The Cincinnati Reds came through on Sunday despite some questionable defense early on in the game. The home team avoided being swept. They avoided falling under the .500 mark. And they remained in 3rd place as they picked up a win over St. Louis on the afternoon.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals (68-70) | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (69-68) | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Singer (12-9) L: Pallante (6-13) SV: Pagan (26) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The game began with a defensive blunder by the Reds as a pop up landed in shallow left field that Matt McLain, who was starting at shortstop while Elly De La Cruz spent the day as the designated hitter, overran and had it fall for a single behind him. Another single would follow to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly would put St. Louis up 1-0, and then Thomas Saggese singled in another run to make it 2-0 in an inning that should have resulted in zero runs.
In the bottom of the 1st the Reds caught a tough break. TJ Friedl singled to start the inning. With De La Cruz at the plate, Cincinnati sent Friedl on the 2nd pitch of the at-bat and De La Cruz hit the ball 106 MPH back up the middle, but the Cardinals shortstop was covering the bag on the steal attempt and he fielded the ball while standing on the bag and easily turned an inning-ending double play.
The next inning the Reds got some good luck when Gavi Lux reached on an error. Spencer Steer followed with a walk to move Lux up a bag and then Ke’Bryan Hayes singled in a run. Matt McLain would pick up a 2-out walk to load the bases and then TJ Friedl came through with a 2-run single into left to put the Reds up 3-2.
Cincinnati’s lead didn’t last long. Lars Nootbaar hit a ball to the wall in right field, but Noelvi Marte showed his inexperience out there again as he hesitated as he got to the warning track, failed to find the wall, then made a leaping attempt at the ball and dropped it when he hit the wall and Noorbaar turned it into a triple. Marte almost made up for it on the next play as another fly ball his way resulted in what was initially called a double play after he uncorked a throw to the plate to get Nootbaar, but St. Louis challenged the call and it was overturned as his foot got to the plate before the tag and the Cardinals were able to tie the game up on the sacrifice fly.
Brady Singer got himself into some trouble in the top of the 5th inning. He hit the first and third batters of the inning to put two men on. But he was also able to get himself out of trouble with back-to-back groundouts to end the threat. In the bottom of the inning the Reds would get a leadoff double from Elly De La Cruz and then they would take the lead when Austin Hays won a 7-pitch battle against Andre Pallante by hitting a 2-run home run into the stands in left field.
When the 7th inning began the Reds called it a day for Brady Singer and sent Sam Moll to the mound. With multiple lefties due up to begin the inning, Cincinnati was trying to play the percentages. It didn’t work as Jimmy Crooks picked up his first big league hit – a solo home run to lead off the inning and cut the Reds lead to one run.
The Reds got that run back in the bottom of the inning. Austin Hays led off with a double and he came in to score on a 2-out Ke’Bryan Hayes single to get the lead to 6-4. An inning later they would tack on another run when Matt McLain crushed a homer to start the bottom of the 8th to push the lead to three runs.
Emilio Pagan headed to the mound for the top of the 9th, looking to pick up the save. The inning began with an infield hit by Cesar Prieto – the first of his big league career. Pagan would rebound to strike out the next three batters to end the game as Cincinnati held on for a 7-4 win.
Key Moment of the Game
Ke’Bryan Hayes coming through with a 2-out RBI single in the 7th inning to give Cincinnati a 2-run lead and a little more breathing room.
Notes Worth Noting
Matt McLain has homered in back-to-back games for the first time since he homered in games two, three, and four of this season.
TJ Friedl, Austin Hays, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all had multi-hit games for the Reds. Matt McLain had one hit, but also walked twice.
The Reds pitchers walked no one (though Singer did hit two batters). They struck out 14.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Toronto Blue Jays vs Cincinnati Reds
Monday September 1st, 1:10pm ET
Chris Bassitt (11-7, 4.14 ERA) vs Hunter Greene (5-4, 2.81 ERA)
Singer has been really special 12 wins and helped break several losing streaks.
