Cardinals 8, Reds 6
Allen Craig hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning as host St. Louis rallied to defeat Cincinnati and move into first place in the National League Central.
Craig’s opposite-field smash into the right-field stands off J.J. Hoover capped a five-run inning as the Cardinals took a half-game lead over idle Pittsburgh. The Reds are 3 1/2 games behind St. Louis and saw their lead for the second NL wild card decrease to six games over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Carlos Martinez (1-1) pitched two innings of one-run relief and Seth Maness allowed Jay Bruce’s eighth-inning homer before Edward Mujica worked a perfect ninth for his 35th save in 37 opportunities.
Cincinnati struck for four second-inning runs on Zack Cosart’s two-run double and Todd Frazier’s two-run triple off Tyler Lyons. St. Louis pulled within 4-3 on Matt Holliday three-run blast off Mike Leake.
Cosart smacked an RBI double in the sixth to give Cincinnati a two-run advantage. The Cardinals pushed across a run in the seventh on Jon Jay’s infield out prior to Craig’s first career grand slam that pinned a loss on Manny Parra (1-3).
GAME NOTEBOOK: Craig is 7-for-10 with 20 RBIs with the bases loaded this season. … Leake allowed five runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, while Lyons gave up four runs (one earned) and three hits while striking out seven in five frames. … Frazier went 1-for-4 and is 2-for-42 against St. Louis this season.