play to cut the lead to 2-1. Elly De La Cruz then lined a triple to center, but the throw got by the bag at third and he took off for the plate, but St. Louis backed up the play well and he was thrown out at the plate by 20 feet.
When the bottom of the 3rd rolled around the Reds went to the bullpen and brought in Nick Martinez. He threw 52 pitches on Thursday when he got shelled by Minnesota. He got through the inning with a quickness, though, needing just seven pitches to record three outs. Martinez returned for the 4th inning and needed 11 pitches this time around for another perfect inning.
Cincinnati was threatening once again in the 5th when Matt McLain doubled and TJ Friedl was hit by a pitch, leaving the Reds with two men on and just one out. But they once again couldn’t capitalize on the chance presented to them and left both runners stranded.
Ian Gibaut took over for Cincinnati to start the 5th inning. He walked three batters in the inning but got defensive help in the form of Tyler Stephenson picking off a runner at second base and then a line out to Elly De La Cruz who was then able to beat the runner back to second base for an inning ending double play.
After Lyon Richardson tossed a perfect 6th inning, the Reds offense was ready to get going again. Connor Joe came off of the bench as a pinch hitter and drew an 8-pitch walk to leadoff the inning. Cincinnati caught a bad break on the next play when Matt McLain doubled down the left field line but the ball bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double that likely kept Joe from scoring on the play. Gavin Lux was able to tie the game up with a ground out. Then Elly De La Cruz took the first pitch he saw and hit a 435-foot 2-run home run to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Richardson, now pitching with a lead, took care of the Cardinals in the bottom of the 7th as he sandwiched two strikeouts around a soft line out to left field. Spencer Steer then started out the 8th inning with a triple and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Will Benson to extend the lead to 5-2.
Tony Santillan took the mound for the bottom of the 8th. After getting the first two hitters out, the next two batters singled to put runners on the corners. Another single followed to bring in a run and make it 5-3. Then Alec Burleson singled to bring in another run. That was the end of the day for Santillan as Emilio Pagan entered the game to try and hold the lead with two men on and two outs. He did just that, striking out Willson Contreras to end the game.
Pagan returned for the bottom of the 9th and the second pitch he threw landed in the seats as Nolan Arenado hit a game-tying home run. He rebounded by striking out the next three batters to send the game to extra innings. Cincinnati couldn’t bring in their free runner.
St. Louis sent former Red Jose Barrero out to second base to pinch run to start their half of the inning against Scott Barlow. A bunt single began the inning and had runners on the corners for the Cardinals. The Reds then opted to intentionally walk the next batter to load the bases, and they played the infield in. A grounder to Santiago Espinal clanked off of his glove and bounced in front of him, but he recovered and fired to the plate to record a force out. Alec Burleson then grounded the ball to Spencer Steer at first and he fired home to get another force out and keep the game alive. Barlow then struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Spencer Steer began the 11th inning as the free runner and he took third on a wild pitch during Will Benson’s at-bat that eventually ended in a strikeout. Santiago Espinal then followed up by striking out as well. Connor Joe drew a walk to put runners on the corners for Matt McLain, but he would also strike out as Cincinnati came up short again.
Chase Petty, who was just called up earlier in the day, took the mound for the bottom of the 11th and he got to face Nolan Arenado to begin his outing. Petty would hit him on the third pitch. He would rebound by getting two straight pop ups, but Yohel Pozo hit a soft liner into right field and Jordan Walker raced around the bases to score the winning run from second base.
Key Moment of the Game
Yohel Pozo’s walk off single.
Notes Worth Noting
Matt McLain extended his hitting streak to nine games. He finished the day 3-5 with two doubles.
Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz also had 2-hit days for the Reds.
Lyon Richardson’s two perfect innings dropped his ERA to 1.99 on the season.
