Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto swings, hitting a game winning single against the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on April 30, 2017. Cincinnati defeated St. Louis 5-4. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Questionable defense and suspect pitching at the back end ruined Mike Leake’s chance to beat his former team in his sixth try, as the Cardinals dropped Sunday afternoon’s finale 5-4 to the Cincinnati Reds. Joey Votto singled in the winning run in the eighth inning off Trevor Rosenthal. Scott Schebler tied the game with a two-run double in the seventh and Raisel Iglesias pitched two innings for his fourth save.
Matt Carpenter provided the early spark for the Cardinals with a bases clearing double.
“This is one of those games,” manager Mike Matheny said, “that we’re going to look at and realize we need to put away.”
Rosenthal and Matt Bowman led the lead slip away as the Cardinals slipped back to .500. The St. Louis bullpen hasn’t started this poorly since the early 20’s. The Cards’ pen ends the first month of the season with a franchise high April ERA of 5.55.