I saw him pitch at GABP on August 12th vs Phillies. He was very impressive that day.
All the Redleg Nation whipping boys had good days hitting. Singer is a great 4th or 5th starter.
Singer has been nails lately. He was advertised as a pitcher that could give you 180 innings of competitive baseball and he has delivered. Nice work Brady.
Hmmm…tied with Abbott for team’s most quality starts. He’s Cool Hand Luke in my book.
I have been saying they just have never gotten hot, well after research they have 3 five game winning streaks and did win 7 of 9 once but that isn’t good enough for a team to win 87 plus games.
Hmmmm, I was able to find more than that (From previous post.):
The Reds have 3 stretches where they went 7-3, one where they went 9-2 and one where they went 8-3.
Good showing today by #64 and #15.
I’ve been watching baseball for 55 years, and I gotta say that K. Hayes is as good as anybody I’ve ever seen with the glove @ 3rd.
P.S. Yes, I did see Brooks Robinson play.
You’d notice the low morale in Saddak and Larkin voices today.
Great team win today.Good hitting by the law firm of Hayes Friedl and Hays.Another bomb my MM and solid work by maybe just maybe the best #4 starter in baseball in Singer.Whats not to like as we look to who may be joining the Reds tomorrow.Hope the Reds can have a good month of September.
Marlins up on Mets 5-1 in eighth inning.
Noelvi Marte’s arm in RF is a weapon. Perhaps a revelation. His arm at 3B was not a weapon. It was a deficit.
Quite a change for the Reds if Marte and EDLC were both in the outfield for 2026.
@dave
I was at the game and seats in short RF
Marte is the Reds franchise RF
He has a cannon
Just leave him there in the 2/3 hole
Bright spot in 2025
Hes a good player
It is fairly amazing Marte is making these throws after 31 career games in RF.
One thing i appreciate is the club gave him the chance to succeed as an infielder. I think that is something that plays here in 2025.
@DaveCt
Concur.
I also think Elly’s arm would be better served in center. Also a better utilization of his speed.
I still think Elly’s arm is a better weapon at short than CF. More chances. More opportunities to be weaponized. He’d be under-utilized in the OF.
@DaveCT
There was once upon a time the Reds had another #44 play center who turned out okay. Maybe you heard of him: Eric the Red.
Eric. Legendary.
EDLC is no Eric Davis, but he should be in CF or traded. He majes some great plays at short, but he also makes tons of errors on easy plays.
He’s also 23 years old, reportedly wants to play shortstop and, as others have pointed out repeatedly, is not the first elite shortstop–The Wizard of Oz and Larkin among them– to make tons of errors early in his career.
Think the waiver wire will be interesting today and tomorrow. Gosh, we know the Reds need offense but will Krall claim one of these guys or just pass. It is a pretty obvious sign that no claims = not in need of such. We have a little making up to do so a bullpen piece and bat would certainly not be unwelcome. We will see Krall interesting level …..
Just pass. Only teams in contention will claim or sign released players. Stewart is the bone being thrown to the dogs to keep them distracted so they don’t bark too much now that the season is lost
Nice win, but it’s really looking like too little, too late. Sure, there’s hope for a streak, but what are the odds of that happening? In the meantime, it looks like the so-called “Chicken Littles” of the RLN crowd were right all along, accurately pointing to the team’s ongoing deficiencies – not enough wood and a blunder at the trade deadline, for starters. (And yes, please disregard everything I just said if the Reds happen to win ten in a row.)
There’s no chance……..Because no team has ever made up 4 games in a month.
I’m glad the Red’s players haven’t given up, even though you’ve already buried them.
I’ve buried them or they’ve buried themselves lately?
Haven’t done the research but I believe there have been monumental collapses by MLB teams in September with more than 4 game leads!
Phillies 1964 led Reds by 8.5 games in mid-September. Reds were in first by end of September.