Here’s a fun Elly De La Cruz stat:
Most games with a triple and a home run through age 23:
Ted Williams, 9
Joe DiMaggio, 8
Andruw Jones, 7
Lou Gehrig, 6
Jimmie Foxx, 6
Ken Keltner, 6
Cesar Cedeño, 6
Barry Bonds, 6
Bobby Witt Jr., 6
Elly De La Cruz, 6— Matt Wilkes (@mattwilkes.bsky.social) June 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals
Sunday June 22nd, 2:15pm ET
Andrew Abbott (6-1, 1.84 ERA) vs Miles Mikolas (4-4, 4.35 ERA)
Watching this in the 8th inning just made my stomach turn over. Turned it off and told the wife the final would be 6-5 St. Louis. Look at me, the new Kreskin. Geez. This really stinks.
I am SO ready to DFA Benson and bring up Hinds to play RF, all day every day.
Me too
I took would love to see what he could do every day for the rest of this year but its not going to happen until all the other roster issues are dealt with.Is it Fraley or Benson in right or is it neither.What to do with Candy and where to play him with Steer only able to play first.How about CES and it seems unless he is dinged up he is headed back down or not.How much longer do we wait on Hayes and Marte?Could be trades involving some of these players?Maybe after all is settled then you see Hinds but for me if he is coming up to be part of this platoon mess then leave him at Louisville.MM is looking great and I am less worried now then at any time.Friedl and Elly are the Reds two best players and with Hayes that make 3 good players.MM must continue on and I really like what Marte did before he went down.Ty Steve and Steer need to just play better and be more consistent but they are capable.Lets see what happens but we don’t need any more games like today please.
How quickly they forget and turn on players.
You’d think that performance would have something to do with it….
Another poor throw from the OF from him, and this one from shallow right to lose the game. The White Sox say they’re willing to pay some of LouBob’s and Benintendi’s contracts. The Reds need 2 OFers. I’m not a fan of LouBob, but he’s solid defensively and steals bases.
Steady on. Benson got on base twice and sacrificed in a run.
Doug,
Any thoughts as to why Hinds isn’t up with the big league club?
Good question. He’s hitting. 298, 10HR, over 40 RBI, and K’s are down. Bring him up and let him play.
The only sort of rational thing I can come up with is that they want him to play every day and continue to develop and they don’t think he’s a starter on the Reds right now, so he stays in the minors instead of riding the Reds bench for 2 starts a week and some pinch hitting chances.
Just unreal…
I would love a sports psychologist to do a deep dive into why the reds, seemingly, fold anytime they step into a big series – particularly against the Cardinals
Reds had won 7 of 10 and were 0.5 game back from both the Brewers and Cardinals coming into this series. And then lay a complete egg start to finish yesterday and then go down harder than the Hindenburg today
Spent all week hearing about “don’t look now but the reds are hot! They’re climbing back into it! They could make a run!”
Same stuff every year. We just saw the “flirty with above .500 win streak,” we’re now entering the “mid summer collapse,” and might as well buckle in for the “complete September apathy”
Their recent series wins have been against good teams, and those were certainly important. It does seem, though, that the Cards and Brewers often have our number.
Really tough loss. Hope it doesn’t demoralize the team going forward.
They should be used to it by now 🙂
Days like today are a big reason why they brought in Francona.
Krall is responsible for the pen, but situational hitting has killed for a decade. Man on 3rd nobody out and there he stays. Meanwhile they get a 2 out walk off
All the negativity? They’ve won 9 of 13, 9 of 14, 11 out of 27
Did you just say 11 out of 27…?
Team RISP 1-for-15
Sigh…
I hate the loss, but hard to root against Yohel Pozo.
Reds just not good enough to beat Cardinals, Brewers. or Cubs. They strike out wayyyyy too much. S Espinal going downhill. T Steph not hitting well overall.
I think we’re kind of witnessing what a mostly .500 team looks like overall. Win 5 in a row, lose 4 in a row, win 7 out of 10, lose 7 out of 10, etc. That’s kind of where the talent of the team is I think.
If Greene and Hays come back healthy, and add a player or two at the deadline, the team stays healthy, they could potentially make a run. As a fan, I hope they stay at least around .500 maybe a few games above going into mid to late July and it will be at least interesting.
I can’t add much to this except for “yep”.
Watched a full screen replay of Benson’s throw home for the final out attempt in the bottom of the 11th! That may have been the worst throw on a one-hopper right to an outfielder I have ever seen!
