Cardinals Continue To Own Reds 8-6

Another game against the Cardinals and another loss for the Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis came from behind tonight in St. Louis to

Aug 26, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake (44) looks on after giving up a three run home run to St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

take an 8-6 victory. A victory that has certainly crushed Reds fans and their morale. Cardinal Allen Craig dealt the final dagger with a grand slam in the 7th.

Mike Leake (11-5) made his fist appearance in St. Louis Monday night, an appearance that left Leake with a no decision and possibly a bad taste in his mouth. Leake was pulled after 6.1IP, Dusty Baker made the move to pulle Leake with two men on base. He pulled Leake in favor of Manny Parra. Leake exited after 6.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 3SO.

Parra came in for the Reds, recently though Parra has been shaky at best. His 3.82 ERA is nothing stellar for a middle relief pitcher. Parra loaded the bases then a ground out to first by Jon Jay scored a run. Parra was pulled after walking Matt Holliday to load the bases.

Dusty Baker pulled Parra for JJ Hoover. JJ Hoover who had been phenomenal since the All Star break minus the grand slam he gave up against Arizona a week ago. Monday night however Hoover gave up another grand slam this time to Allen Craig, a grand slam that put the Cardinals ahead 8-5, a lead they would never relinquish.

Cincinnati’s offense started off strong scoring 4 runs in the second inning. A triple by Zach Cozart drove in Jay Bruce and Devin Mesoraco, Cozart’s triple was followed by another triple this time from Todd Frazier. Frazier’s triple would drive in 2 runs to give the Reds a 4-0 lead.

Jay Bruce would respond to the Allen Craig home run in the 8th with a solo blast of his own bringing the score to 8-6. Unfortunately that would be as close as the Reds would get.

The argument can be made that Dusty Baker should have left Mike Leake in the game in the 7th. Its a valid argument to argue Leake had a better shot at saving himself in a tight situation like that than Manny Parra.

Joey Votto made a play in the 8th that blew twitter up. Jon Jay hit a soft grounder to first base, Votto took the easy out at first letting the runner on third score. He took the sure out while sacrificing a run in order to keep a call out of the umpires hands. That run put the score at 5-4, the Reds still had the lead.

Ultimately thought the St. Louis Cardinals continue to own the Reds. They are 9-4 against the Reds this season, the last two games have been absolutely demoralizing for the Reds. The Cardinals know how to get it done when it counts.

The Reds look to break their 3 game losing streak tomorrow night as Mat Latos (13-4) takes the mound for the Reds at 8:15.