DeJong grand slam helps Cardinals hold off Reds 7-5
CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul DeJong slugged his first career grand slam, helping Dakota Hudson to his first win of the season as the St. Louis Cardinals held on to beat the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth inning on Kolten Wong’s single and walks by Paul Goldschmidt and Brad Miller. DeJong capitalized, sending Anthony DeSclafani’s full count pitch over the center field fence for his second homer of the season.
Hudson (1-3) finished with a season-high seven strikeouts and no walks. He allowed four hits and two runs, one earned. With the help of a double play, he faced the minimum 13 batters, starting from the last out of the first through the fifth.
Goldschmidt collected three hits and DeJong, Wong and Tommy Edman each had two hits for the Cardinals, who won their second straight after dropping four in a row.
Eugenio Suárez drove in four runs for Cincinnati, three on a ninth-inning home run, his eighth of the season. The Reds have lost three of four after winning three straight.
Giovanny Gallegos got two outs for his second save.
The grand slam was the second against the Reds in two games. The Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber capped a 10-1 win on Sunday with a slam, the last of Chicago’s six homers in the game.
DeJong knocked DeSclafani (1-2) out of the game. The new father, in his first start since August 21 after spending three days on the paternity list, labored through 3 2/3 innings. He threw a season-high 92 pitches, surrendering seven hits and seven runs with three strikeouts and four walks. He also hit a batter.
The Cardinals nicked DeSclafani for single runs in each of the first three innings. Edman and Goldschmidt hit back-to-back doubles in the first. Matt Carpenter walked with one out in the second, went to third on Dexter Fowler’s single to center and scored on Wong’s two-out single to left.
DeSclafani hit Goldschmidt leading off the third. Brad Miller flied out. DeJong singled, and a double steal set up Yadier Molina’s sacrifice fly.
TRAINING ROOM
Cardinals: Mike Moustakas nailed Hudson on the right foot with a vicious shot in the seventh inning. Hudson threw Moustakas out at first and, after a brief visit from the trainer, stayed in the game.
UP NEXT
Cardinals:. LHP Kwang Hyun Kim (1-0) limited the Reds to three hits over six innings in his first career start during St. Louis’s 3-0 win on August 22.
Reds: RHP Sonny Gray (5-1) has a combined 1.59 ERA in 22 2-3 innings over four career starts against St. Louis.
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