Reds beat Mikolas and the Cardinals 11-4 to open the series

The Cincinnati Reds scored a run in each of the first five innings of the game, and tied the game before the Cardinals had a chance to go to their bullpen, as St. Louis forced starter Miles Mikolas to score a run for the team on the night. Cincinnati tallied 16 hits in its 11-4 victory to open the four-game series between the two clubs.

The Reds wasted no time on Miles Mikolas and the Cardinals on Thursday night. Jonathan India started with a single and then scored on a triple by Elly De La Cruz. Cincinnati, however, left De La Cruz on third base.

In the second half of the inning, Andrew Abbott struggled. He walked the first batter before striking him out. He then walked the next two batters to load the bases before striking out Nolan Arenado. He then managed a groundout to avoid damage.

Cincinnati scored a run in the 2nd inning when India brought in Will Benson with a double to make it 2-0. They added an add-on in the 3rd inning, getting three doubles from Spencer Steer, Nick Martini and Noelvi Marte to start the inning. Will Benson added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to extend the Reds’ lead to 5-0.

After magically preventing runs from being allowed after loading all the bases in the 1st inning, Andrew Abbott paid the price for a walk in the 3rd, but got help from Stuart Fairchild, who stole extra bases from Paul Goldschmidt with a jumping grab against the wall. Nolan Arenado made sure no one could catch his hit, however, when he brought in a home run to bring in Willson Contreras and cut the lead to 5-2. Cincinnati’s offense got both runs back in the 4th inning when Elly De La Cruz hit a single and then stole second base – his 38th steal of the season – before scoring on Spencer Steer’s 2-run home run into the left field seats.

Things continued to go well for the Reds. Noelvi Marte started the 5th inning with a single after a soft line drive to right. He then stole second base and easily scored on a double by Will Benson. Stuart Fairchild followed with an RBI double of his own before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Luke Maile to make it 10-2.

After failing to score a run in the sixth inning, the Reds struck back in the seventh. Three singles by Noelvi Marte, Santiago Espinal and Stuart Fairchild brought in a run and extended the lead to 11-2. Marte’s single was his third hit of the night.

The Cardinals mounted a comeback in the second half of the 8th inning against Brent Suter. Three consecutive extra-base hits with two outs brought in two runs and cut the Reds’ lead to seven as the game entered the 9th inning. Cincinnati went down in order in its half of the inning. Sam Moll took the club lead in the second half of the inning, allowing a leadoff triple, but Pedro Pages stayed put as Moll came back with two strikeouts and a flyout to shallow center to end the game.

Key moment of the game

The three consecutive doubles at the beginning of the 3rd inning clearly showed that the Reds would not let up that day.

Noteworthy information

Just before the first pitch, Tyler Stephenson was taken out of the game. He got the call that he was going to be a father and presumably headed for the exit, but not before receiving congratulations the whole time in the dugout.

Soon-to-be father of a girl, @Tyler_Step22 got the call just before he entered the field.

Congratulations to the Stephenson family ?? pic.twitter.com/mkvC9DVL3Q

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 28, 2024

Andrew Abbott battled through five innings, walking six batters. The bullpen walked no one.

Noelvi Marte extended his hitting streak to 17 games through the end of the 2023 season. The three hits he had that day raised his batting average to .328 in his 36 career games with the Reds.

Elly De La Cruz also had three hits on the day. He has been on a tear lately, having multiple hits in five of his last six games. He also had six extra-base hits during that span.

Will Benson had two hits that day, ending an 0-25 slump. The two hits he had were more than he had between June 8 and 26. Including walks and hit by pitches, he got on base just three times during that time.

Next up for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals

Friday, June 28, 8:15 p.m. ET

Frankie Montas (3-5, 4.48 ERA) vs. Andre Pallante (3-3, 5.23 ERA)