Molina’s success long in making 11 HOURS AGO • BY DERRICK GOOLD [email protected] 314-340-8285

CINCINNATI • When still was a teenager, his father, Benjamin, placed him on an amateur team in that pitted his youngest son against men 10 years older and 10 years more mature and forced him to find a way to make sure they weren’t also 10 years better. The team was the Hatillo Tigres. Benjamin had another predator in mind. “I threw him with the lions,” he would say. That was the explanation that Benjamin gave Bengie and Jose Molina, the older brothers, when they asked their dad why young Yadier was urged to play in one of Puerto Rico’s top men’s amateur leagues before even being eligible for the major-league draft. “Oh, I’m going to throw him with the lions and make him grow up,” recalled his father saying. “And he did. Yadi did. That’s why I think he’s good. He had to be a veteran at a young age. When he came over here it was nothing. I think that’s what started it, at least. You have to grow up quick in that league. That’s the way I saw it. That was the first step to where he is now.” Where he is now is the MVP-caliber and compass for the team with the best record in . The Cardinals often go where Molina points them. If it’s not shepherding a rookie-infused rotation to the lowest ERA in the , it’s providing as the leading hitter, often in the middle of the lineup. Molina walked into the ballpark Saturday with a .352 average, the highest in the NL and second in baseball only to Crown-winner Miguel Cabrera. He took over the NL lead with four consecutive two- games to end a week that began with his ejection from a game and one-game suspension. excused Molina’s spiking of his helmet and fixated more on the contact he made with an and a past suspension for an aggressive confrontation with an umpire. The Cardinals pointed to Molina’s aggressive argument with a rookie umpire as a sign of his intensity, his competitiveness. Those traits, teammates suggest, fuel his performance on the field and his increasing presence off it. They cannot be spliced. The high average and MVP trappings are recent additions to his game, but they are rooted in the same qualities that have made Molina the heir to as the Cardinals’ best player. His brother said that mature burn and feel for leading started with the Tigres. said the world first saw it when young Molina confronted at home plate in the 2004 . believes it was a more recent event that crystallized Molina’s place in the clubhouse — for him and the team. It happened where he spent the weekend at . “In my mind, it’s the ordeal,” Wainwright said of an August 2010 brawl that has become the B-roll for the rivalry with the Reds. “ had taunted our team a little bit, and we know Phillips – he feeds off that negative whatever. He tapped Yadier’s shinguards, and Yadi didn’t take that. So he kicked his bat. That said, ‘You disrespect me, you disrespect our team?’ For me that was a big moment for him. That was kind of what put it over the top for me. “Yadier has come into his own.” Molina does not see his rise to prominence at the plate or on the team in these snapshots, tiny epiphanies captured by the camera. It was far more glacial. Molina joined the Cardinals as a fourth-round pick out of high school in Puerto Rico in 2000. He reached the majors in 2004, spending time as a backup to his mentor, current . By 2005, Matheny was in San Francisco and Molina was the starter. He won his first of two World Series with the team in 2006 and his public accomplishments are tattooed on his arms, from Gold Gloves to titles. Comfort off the field came slower than it did on the field. “When I came up I was here in the corner, watching and trying to learn and listening to what (veteran players) had to say, seeing how they managed, how they led,” Molina said. “At the time I was just watching and listening and keeping all of that information in my mind. I didn’t know the language well. It was hard for me to communicate with another person, to have that conversation one-on-one. But over time I’ve learned. I’ve learned the language. “And when I was more comfortable, I had that information to put to work.” His swing like his presence took time. Molina was the man of many stances, mimicking one of his brothers one day and Pujols the next. As he improved his nutrition and his fitness during the offseason, he also settled into one approach at the plate. The results have been a .301 batting average and a .780 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage in his previous 730 games. No everyday catcher in the majors has a higher average and more than 300 games at catcher since 2008. And he’s improving. Every month last season his on-base percentage and slugging was higher than his career average. He hit .394 in May. Reigning MVP was the next closest NL catcher, at .305. “I feel I am getting better every year,” Molina said. “I know myself.” Finding the words to describe what Molina knows and how he has gone from the finest defensive catcher in the game to one of the finest all-around players is when teammates rely on stories not statistics. Matheny said Molina does “something every day to help us win that stats do not give due credit.” There was the time Molina and came in early to put together new scouting reports on Washington hitters. Or how Molina will sometimes stop referring to starting by their names and just say, “We.” Bengie talked about the lessons from being thrown to the Tigres. Wainwright talked about confronting Phillips. Carpenter said it’s fruitless to try to come up with the one example or one anecdote or one moment to define what Molina has become to the Cardinals. They all fall short. “As many questions as you want to ask to try and describe who and how he is and what he brings to this team, there is always going to be something left out,” Carpenter said. “That’s how good he is. There is always something that is missed. There is no way to get everything into an answer that describes the total package of Yadi. We can go from on the field to off the field and into the clubhouse, on to the bus, on the plane, anywhere, and even at a team function or a golf tournament when he doesn’t even play golf. We can talk about each of those things and there will always be something we miss. “That’s because he is the total package of what it means to be a great player.”

