The Reds got exactly what they needed from Andrew Abbott on Sunday. Not only did he cover seven innings for a bullpen that was running on fumes, he only allowed one run as his dominant 2025 continued. Cincinnati got enough done on offense to pick up a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon as they avoided the sweep.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (40-38) | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals (42-36) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| W: Abbott (7-1) L: Mikolas (4-5) SV: Pagan (18) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Cincinnati Reds got on the board early as Matt McLain extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a solo home run in the top of the 1st. Two innings later the Cardinals would get that run back after Yohel Pozo singled in Nolan Arenado in the 3rd to tie the game up at 1-1.
Cincinnati would take the lead again in the top of the 5th inning. Jose Trevino picked up a 1-out double. He then came around to score when Jake Fraley cracked a double into right-center. Fraley took third base on a passed ball and then scored on a sacrifice fly by TJ Friedl as the Reds made it 3-1.
The Reds would tack on another run in the top of the 6th. Kyle Leahy took over for Miles Mikolas to begin the inning and Elly De La Cruz welcomed him to the game with a leadoff double. He took third base on a ground out to second. With the infield in, Gavin Lux hit a grounder to short, but with the speed of De La Cruz he scored without a throw to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 4-1.
Andrew Abbott would keep St. Louis off of the board in both the bottom of the 6th and 7th as he completed his day with exactly 100 pitches. In the 8th inning it was Taylor Rogers taking over for the Reds. He would get two outs around a walk before Terry Francona made his way to the mound to bring in Lyon Richardson to face Masyn Winn. Richardson got the job done, getting Winn to fly out and strand the baserunner.
Still holding on to a 3-run lead, Cincinnati sent Emilio Pagan to the mound to try and pick up the save. He made quick work of things, needing just 11 pitches to pick up his 18th save of the season.
Key Moment of the Game
The Reds 5th inning that saw them score two runs to take the lead.
Notes Worth Noting
With the win the Reds avoided being swept and remain the only team in Major League Baseball who has not been swept in 2025.
Andrew Abbott’s All-Star caliber season continued as he gave up just one run in his seven innings. In his 13 starts this season he’s now got his ERA at 1.79 in 75.1 innings pitched with a 0.96 WHIP.
Jake Fraley fell one putout shy of tying the Major League record in a 9-inning game for right fielders. He had 10 in the game.
Matt McLain’s hit streak is now at 10 games. He’s hit .382/.447/.618 during the streak.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
New York Yankees vs Cincinnati Reds
Monday June 23rd, 7:10pm ET
Allan Winans (2025 MLB debut) vs Nick Lodolo (5-5, 3.71 ERA)
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