CINCINNATI (AP) Scott Schebler stood and watched his first career game-ending homer stay inside the foul pole, and then flipped his bat and made the tour of the bases. Quite a return for the outfielder.
Schebler’s three-run homer in the ninth inning rallied the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night in their first game without Jay Bruce. Schebler was called up earlier in the day to take his roster spot, and wound up winning a game.
“I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair, and I stood there longer than I wanted to,” Schebler said. “That’s as good as it gets right there.”
Brandon Moss and Tommy Pham hit solo homers in the eighth for a 5-4 lead, but the Cardinals couldn’t hold on in a game that had four lead changes in the last three innings.
Seung Hwan Oh (2-2) escaped a bases-loaded threat in the eighth, but gave up a pair of singles to start the ninth. Schebler connected for his second homer of the season.
“That was long, loud and historic,” manager Bryan Price said. “That was something, especially after having the bases loaded and nobody out against the same pitcher. Oh has been sensational.”
Jumbo Diaz (1-1) fanned Oh with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to keep it 5-4.
The second-place Cardinals are hoping to make a run in the NL Central now that their lineup is closer to full strength. Moss and Jhonny Peralta returned from injuries on Tuesday, and the Cardinals expect to get leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter back later in the week.
Instead, their second-straight walk-off loss dropped them nine games behind the first-place Cubs.
“It’s hard, for sure, but they’re painful just like the other ones are painful,” said Adam Wainwright, who lasted five innings. “You don’t want to get beat 11-0 either.”
Moss and Peralta had doubles that accounted for a run in the sixth. Moss tied it with a leadoff homer against Blake Woodin the eighth, part of his three-hit game. Pham followed with his first career pinch-hit homer, the fourth by St. Louis.
Wainwright and Jedd Gyorko also had solo shots for St. Louis.
Cincinnati played its first game since Bruce was dealt to the Mets. The right fielder and Adam Duvall were tied for the team lead with 25 homers at the time of the trade. Duvall moved from left field to Bruce’s old spot and hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Kevin Siegrist for a 4-3 lead.
Cincinnati’s Joey Votto had an RBI double among his four hits and extended his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games.Yadier Molina doubled and extended his hitting streak to 16 games as well, the longest by a Cardinal since David Freese hit in 20 in a row in 2013.
Wainwright hit his second homer of the season off Dan Straily, but couldn’t beat the Reds. Wainwright went 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA in July, but lasted only five innings on Tuesday. He’s only 8-10 career against the Reds in 21 starts.
VOTTO APOLOGIZES TO FAN
Votto wasn’t happy with a fan in a Reds jersey who reached for a foul ball in the seventh, preventing him from making the play. Votto glared and tugged on the Reds’ logo on the fan’s jersey before heading back to his position. He later signed a baseball for the fan and stopped to pose for photos with him.
“I made a mistake crossing the stands-field boundary,” Votto said. “I misplayed it, and I took my frustration out on the fan. I felt bad about it. He apologized, but I was the one who should’ve been apologizing to him for bullying him.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: Even as they get some stalwarts back, the Cardinals lost another. SS Aledmys Diaz went on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right thumb, hit by a pitch on Sunday. … LH reliever Tyler Lyons will go on the DL with a sore right knee.
Reds: SS Zack Cozart was a late scratch from the starting lineup with a bruised right ring finger, injured by a ground ball during batting/infield practice. Ivan De Jesus Jr. started in his place. … RH Caleb Cotham had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RH Michael Wacha (6-7) has won his last four decisions covering seven starts. He’s 3-1 in six career starts at Great American Ball Park.
Reds: LH Cody Reed (0-5) gave up six runs in five innings of a 9-7 loss in San Francisco on Tuesday. He’s never faced the Cardinals.
Picture credit – John Minchillo / Associated Press
