Jesse Winker homers three times as Reds survive blown seven-run lead to sweep Cardinals in St. Louis
Winker becomes the first player in Reds history to homer three times in a game twice in one season
By
Matt Snyder
•
1 min read
Heading into a four-game series against the Reds on Thursday, the Cardinals were right on the heels of first place in the NL Central. The Reds were visiting with a 24-29 record despite having started the season 6-1. Four games later and we have a Reds' sweep in St. Louis (CIN 8, STL 7). Baseball can be a cruel mistress sometimes, no?
On the Reds' end, Sunday was particularly memorable. The Reds opened up a 7-0 lead through three innings. That lead held until the bottom of the sixth.
Here's how the Cardinals' sixth unfolded:
- Nolan Arenado singled.
- Tyler O'Neill homered (7-2 Reds).
- Edmundo Sosa walked.
- José Rondon reached on an infield single.
- Andrew Knizner singled to load the bases.
- Matt Carpenter doubled (7-4 Reds).
- Tommy Edman reached on an infield single, scoring one (7-5 Reds).
- Dylan Carlson walked.
- Paul Goldschmidt hit into a double play.
- Arenado singled to score two (7-7).
- O'Neill then popped out.
All that and it was a brand new ballgame headed to the seventh.
Fast-forward to the ninth and let's watch Jesse Winker do his thing.
As noted in the highlight, that was Winker's third homer of the game. Winker also hit three homers on May 21 against the Brewers. He is the first player in Reds history -- the oldest franchise in baseball -- to have multiple three-homer games in a season (list of three-homer games here).
It's probably safe to say Winker is in the midst of his career year. The 27-year-old outfielder is now hitting .350/.412/.665 with 17 homers and 37 RBI. He deserves some love in All-Star balloting (I've already voted for him).
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to two and a half games out in the NL Central, in third place. The Reds remain four games out, which is certainly within striking range. They'd been scuffling for a while, but this is the type of series that could turn the season around.