Why not activate Hays, Candy, and Marte? They can’t possibly be any worse than Joe, Espinal, and Hampson. While they’re at it, announce that Burns will make his MLB debut on Tuesday. Might as well pull all the strings you’ve got to try to stay alive…what do they have to lose?
Today is the last day Candelario can be on rehab before the Reds have to activate him, recall him and put him back on the IL, or DFA him.
Well, that certainly sounds hopeful….or maybe not.
I estimate that Nick Krall decides to activate him tomorrow, and gets rid of Hampson. He is the most likely to get cut loose, or Designated for Assignment.
Just too many holes. Not enough Starting pitchers or enough healthy pitchers that can make 25 to 30 starts per year. Bullpen not great but solid, but getting worn out. Not enough offense from the outfield, 3rd base or 1st base. Not sure there is anyone available at the trade deadline to solve our problems. Need to start both Chases and see what they do the rest of the year.
Yeah, while the starting pitching has been great overall, I’m skeptical they’ll all be healthy come mid-August early September. I think Singer is the only one who has pitched a whole season in the Majors. It could all really fall apart if say Abbott or Martinez slows down, Lodolo gets injured, etc. We’ll see though. Hopefully at least 4 of the starters are healthy going into September this season.
Brings to mind all of the proposals here to trade from our “surplus” of starting pitchers.
Hays instead of Espy and we win. It’s that simple. Dude was running around 3 weeks at full speed but can’t DH. What’s opposite of gamer? Check collector?
100%
Rece Hinds isn’t in the Bat’s line up tonight. I wonder if he is being called up or just getting a night off?
There is a reason why Hayes signed with the Reds and for 5 mil.Now if the guy is hurt he is hurt and he may had some bad experiences trying to play hurt or coming back too soon but its just speculation on my part.He is playing for his next contract and the clock is ticking for him and the Reds.Good player good pro but it is what it is and I would imagine the Reds move on from him anyway.Somebody said recently if he got 500 at bats he wouldn’t be here next year anyway so we take what we can get.Reds need him but I see no reason to believe when he comes back that this won’t be his last trip to the IL this year.Reds took a chance and well.
This is not Star Trek where doc waves a fancy devices over an injury and it is suddenly well. This is the real world where injuries take time to heal and a deep bone bruise in the foot that shoots pain when you try to cut isn’t going to magically be better just because somebody writes a post that it should be.
Probably doesn’t mean anything but Hinds is not in the lineup tonight for the Bats. Candelario is at 3B. Now that’s scary.
I already checked Google maps ;-).
They say it is just under a 4 hour drive from the Bats Stadium to Busch Stadium via I-64
Haha I checked the box score. He didn’t play at all. If he comes I HOPE he plays like he should.
Per Doug (above), today is Cindy’s rehab swan song. The choices are to activate him, continue him on the IL, or DFA him.
Candy’s rehab above. Score one for auto check
He was 0-5 tonight with three Ks. I suspect they will leave Candy on the injured list if at all possible. If Krall brings him up right now then that will not be good for the Reds or for Mr. Krall.
A positive is McLain who after 2 games in St. Louis has raised his away batting average from .132 to .164. Steer with some nice at bats too.
Not sure what’s up with CES but he needs to be playing everyday. And I’m all for Hinds if he were to get consistent at bats.
Bullpen on the whole is gassed. Too many walks.
Can’t lose games like this today when you have a lead. Especially divisional games.
Still paying for that Whiny Little %&@’s comment. How to lift the curse, BP dons a Molina jersey?
Aside from the return of Hays and Marte, Reds need also more arms, rotation is down to four starters and the bullpen is running out of gas.
Yes, Gibaut, Pagan, and Santillan look like they need some rest. Martinez is back in the pen, so that should help some.
Dont let go of the rope Reds. Tough loss but played ok today. Reds stars EDLC and MM hit well, so that’s good to see
There are just too many Reds guys seeing too much action who are not capable of consistently performing at the level required for a team to be a postseason qualifier and win a series or two once they get there. This goes for both position players and pitchers.
I’m not going to attempt to name names here because if two or three more capable guys were brought in, the remaining 4A/4A+ guys, whoever they were, would be fine in the changed situations they then found themselves in. Who went and who stayed would be decided by the positions the more capable newcomers played.
