The St. Louis Cardinals knew they would be facing a key series right out of the All-Star break when they traveled to Great American Ballpark to play the Cincinnati Reds. Unfortunately for the Redbirds, it didn't go according to plan.
The Reds completed the three-game sweep of their NL Central rival, beating St. Louis 4-2 on Sunday night.
Homer Bailey pitched excellently for Cincinnati, going eight innings while only allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits and two walks. Jake Westbrook was average for the Cards, pitching 7.1 innings but surrendering four runs.
Yadier Molina opened the scoring with a RBI double in the second before the Reds took the lead in the third. Joey Votto doubled in Chris Heisey and was then himself driven home on an RBI single by Brandon Phillips.
St. Louis tied things up in the top of the sixth with a Molina home run, but that was all the Cardinals could muster. With the bases loaded in the home half of the eighth, Scott Rolen delivered the key hit, singling Votto and Phillips home off of Mitchell Boggs.
St. Louis now heads to Milwaukee to play a three-game set with the Brewers, with Lance Lynn on the hill Monday.
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