Schebler's 3-run HR in ninth sends Reds past Cards
CINCINNATI -- Scott Schebler's three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Cincinnati Reds to a wild 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals to begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.
Tommy Pham's first career pinch-home run put St. Louis ahead in the eighth. But the Reds rallied in the ninth against Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh.
The Reds greeted Oh with back-to-back singles to begin the ninth. With one out, Schebler, who was recalled from Triple-A Louisville before the game, crushed his first career walk-off homer just inside the right-field foul pole.
Adam Duvall and Tucker Barnhart also homered and Joey Votto went 4-for-4 with a walk for Cincinnati.
Jumbo Diaz (1-1) got the win. Oh (2-2) took the loss and was denied his eighth save of the season.
Reds batters worked over Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, pushing his pitch total to 101 through five innings.
Wainwright allowed two earned runs with two walks and six strikeouts.
Jhonny Peralta, who was reinstated from the disabled list before the game, gave Wainwright a no-decision when he delivered an RBI double in the sixth to tie the score 2-2.
Right-hander Dan Straily started for Cincinnati and allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.
The teams traded home runs in the seventh and eighth.
Jedd Gyorko led off the seventh with a solo homer, his 15th home run of the season, against Ross Ohlendorf to put St. Louis ahead 3-2.
Duvall's 26th home run, a two-run shot in the seventh off Siegrist, put the Reds ahead 4-3.
But Brandon Moss, who came off the DL before the game, tied the score yet again with his 18th homer of the season leading off the eighth.
It was the 22nd homer allowed this season by the Reds bullpen to begin an inning.
Pham's pinch-homer made the score 5-4. It also was the Cardinals' 11th pinch-homer this season, a franchise record.
Both homers came off right-hander Blake Wood, who didn't allow one in his first 32 appearances.
Cincinnati loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, but Oh needed only six pitches to end the threat via a strikeout and 6-4-3 double play.
Oh batted for himself with two outs in the eighth and the bases loaded and struck out.
A 10-pitch at-bat by Billy Hamilton resulted in a walk to begin the first inning. The Reds center fielder stole his 36th base of the season and opened the scoring on Votto's double to left-center.
The hit extended Votto's hitting streak to a career-high 16 games. He has hit safely in every game since the All-Star break.
Wainwright, who retired eight straight after Votto's double, tied the score at 1 in the third with his second home run of the season on an 0-1 pitch from Straily. It was Wainwright's eighth career homer and 50th RBI.
Barnhart's solo homer, his sixth blast of the season, gave Cincinnati a 2-1 lead in the fifth.
NOTES: St. Louis placed SS Aledmys Diaz on the 15-day disabled list with a right thumb fracture suffered when he was hit by an Andrew Cashner pitch on Sunday. ... Cardinals SS Jhonny Peralta and RF Brandon Moss were reinstated from the DL. ... St. Louis also optioned LHP Dean Kiekhefer and OF Randal Grichuk to Triple-A Memphis. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart was scratched from the starting lineup with a bruised right ring finger. Ivan DeJesus Jr. started at SS. ... Adam Duvall moved from left to right, replacing Jay Bruce, who was traded to the New York Mets on Monday, and Scott Schebler played left after being recalled from Triple-A Louisville.