The St. Louis Cardinals (14-17) completed a dominant day-night doubleheader sweep of the Cincinnati Reds (16-15) with a 9-1 victory in Game 2. A pair of early home runs and six total on the day fueled the Cardinals’ offensive explosion, giving them their most complete showing of the season.
Starting Pitchers
Steven Matz (STL): 4.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 0 BB
Chase Petty (CIN): 2.1 IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 3 K, 2 BB (MLB debut)
Game Summary
1st Inning
Lars Nootbaar walked and Masyn Winn singled to right before Willson Contreras jumped on a first-pitch slider, launching it 421 feet to center for a three-run homer.
Contreras gives the #STLCards a 3-0 lead in the 1st! pic.twitter.com/MsX0erO2ei
— Sports Hub STL (@SportsHubSTL) April 30, 2025
2nd Inning
Pedro Pagés added a solo home run to left field, crushing the 11th pitch of his at-bat after fouling off six in a row.
Pedro Pagés joins the home run parade! pic.twitter.com/afQqgnPCBL
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 30, 2025
3rd Inning
Masyn Winn doubled and Brendan Donovan drove him in with a single. Contreras grabbed his own single, Gorman walked to load the bases and Jordan Walker delivered a two-run double.
The #STLCards have scored 13 runs today
— Sports Hub STL (@SportsHubSTL) April 30, 2025
Are their road struggles officially over? pic.twitter.com/1JgJGcCaR8
Brent Suter entered for the Reds, but Pagés quickly added an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Victor Scott II capped the inning with an RBI single to make give the Birds a dominate 9-0 lead.
6th Inning
Cincinnati’s lone run came when Elly De La Cruz singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Santiago Espinal’s single.
Notables
Gordon Graceffo earned his first MLB win, tossing five strong innings in relief: 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 0 BB.
Gordon Graceffo picks up his first MLB win! 👏 pic.twitter.com/LfHzzw29Jh
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 1, 2025
The Cardinals now have eight three-run homers this season, nearly matching last year’s total of 10.
Their two five-run innings over the two games marked their biggest offensive frame since a seven-run spree in early April.
St. Louis matched their road win total in a single day in Cincinnati. They move to 4-12 away from home.
Cardinals ML (+105) hit easily and the total score barely went OVER 9 (-118).
On Deck
The Cardinals and Reds close out the four-game series Thursday at 11:40 a.m. CT. Left-hander Matthew Liberatore will take the mound for St. Louis against Reds’ lefty, Andrew Abbott.