Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs to lead St. Louis to a 4-2 victory over the host Cincinnati Reds, who saw their historic losing streak stretch to 10 games on Friday.
While the Reds lost their 10th straight game, Cincinnati recorded nine hits, ending its mark as the only National League team to drop nine games in which they registered seven hits or fewer in each contest.
Dylan Carlson and Nolan Arenado each went 2-for-4 for the Cardinals, who scored three times in the first four innings to back a strong performance by left-hander Steven Matz (2-1), who pitched five solid innings.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in their first at-bat.
After Dylan Carlson opened with a single to left, he came around to score on Paul Goldschmidt’s single to deep left that was misplayed by Tommy Pham, with Goldschmidt advancing to second on the error.
After Tyler O’Neill fouled out to first, Nolan Arenado walked before Corey Dickerson struck out. Tommy Edman followed with a walk to load the bases, but Hunter Greene fanned Lars Nootbaar looking to end the inning.
The Cardinals tacked on two more in the fourth when Goldschmidt’s single to left scored Nootbaar and Sosa.
Right-hander Jeff Hoffman relieved Greene (1-2), who exited after lasting just 3 1/3 innings, finishing with three strikeouts and four walks.
Matz had no trouble against the Reds, who entered the night having scored just 18 runs in their past nine games. He allowed a run on seven hits to go along with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Relievers Nick Wittgren, Ryan Helsley and Genesis Cabrera held the Reds without a hit for the next three innings.
Giovanny Gallegos picked up his fourth save of the season after allowing a run on two hits in the ninth.
After Nootbaar’s single scored Edman to push the lead to 4-0 in the fifth, the Reds pulled to within 4-1 in the bottom of the inning when Brandon Drury’s single to left scored Aramis Garcia.
Drury, Colin Moran, Alejo Lopez and Joey Votto each had a pair of hits for the Reds.
–Field Level Media
