Good, Bad and Ugly of Cardinals series win over Reds

The St. Louis Cardinals won their series over the Cincinnati Reds, making for a successful first road trip of the season.

The St. Louis Cardinals took two games of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, making for a successful road trip through Milwaukee, Miami, and Cincinnati.

The Cardinals won six of ten games on their trip.

Friday – Cardinals 4, Reds 2

Steven Matz pitched a strong five innings in his start for the Cardinals Friday evening. He gave up seven hits, two walks, and one earned run. He struck out six.

The bullpen looked great in relief of Matz. Nick Wittgren earned a hold after pitching an inning, only giving up one walk. Ryan Helsley earned a hold after pitching 1.1 innings, striking out three. Genesis Cabrera earned a hold after pitching two-thirds of an inning, striking out one.

Giovanny Gallegos earned his fourth save of the season after pitching the ninth. He gave up two hits and one run in the outing he was able to get under control.

Paul Goldschmidt got things started in the first inning with a single to left field to score Dylan Carlson. Goldschmidt got to second base on a fielding error by left fielder Tommy Pham.  In the fourth inning, Goldschmidt singled to left field, scoring Lars Nootbaar and Edmundo Sosa.

In the fifth inning, Nootbaar singled to right field, scoring Corey Dickerson.

Saturday – Cardinals 5, Reds, 0

Dakota Hudson was dominant in his first win of the season Saturday. He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two hits and four walks, but struck out four. Andre Pallante looked great in his 1.1 innings of work. He gave up a hit but also struck out one. Kodi Whitley pitched the final inning, striking out one.

The Cardinals got things going in the second inning as Andrew Knizner singled to right field, scoring Harrison Bader. In the fifth inning, Corey Dickerson singled to left field, scoring Tommy Edman.

In the sixth inning, Goldschmidt doubled to center field, scoring Knizner and Edman. And, in the eighth, Edman singled to right field, scoring Bader.

Sunday – Cardinals 1, Reds 4

Adam Wainwright had a bad afternoon and the Cardinals looked worse at the plate as the Reds avoided getting swept by the Cardinals and extending a devastating losing streak to start the season.

Wainwright pitched five innings, giving up eight hits, three walks, four earned runs, and three strikeouts. T.J. McFarland looked good in his two innings of relief, striking out one. Jake Woodford also did well in his inning of work, giving up a walk and striking out one.

The Cardinals got their lone run in the sixth inning as Tyler O’Neill doubled on a line drive to center field, scoring Goldschmidt. O’Neill also got his second stolen base of the season in this game. It was great to see him have a decent game after his mental health day Saturday.

The Cardinals return to St. Louis Monday for a three-game series against the New York Mets.

Let’s discuss the good, bad, and ugly of this first series against division rival Cincinnati.