The St. Louis Cardinals let a much-needed win slip through their fingers on Wednesday night in Cincinnati.
The Cards were in the game late, trailing by just one run in the bottom of the eighth, when a string of errors and infield singles left St. Louis down by three runs.
It started with a single from the leadoff hitter, Jose Trevino. Trevino then advanced to second on a wild pitch, which set off the cascade of events in the inning.
Matt McLain, who is batting in the nine-hole with a measly .192 batting average, dropped a one-strike bunt halfway between the third baseman Blaze Jordan and pitcher Justin Bruhl. Jordan fielded the ball, but was unable to get a good grip on it in his glove. Rather than cut his losses, the 23-year-old rookie tried to force a throw to first and beat the clearly safe runner.
Jordan’s throw missed the mark by a solid ten feet, allowing Trevino to score from second on what could have been a routine out.
McLain then went station to station, winding up at third base with one out. Sal Stewart was intentionally walked to set up the double play, and Dane Myers dug into the box.
Once again, the Reds turned to small ball, asking Myers to put a bunt down the first-base line. An inexcusable miscommunication led to both the pitcher and first baseman charging the live ball with the safety squeeze on.
By the time Bruhl fielded it, McLain had scored, and all parties involved were safely on base.
The game-winning runs were manufactured by two poorly defended bunts and a wild pitch.
Oliver Marmol addressed the “tough” loss after the game.
“These guys care,” Marmol said. “They want it, they want it bad. So, yeah. That’s a tough one.
“I liked our at-bats; (we) just couldn’t finish.”
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