Cubs folded like a paper airplane in 1969.
But they did give up with all these mental mistakes and 19 Ks in LA. They’re not mentally tough enough and that carried over from Bell to Tito. I would also submit that Tito randomly throwing Marte in CF is also giving up. That was lunacy. Maybe Stewart stinks it up, but if he hits then that also can be filed away as giving up. Not getting 1 single reliever at the deadline as well.
I looked it up. The 2008 Rays came back from 9.5 down. Some kind of “miracle.”
Alrighty then, I hope I’m wrong. Nice job by Singer.
Singer reached 12 wins. I think none of Reds pitchers won this amount of games since many years ago…
Reds being sweepless at GABP streak continues…
The next series is tougher vs BJays especially for the Jays pitchers to face…Bassit, Berríos and Bieber have pitched well against Reds previous seasons and they have very dangerous hitters… Reds will go with Greene-Lodolo-Littell to try at lest get 2 out of 3…
Waiting for the Reds calling up two guys to the roster… Who will be called up? Maybe Maxwell or Phillips is already one of the two players to be kept so they will activate Burns and option the other …Stewart seems the other evident choice…
Didn’t watch or follow any of today’s game! Glad Singer got his 12th win! Watched the FSU-Alabama game on replay! Watching Alabama lose is almost as gratifying as watching the Reds win!
Need the Fish to hang on and beat the Mets!
+1 to The Tide going out!
Mets lost! Reds are still within shouting distance! Need 2 out of 3 against a tough Blue Jays team!
3 out of 3. Need to win 5 or 6 in a row.
Reds fans have to root for the Dodgers today. That is really, really disgusting, but necessary. Go Dodgers
I’d add a third really. But you’re right.
Just checked out the Reds and Mets schedule for September. Both teams have tough schedules. Should be interesting if the Reds can actually hit and the Mets pitching continues to look like crap. Trade deadline is such a crap shoot. The Mets were praised for their bullpen pickups and Reds were criticized for the Hayes pickup. Baseball is a tough game and sometimes things don’t work out like they should or do workout. It’s good to see McLain have some success.
McLain may be hearing footsteps coming up I71 from Louisville
The Mets were in a little different circumstance on July 31. They were in first place several games ahead of the Phils and decided to add all kinds of bullpen help for the long days of September. If they knew they were going to go 3-15, I bet they would have done things a lot differently. Their pickups seem mismatched for the current situation ….like some other team in the NL Central.
Reds are calling up Stewart, per Jon Morosi.
https://x.com/MLBPipeline/status/1962255184651767882
About freaking time if this is indeed so ! Do t wast any time either – stick the kid in the lineup tomorrow !
Don’t waste …
Love it. Hoping for good things.
Looking at the box score for today’s game the following stands out: 1) NO WALKS by Singer or any of the 4 RPs; 2) Six SOs by the RPs and 3) NO ERRORS by the defense!
Need to reduce the SOs by the Reds “hitters” to something reasonable (less than double digits)!
No official errors today, but 2 horrible misplays (MMC and Marte), that pretty much gave the Cards their 1st 3 runs. See Doug’s recap.
Thanks for that! I don’t always read Doug’s game recap after a Reds win!
Unbelievable! I guess MM assumed it was Hays’ ball.
Nice to see a Reds win!
Maybe catching Blue Jay’s at the right time. Friend of mine who is a Jay’s fan says their bullpen is collapsing. So let’s hope Reds can somehow win 2 of 3 against Jays.
Yes, they’re mediocre just now, but with that said, they’ve been better than the Reds of late.
Sal Stewart is being called up.
Now it takes courage to put him in the lineup regularly. Stewart at 2b, McLain at SS and EDLC at DH? Another move I would make is swapping Benson for CES or Dunn. That’s a simple option/call-up move with no 40 man stuff needed.