Just too many career 230-240 hitters that are not game changers. Talking today on the radio that Steer should be in consideration for a Gold Glove at first base, but his hitting leaves some to be desired. Realize injury was/is still affecting him, but the Reds have too many players just like him. Being pros they will make a standout defensive play or go through a good offensive stretch, but not enough to help lift a team above 500
Hector Rodriguez at Chattanooga is on a real heater the last 4 games. 13 for 17 .765 BA. The Reds need to start promoting people.
I wonder if the Reds will start to promote after the first half of the season is over – which may be tomorrow. Lookouts are percentage points ahead of the 2nd place team. Supposed to play a doubleheader today but currently in rain delay. I don’t think they make up any games. Sal Stewart after a bit of a three or four game slump is heating up also,
Yes, but most of his hits are singles. But I do think he should be promoted.
2 doubles a triple and 3 HRS in last 5 games.
And consider what a timely single would have meant in this game.
I too am becoming to the realization that Benson will be one of those “what he could have been but never was” Today, he has a nice AB to get a SAC fly to plate a big run…then, next AB, goes up 3-0 with a go ahead run standing on 3rd & still finds a way to make no contact and thus SO….then, when you can help the team in another way by throwing out the winning run at the plate….you fire a throw that was not unlike something my grandma would uncork
I think your grandma would have nailed the runner by 10 feet!
She had a cannon for an arm.
Benson looks lost on the OF every game. He’s a liability on defense.
It’s a question of how long do you hang on to players who are not what you really need? Every organization must answer that question.
Do we have a good left-handed reliever? When does Richardson leapfrog Santillan as a reliever?
I know I’ve been a negative Nelly with these guys, but I expected more out of Francona. Unfortunately Krall’s retread relieving corp can’t hack it. Pagan is the one guy I’d like to have back next year.
Its not happening this year, but a rotation built around HG, Burns, and Abbott could be pretty darn dominant. Friedl/MM/Elly 1-2-3 ain’t bad either. Play Hinds, CES, Marte, and Steer every day to see who we can pencil in next year. Benson/Fraley are what they are. Connor Joe drew 2 walks in 3 at-bats today. I kind of like him as a utility guy. Trade Martinez & Hays, maybe convert Lodolo into a Andrew Miller type reliever. That way a 20-25 pitch inning isn’t so big of a deal. Tito will probably still play it like we’re in the race when they’re 5.5 out of the last spot with 3 teams in between. You get dominated by your division then you’re not making the playoffs. End of story. So pitch Petty over Suter and if you lose then who cares. They could get 4 outs and can’t drive a man in unless they’re already up 8-1
Indy Man for GM! Seriously.
Joe also made a brilliant defensive play in the 8th to hold a sure looking “double” to a single, for all the good it didn’t do the Reds 2 batters later.
And hopefully, Lowder will be in the rotation mix in the future too.
Me too on the negative Nelly so I am shutting it down.Never understood the 3rd catcher and don’t understand the current roster but my biggest issue is not playing guys like CES and HInds and Marte when he makes it back.For a team that has one player with 10 or more homers in Elly why would you not play CES and HInds a month or two every day just to get some power and its awesome power in your lineup.Just can’t deal with it any longer.After all its just a game.
CES and Hinds are AAAA players.
Reds 1-15 w/RISP…
Another heart breaking loss. Every team has them but playoff contending teams have fewer of them. How many games have the Reds lost so far this season that were winnable games that they let slip away. Those losses are the ones that prevent you from getting a wild card spot. I’m not abandoning them. Going to watch or listen to every game like I have for 57 years. Looking forward to seeing how the Reds do in the next 5 weeks. By then we’ll know if Greene, Ashcraft, Hays, Marte, and Candy are healthy and producing as we hope they can. If Matt McLain is back in 2023 mode. Spencer Steer’s shoulder continues to improve and is a consistent RBI producer. Will CES and Rece Hinds be given the extended opportunity to show enough plate discipline to warrant playing full time. Of course keeping our healthy guys healthy. Lots of ifs I know but by August 1, we’ll know if we’re adding pieces for a wild card spot or trading away players for prospects to improve our organizational success for 2026 and beyond. I’m hoping tomorrow the Reds come out fired up, punch the Cardinals in their beaks, and start a new winning streak. I’m an Obsessive Compulsive Reds Fan. Where else am I going to go?!!
