Spencer Steer hit two home runs and drove in a career-high five runs and Elly De La Cruz homered and doubled to lead the host Cincinnati Reds to a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.
It was the first multi-homer game of Steer’s career. Jake Fraley singled, walked and stole two bases and also scored twice for Cincinnati, which won its second straight game.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott (10-9) worked out of bases-loaded jams in the second and third innings to snap a three-start losing streak. Abbott, who retired 11 batters in a row during one stretch between the third and the seventh innings, allowed one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Jakob Junis finished up with 2 1/3 hitless innings while striking out three in a non-save situation.
Paul Goldschmidt doubled and singled for St. Louis, which lost its second game in a row. Sonny Gray (11-7), who struck out five of the first six batters he faced, would up permitting six runs, tying a season-high, on five hits over five innings. He walked two and fanned nine.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Nolan Arenado. He knocked in Willson Contreras, who had singled and advanced to second on a walk to Tommy Pham.
Cincinnati took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third when Steer and De La Cruz homered on back-to-back pitches. Steer socked a two-run shot to left, while De La Cruz belted a 399-footer into the bleachers in left-center for his 21st homer of the season.
The Reds extended the lead to 6-1 in the fifth on Steer’s 18th home run, driving in Fraley, who had opened the inning with a single, and Will Benson, who had walked.