The lead changed hands twice before Cincinnati finally made it stick. St. Louis built an early cushion, the Reds answered with one swing, and a late Cardinals rally in the ninth fell just short. The Reds held on for a 5-4 win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| CIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | X | 5 |
Sal Stewart supplied the game's defining moment, going 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and a walk. His sixth-inning drive to center field came on a fly ball that scored both Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 Reds lead in one swing. McLain himself finished 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, setting the table all night.
St. Louis struck first in the fourth inning. Nathan Church singled to left field to score Alec Burleson, tying the game before untying it in the Cardinals' favor, and Bryan Torres followed with a line-drive single to right that brought home Church while Masyn Winn moved to third, making it 2-0. Cincinnati's response arrived two innings later when Stewart's three-run homer put the Reds in front for good. Cincinnati tacked on insurance in the eighth: Matt McLain scored on a bunt single by himself off third baseman Blaze Jordan's throwing error, and Dane Myers later singled home McLain for a 5-2 cushion.
Matthew Liberatore took the loss for St. Louis, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits with 9 strikeouts and no walks over 6.0 innings. Cincinnati starter Chase Burns worked 5.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. St. Louis pushed back in the ninth when Jordan Walker homered to right-center, scoring JJ Wetherholt to make it 4-5, but the rally ended there. Emilio Pagan worked around 2 runs in the ninth to close it out, while Sam Moll picked up the win in relief.
The Reds improved to 61-66, snapping their skid with a first win after a loss, while the Cardinals fell to 65-63 with the defeat.