Wild walk-off: Cards win, ruling riles Reds

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ST. LOUIS — With the Cardinals having just squandered a late lead, Yadier Molina delivered a walk-off RBI double to lift St. Louis to a 4-3 victory over the Reds at Busch Stadium on Thursday.

The win put pressure on the Giants, who were playing the Rockies in a late game on Thursday, as it moved St. Louis to within a half-game of the second National League Wild Card spot. The Wild Card-leading Mets, idle on Thursday, sit two games ahead of the Cardinals with three days remaining in the regular season.

The win also came with a bit of controversy. Reds manager Bryan Price, thinking Molina’s hit was a ground-rule double, exited the dugout amid the Cardinals’ celebration, looking for the umpires, who had left the field. Reds players remained on the field, but after a few minutes, the game was declared over.

The Reds had wiped away the Cardinals’ lead with runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Adam Duvall’s RBI single drove in one before an infield single by Scott Schebler in the ninth tied the score with two outs.

Leaning on Alex Reyes to improve their position in the Wild Card standings, the Cardinals watched the rookie right-hander rise to the occasion yet again. With solo homers from Jedd Gyorko and Molina backing him, Reyes weaved through a few trouble spots to limit the Reds to one run over six innings.

This latest quality start by Reyes leaves him with a 1.57 ERA in his first 12 career games. Whether his season ended with Thursday’s performance will be dependent upon whether the Cardinals can add any October games to their schedule.

The Cardinals went hitless with runners in scoring position for a second straight night but found production elsewhere. Gyorko’s team-leading 28th homer tied the score in the second, and Molina’s blast padded a lead three innings later. In between, the Cardinals manufactured a run to take the lead against Reds starter Dan Straily, who threw 89 pitches over six innings.

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