Game 6: Cardinals Take Series in Extras, 7-5

Raisel Iglesias' Cincinnati debut was a strong one, but eventually was ruined by St Louis in extra innings. Iglesias made the spot start in place of injured starter Homer Bailey, and held his own on the big stage. Jay Bruce gave the Reds the lead in the second inning with a solo shot to deep center. Iglesias, working with the small lead retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced including the first seven in order. Iglesias ran into trouble in the fifth inning when he gave up three runs on a Matt Carpenter single that plated two, and a Jason Heyward double that scored Carpenter. Iglesias would get out of the inning, but his day was finished. His final line was 5 innings, five hits, three runs, and striking out six. The rookie pitcher dazzled and kept hitters off guard by effectively using both side arm and over handed pitches. He kept hitters off guard up until the fifth inning before getting tagged for the three runs. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Billy Hamilton cut the lead in half with a solo home run, his first of the year. In the Reds' half of the seventh, Todd Frazier would come up with a two-out, bases loaded single that would give the Reds the lead back. Brandon Phillips would follow him up and drive in Joey Votto to stretch the lead to 5-3. 

In the eighth inning, Jhonny Peralta would take Jumbo Diaz deep for a two-run shot to tie the game back up. The Reds would have another chance in the 10th inning when Frazier would step in with the bases loaded. With a walk off victory in sight, Frazier would strike out. In the 11th, Matt Carpenter hit a two-run bomb off of Kevin Gregg that would secure the rubber match victory for the Cardinals. 

As it was in the previous day, Cincinnati stranded too many runners. The Reds were 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left 15 on. The clutch hitting from earlier in the week disappeared this weekend against the Cardinals and eventually cost them a very winnable series. 

Next up, Cincinnati travels to Chicago for a three game tilt with the Cubs. What use to be an opponent where the Reds could nearly guarantee at least two out of three could never be more opposite. They will need to get a lot out of their starting pitching and their cleanup bats. First game of the series is Monday at 8:05. Mike Leake hopes to improve on his first start where his command was lackadaisical. He will square off with big fish free agent Jon Lester. 

-Dug

@chansm1th