+500
Just another throw away game for Dusty Jr., what does he care? Time to make changes, promotions, demotions and firing Tito and Krall. Sounds like a good start. What a disgraceful, disheartening disappointment this entire organization continues to be.
From the curious numbers department>>
For June, Tyler Stephenson’s triple slash is .246/.299/.393, with a 31.3% K rate,
In June, CES’s triple slash is .262/.289/.500, with a 24.4% K rate.
Why is one guy used as DH in the cleanup spot when he isn’t catching while the other languishes on the bench, apparently as the 26th man on the roster?
Possibly because Stephenson has a larger body of work and it’s reasonable to expect that he’ll start hitting again?
The returns from Louisville show Jeimer Candelario finished his rehab stint with an 0-5 night and 3 Ks. For the AAA portion of his rehab, he finishes with a .211 batting average and .691 OPS.
So, now the Reds have a decision to make on Candy. Activate him, continue him on the IL, or DFA him.
*****
For the Bats team, it was more of the same issue as the Reds had on Saturday. They took a 3-1 lead into the 7th but allowed a run in that inning, followed by the tying run in the 9th, and came up a 4-3 loser in the 10th.
For those who haven’t seen elsewhere, Rece Hinds did not make an appearance in the game.
Cincinnati(.)com beat writer Gordon Wittenmyer is reporting as of 12:30 AM (Sunday) that the Reds will pull the trigger and bring up Chase Burns to start versus the Yankees on Tuesday at GABP.
https://x.com/GDubMLB/status/1936626882637623377
Here is Doug’s full story on the Burns call up
https://www.redlegnation.com/2025/06/21/cincinnati-reds-to-call-up-top-prospect-chase-burns-against-the-yankees/
It looked like another one run loss was on the way, and then Gameday showed the Reds up 5-2. Soon after the score is 5-4 & the Cards have two runners on. Another one run loss looked likely and the Cardinals, the Red’s old nemesis, tallied their 19th. comeback win of the year.
How’s that Sonny Gray for Chase Petty trade working out? At least, Petty is younger and cheaper. Santillian coughed up another loss. He and Ashcraft have done that a couple of times over the last few weeks. Pagan is hanging by a thread. While he’s done pretty well, he’s too prone to HRs to be the closer solution. Greene and Lowder need to recover soon. And Miley? Should never have signed him and hopefully coming out of this injury stint, he chooses to retire. Otherwise, just DFA him and move on.
Pagan has saved 17 of 20.
It’s pretty much status quo amongst all decent closers.
Hader is perfect.
Bautista has only blown 1. (a worthy candidate to trade for)
Finnegan has blown 5. (Several people here wanted to get him).
Most of the rest have blow anywhere from 2 to 5.
It’s not his save pct that I’m concerned with. It’s his propensity to surrender HRs. That’s been his history, at one point ranking at the bottom of the list. I’m not sure where he stands now. This year his HR9 and BB9 are both above his career average while fortunately his H9 is far lower giving him his lowest WHIP since 2019. Any regression toward his career averages will wipe out his effectiveness as a reliever, especially since his FB% is about 10 pts about his career average and a full 20 pts above the league average. Playing in GABP with those metrics seems like playing a ticking time bomb.
For those of us who did not already know or have forgotten allow me to educate or refresh.
Since 1991 Reds have had aprox 11 seasons over .500. and three or four of those just barely.
The Reds have won one single postseason series since their 1990 championship and lost in the second round of that year.
They have been eliminated in the first round in the rest.
This is why I can no longer get upset over this franchises continued losing when their long lived motto is “we’ll get em next year”. There is probably a plaque above the exit to the dugout with this printed above.
It’s my own fault I continue to be a fan year after year. My continued Reds fan-ship may well rest on the results of the new CBA for some help because this franchise clearly does not have it in them.
I don’t have enough time left on this spinning rock to wait another 34 years piling hope upon hope to hope to see a championship. Go Reds.