ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rookie Jordan Walker homered and had a career-best three hits, Jordan Montgomery pitched six scoreless innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Friday night.
Nolan Gorman and Nolan Arenado homered for St. Louis, which has won two straight after dropping five in a row.
Montgomery (3-7) allowed three hits and struck out six to win for the first time since April 8 at Milwaukee. The Cardinals had lost Montgomery’s previous 10 starts.
Ben Lively (3-4) allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings as Cincinnati lost for the sixth time in its last nine games.
Giovanny Gallegos got T.J. Hopkins to ground out while representing the tying run with two outs in the top of the eighth, then pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his eighth save in 10 chances after getting
Cincinnati also had the tying run at the plate with two outs in the seventh inning when Willson Contreras threw out Will Benson trying to steal second base as part of a double steal. Reds manager David Bell unsuccessfully challenged the out call.
Walker hit his two-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the second inning and scored on Brendan Donovan's single in the fourth to expand the St. Louis lead to 5-0.
Arenado drove a 3-0, two-out pitch 429 feet over the left field bullpen for his 11th homer to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the first.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz had an infield single in the ninth, giving him at least one hit in each of his first four major league games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: Placed RHP Graham Ashcraft (left calf contusion) on the 15-day injured list. ... Recalled RHPs Ricky Karcher and Joel Kuhnel from Triple-A Louisville and optioned RHP Eduardo Salazar to Louisville. ... 1B/OF Wil Myers (kidney stone) started in right field for Louisville and went 0 for 3 to begin a rehabilitation assignment Friday night.
Cardinals: Activated OF Dylan Carlson (left ankle sprain) from the 10-day injured list and optioned INF/OF Juan Yepez to Triple-A Memphis. ... Activated RHP Jake Woodford (right shoulder inflammation) from the 15-day IL and optioned him to Memphis.
UP NEXT
Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second major league appearance and start when he opposes RHP Miles Mikolas (4-2, 3.74 ERA) Saturday.
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