Nolan Arenado hits 30th homer, Cardinals beat Reds 6-4

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer in the eighth and had three RBIs and Paul DeJong had a solo shot to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 on Saturday night.

St. Louis has won three of four and gained a game on Cincinnati in the NL wild-card race. The Reds, who have lost four of six, started the day percentage points behind San Diego for the second spot.

Alex Reyes, who had been closing games for most of the season, pitched the eighth to earn the victory. Reyes (7-8) struck out one and walked one. Giovanny Gallegos picked up his seventh save.

Arenado hit his 30th homer, connecting on a 1-0 pitch from Lucas Sims (5-3) to drive home Paul Goldschmidt. Sims allowed three hits and struck out two in one inning.

The Cardinals scored twice with two outs in the sixth to tie it at 4. Tyler O’Neill, called safe after a review, scored on Arenado’s triple. Dylan Carson then dropped a short fly just out of the reach of center fielder Tyler Naquin and shortstop José Barrero for a double to chase home Arenado.

The two Reds players collided going after the hit and laid on the field for a few minutes before getting to their feet. Naquin came out of the game with bruised ribs, while Barrero stayed in.

Reds starter Luis Castillo went seven innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. He also struck out five and walked one.

“I felt really good today,” Castillo said. “I felt really healthy. Lot of confidence on the mound today. They were able to get some runs off me today, but overall, I felt really good.”

India and Nick Castellanos both homered off starter St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas to account for the Reds’ four runs. India’s 20th home run came with two outs in the third. He hit a 3-1 pitch to dead center to drive in Tucker Barnhart who reached...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Nolan-Arenado-hits-30th-homer-Cardinals-beat-16452289.php