The St. Louis Cardinals lost their third consecutive game to the Cincinnati Reds Sunday night, falling 1.5 games out of first place in the National League Central behind a struggling Chris Carpenter. Lance Berkman and Yadier Molina homered in the loss, and Tyler Greene, Ryan Theriot, and Nick Punto all doubled as the Cardinals' late rally couldn't avert a final score of 9-7. Errors by Albert Pujols and Jon Jay were difficult to overcome, but Carpenter managed to struggle without them despite striking out five against two walks in his six-plus innings of work.
Travis Wood picked up the win, allowing two solo home runs and nothing much else. Aroldis Chapman continued to struggle, walking four while retiring just one batter to perpetuate the Cardinals' late rally. His ERA stands at 6.92 after the performance, and Reds fans continue to be concerned about their triple-digits relievers. Former Cardinal Scott Rolen went 2-4 with a triple, and Ramon Hernandez hit his sixth home run of the year.