Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Box Score on Sep 14, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 14, 2017

ST. LOUIS -- Tommy Pham became the first St. Louis player in 13 years to amass 20 homers and 20 steals in the same season with a two-run homer and a pair of steals Thursday in the Cardinals' 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium.

Luke Weaver (6-1) won his fifth straight start and sixth consecutive decision, stifling Cincinnati on two hits and an unearned run over six innings. Weaver walked none and fanned six, lowering his earned run average to 1.89.

Three relievers worked an inning each to close out the win for St. Louis (77-69), which upped its September record to 10-3 and finished a six-game homestand at 5-1.

Amir Garrett (3-8) was tagged with the loss as the Reds fell to 63-84. Garrett lasted four-plus innings, allowing three hits and four runs. He issued five walks and fanned seven, throwing strikes on just 46 of 89 pitches.

The result drew St. Louis within 2 1/2 games of first-place Chicago in the National League Central, pending the outcome of the Cubs' game Thursday night against the New York Mets. The Cardinals start a three-game series in Chicago on Friday.

Cincinnati scored its only run off Weaver in the second inning. Phillip Ervin's two-out grounder to shortstop slipped under Paul DeJong's glove for an error that plated Scott Schebler.

Pham started a third-inning rally by drawing a two-out walk and stealing second. After DeJong walked, the two worked a double steal. Jose Martinez knocked them both in with a single to left.

After getting to 21 steals in the third, Pham reached 20 homers in the fifth. Following Matt Carpenter's leadoff walk, Pham drilled a two-run homer to right. The last St. Louis player to reach the 20-20 mark was Reggie Sanders in 2004.

The Cardinals added Greg Garcia's pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth that plated Harrison Bader. Schebler capped the scoring in the ninth with a two-out RBI triple.

St. Louis also pulled within three games of Colorado for the NL's second wild-card spot, pending the outcome of the Rockies' game in Arizona.

NOTES: Cincinnati 2B Scooter Gennett (left hand inflammation) didn't start for a second straight game. Gennett left Tuesday night's game in the fifth inning after injuring himself fouling off a pitch in the fourth inning. ... Wednesday night's 6-0 Reds' win marked the sixth time that St. Louis had been blanked this year. It was the third time they had been shut out by Cincinnati in Busch Stadium. ... Cardinals 1B Jose Martinez extended two streaks on Thursday. He reached base in a 15th consecutive game and stretched his hitting streak to 11 games.