I agree with the Benson move. He doesn’t play and basically is taking up space. Don’t really seeing him fit in next year. Not sure what the Reds so called brass think of Stewart but if isn’t in line to play some 1st base , then call up CES and give Steer some days off. Andujar is not good defensively at first and I’ve seen enough of Espinal. DFA Espinal because I don’t see him making the team next year as long as Hayes is around .
Sal Stewart being called up? I don’t think any of us around here has ever thought of that. That’s a GOOD idea. 😀
God help him if he doesn’t hit. Redleg Nation will tear him a new one.
@JB From what I’ve read, expectations for Sal to deliver under pressure like this won’t be too high. For me, just giving him the opportunity is all I ask.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes him a game or two. It did in AAA. Even if he goes 0-30 it was still the right thing to do and it will help him for next year. It’s not like he will drag down an offense that is firing on all cylinders in a worst case scenario.
Time to put up let’s sweep the Blue Jays and Mets and I think we’ll be right there man!!!
I think 4 and 2 would be a good week and keep the Reds in the race.
Friedl, Hays and Hayes delivered today. We need the first half Friedl to show up. Hays and Hayes have been good. Singer is becoming my favorite pitcher when he does not hand out walks. We’re not dead in the water yet. We’re kind of in Apollo 13 situation, crisis bout save-able. The upcoming Mets series looms large.
Every series is large at this point.
Good day for the Reds! Beat the Cards! Cubs, Brewers, Dbacks and Padres all lost!
Not a great start by Singer, but he gave the team what they needed…once again. He’s not flashy, not a superstar, let alone a star, but he gets the job done. What a trade!
One win and the Krallonites have hope lol. I think 3% from ESPN sounds about right. I guess you have to assume 2/3 with the Mets to have any chance and that puts them within 3 and owning the tiebreaker with 22 other games to play. I just don’t see how they’ll get it going when they haven’t done it all year. What was the decision on Burns? I quit watching and paying close attention.
I will say I like the KBH trade more and more. A .755 ops with the Reds and I don’t see him falling off the wagon again with the way he looks the other way. Thats the best way to stay slump proof. His D is top notch of course
Look no further then this:
2-5 vs Atlanta
2-4 vs Washington
The Nats are 30 under and have lost 8 straight. Atlanta is injury ravaged and has been playing out the string since May. Sunshine pumpers wondered why some of us were all bent out of shape over losing in Bristol. Well they were already up with men on and faced a AAA pitcher. Good teams take advantage. This has been a mediocre year and Tito hasn’t helped. I hope they close strong, but the only real battle is over 3rd/4th with St Louis
Is the battle over 3rd/4th with St. Louis enough to keep you watching?
There is a part of me that thinks moving EDLC to CF next year makes sense. But the other part of me also thinks it doesn’t take full value of his arm and range. I wouldn’t be surprised that his arm is worth more at keeping runs from scoring via being the cut-off man than throwing runners out from CF. Or that his range at SS is more valuable than in CF (given I think Friedl does a good job out there). The main question is can he cut down on his errors. Don’t know his defensive stats beyond errors…are they a net + or – .
glad to see the Reds get a win and Stewart get the promotion.I was at the game in short Rf stands and had a first hand view of Marte’s throw to the plate. One of the finer in game throws Ive ever seen. Out call overturned but didnt diminish th greatest of that play. Yes, Marte needs better angles and read the ball better off the bat but that should come with playing hundreds and hundreds of games instead RF instead of the handful. Having an identity as the 2 hole hitter and every day RF will also let him settle in to honing his craft.
But, his bat and arm are elite and hes found a long term home in RF imo.
Re: “Having an identity as the 2 hole hitter and every day RF will also let him settle in to honing his craft.
But, his bat and arm are elite and hes found a long term home in RF imo.”
Agree with all except for the 2 hole part. He’s fine there for now, but Sal Stewart should become the new 2 hole hitter with Marte being dropped down to 4th once the lineup is solidified.