August 8 Special: Eight Best St. Louis Cardinals’ Games of 2015

Apr 19, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) talks with manager Mike Matheny (26) during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Reds 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

4. April 19 vs. Cincinnati Reds

Featured in their second ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecast in three weeks, the Cardinals persevered through a low-scoring game to pick up their first in-division sweep of 2015. Adam Wainwright received the nod for his last home start of 2015 prior to an Achilles injury, looking to rebound from a shaky Opening Day performance against the Milwaukee Brewers. Matt Carpenter continued a hot streak that latter led to NL Player of the Week honors, hitting a leadoff home run against Reds’ starter Mike Leake, good for his second long ball of the season.

Wainwright limited the Reds to just one run over eight innings, but a third inning single from Brandon Phillips proved costly and tied the game at 1 run apiece. Leake kept the Cardinal hitters silent by retiring 16 of the next 18 hitters after Carpenter’s home run and also finishing the game with eight innings pitched. However, the Cardinal bats played small ball in the eighth inning with the help of a Jon Jay leadoff double and a Kolten Wong sacrifice fly. Jordan Walden converted his first save of the season in a spot closing gig to help the Cardinals complete one of their fastest games of the year in just over two hours.

Game MVP: Adam Wainwright