Hamilton spearheads Reds' win in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS -- Billy Hamilton continues to steal everything but his opponent's per diem.
Reaching base four times, stealing three bases and scoring three runs Tuesday night, the Cincinnati Reds' center fielder paced a 7-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Hamilton walked to lead off the seventh, swiped second, moved to third on a lineout and scored on Joey Votto's single up the middle to snap a 3-3 tie.
After St. Louis tied it in its half of the seventh on Brandon Moss' two-out RBI single, Hamilton had a hand in Cincinnati's three-run eighth. His infield single to second led to a Matt Carpenter error that allowed Tyler Holt, whose run-scoring double gave the Reds the lead for good, to scamper home from second.
Hamilton then took second for his ninth steal in the last three games and came home on Zack Cozart's pop fly single to right-center, enabling Cincinnati to up its record to 46-66.
Reliever Michael Lorenzen (2-0) worked two innings for the win, while rookie Matt Bowman (1-4) ate the loss. Raisel Iglesias pitched a clean ninth for his first save.
The Cardinals (59-54) dropped a game behind Miami, a 2-0 winner over San Francisco, for the National League's second wild-card spot.
St. Louis opened the scoring in the second inning as Yadier Molina launched his fourth homer of the year, a 399-foot shot to the bleachers in left-center field.
Cincinnati grabbed the lead in its half of the third when Adam Duvall grounded a two-run single to center, just past diving shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
The Reds manufactured a run in the fourth. Scott Schebler was hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on Eugenio Suarez's deep flyout and scored on Tucker Barnhart's groundout.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in their half of the fourth, but managed just one run as Jedd Gyorko bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.
Matt Holliday tied it with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, lining his team-high 19th homer of the year into the Cincinnati bullpen in left-center.
NOTES: St. Louis placed RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of RHP Alex Reyes from Triple-A Memphis. Reyes, who was 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA in 14 starts, fanned 93 in 65 1/3 innings and will be used out of the bullpen. ... Cincinnati CF Billy Hamilton's 45th steal of the year Monday night made him the first player in franchise history to accomplish the feat in three straight years since Joe Morgan did so from 1972-77. ... To make room for Reyes, the Cardinals transferred C Brayan Pena (left knee inflammation) from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list.