Jonathan India got two hits, keeping his streak alive at nine games, while Spencer Steer hit a home run as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4 on Thursday night.
India had his sixth consecutive game with at least two hits. He had reached base safely in 11 straight at-bats before being stopped on Wednesday.
“We started strong,” India said. “It’s a big win for us, but we need to keep it up. Lately, we’ve won big in the first game of the series but then struggled after.”
Andrew Abbott (7-6), the Reds’ starting pitcher, earned the win despite giving up two runs on two hits and six walks over five innings. This win was Cincinnati’s second in six games.
“That was probably one of my worst performances ever,” Abbott admitted. “My timing and mechanics were all over the place. But my team backed me up, and we got the win. That’s what counts.”
Miles Mikolas (6-7), pitching for the Cardinals, lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing runs in every inning he pitched. He gave up a career-high 10 runs, nine of them earned, on 12 hits and a walk.
“He left too many pitches in the middle of the plate, and they took advantage,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. “They had some really good at-bats. We just have to move on from this one.”
Noelvi Marte returned to the Reds after serving an 80-game suspension for banned substances. He made an immediate impact with three hits, scoring three runs and driving in another.
“I focused on staying emotionally ready and attacking each pitch,” Marte said through an interpreter.
Elly De La Cruz also had three hits and stole his league-leading 38th base. Alongside Steer, Will Benson, and Stuart Fairchild, who also had multi-hit games, the Reds scored at least ten runs for the seventh time this season.