Wainwrght mixing up delivery 11 HOURS AGO • BY DERRICK GOOLD [email protected] 314-340-8285

CINCINNATI • A couple years ago, Cardinals Adam Wainwright was working to change the pace of his delivery to throw off the timing of baserunners. He found, like other pitchers have, that it did the same to the hitter. That got him thinking that maybe the sequence of his pitches wasn’t the only thing he could change to unnerve opponents. “I’m doing it in different ways now,” Wainwright said. “I may pause, go a little slower, get a little quick. I may go with my hands above my head, or not. I’ll move left to right (on the rubber). I think there is more to pitching that just throwing the ball.” Wainwright threw several different looks at the during his seven Friday night in the Cardinals’ victory. Wainwright brought his hands above his head to start his delivery in the middle innings and kept his hands at his belt later in the game. He added a pause at times and even made some gestures with his glove as if to tip pitches. He threw at 73 mph and 74 mph and mixed in a few 60-mph curves. He has become so comfortable with his basic delivery that he’s adding wrinkles. “You’re in a pretty good spot when you’re standing out there and you feel comfortable enough to start doing those things,” Cardinals pitching said. Changing the pace of the delivery is nothing new. does it often during his starts. Opposing pitchers will try to quick-pitch several Cardinals hitters who have timing movements like a leg kick or hand pump. What Wainwright has added is unusual. He breaks from habits other starters cling to. For example, he’ll move from the third base to the first base side of the rubber for different hitters. The key Wainwright said is for him to get to the same place with his hands, no matter what he does to start his delivery or what he throws out of it. As long as his hands break near his belt he’s in the ideal position to pitch. And the different things he does — pause, quick-pitch, slow curve — mean he has something new for the third and fourth time through the order. “It makes it more fun,” Wainwright said. “I want to make sure that I’m doing it with the right reason and not just doing it to be different. I don’t want to change too much, but I think mixing things up is only going to help.” OSCAR RETURNS Top prospect returned to the Class AAA Memphis lineup Saturday after being sidelined for nearly a month with a lingering ankle injury. Taveras, who started in center field, injured his ankle on May 12 and though the team expected a quick return the pain in his ankle persisted until it was re-diagnosed as a high ankle sprain. Eleven days shy of his 21st birthday, Taveras is considered one of the top hitting prospects in all of the minors. He brought a .317 average, four homers, 20 RBIs, and a .480 at Triple-A into Saturday’s game. BOGGS STARTING Righty made his second start for Class AAA Memphis on Saturday and allowed three runs on three hits and walks in four innings. What began as a spot appearance in the Triple-A rotation has now become part of the plan to find help Boggs rediscover his form. “We want to get Boggs’ mind right,” Lilliquist said of the righty who has twice been demoted to the minors because of his 11.05 ERA and struggles at the big-league level. “We felt that it did him good the last time he was down there to make adjustments mechanically. We’re trying to change his mindset. The repetitions that come with a start, getting out there and throwing a lot of pitches, and thinking like a starter – that’s good for him right now.” The Cardinals are not committing to using Boggs as a starter long term because he’s just starting to build arm strength. The team needs some added starting depth at Memphis because of the rookies that have been promoted to cover for injuries and ineffectiveness. Boggs pitched two scoreless innings in his first start for Memphis, his first start since a 2011 turn in Class AAA. EXTRA BASES Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup Saturday after leaving Friday’s game in the sixth with a sore quadriceps. Matheny said, that “last we pushed him through a few things and we’ve learned from it” when to give the veteran rest. • Before Saturday’s game, the Reds optioned righty to Class AAA Louisville and promoted reliever . When he pitches, Partch will be the fourth Reds player to make his major-league debut this season. • The Cardinals have had 10 rookies debut this season. … Shelby Miller retrieved the ball from his first major- league home , which he hit Thursday night at . The fan who caught it received two signed as part of a package in exchange for the homer ball. … Cardinals’ prospect Jordan Swagerty, who had elbow surgery at the start of the 2012 season, pitched an inning in an extended game and is nearing an assignment to an affiliate. … At Low-A Peoria on Sunday, starter will make his second rehab start as he returns from an elbow injury.

Latos slows Cardinals in Cincy's 4-2 win 12 HOURS AGO • BY DERRICK GOOLD [email protected] 314-340-8285

CINCINNATI • A day later than advertised, the Cardinals and Reds finally got the taut, tense and decided-late game that, true to this rivalry, left the losing Cardinals fuming about something that happened on the Great American Ball Park field. It just wasn’t the Reds that irked them this time. Carlos Beltran grounded into the final out of the 4-2 loss Saturday, but the Cardinals contend that Todd Frazier’s throw from third base took Joey Votto off the base. First base umpire Phil Cuzzi didn’t see it that way. He called Beltran out, pointing to Votto’s left toe near the base. Instead of having up with the bases loaded the Cardinals had a two-run loss and no explanation from Cuzzi on why he didn’t get help from an umpire with clearer a view of the play. “He was off the bag,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I could see it from the . I can’t believe the home plate umpire didn’t see it. Actually, the second base umpire should have seen it. It looked obvious from the dugout.” Said Beltran: “(Cuzzi) couldn’t see it. He made the decision based on the ball getting there before me.” As the Reds shook hands in the middle of the field, Matheny argued with Cuzzi, the umpire who ejected and from a National League championship series game in 2005. He asked why Cuzzi did not seek the opinion of the other umps who did not have to look through Votto to see the base. Cuzzi “just ran off the field,” Matheny said. An opportunity with the bases loaded against Reds Aroldis Chapman was worth arguing for because the Cardinals had so few during the game. The Cardinals won a lopsided game, 9-2, on Friday night in what has been a lopsided series this season — the Cardinals won five of the first seven games — with one striking holdout. All three games the Reds have won this season against the rival Cardinals have been started by Mat Latos. The righty held the Cardinals to two runs on eight hits through seven innings. They did not get a runner into against him after the third inning. Latos improved to 6-0 this season and is unbeaten in his previous 20 games. The Reds sent four players to before the 2012 season to land Latos and build the rotation around the young, lean starter. So far he’s 2-0 this season against the division-leading Cardinals. “That’s not a tough lineup, that’s a great lineup,” Latos said. “They used to kick the (crud) out of me pretty good. Knock on wood. This year I’ve adjusted to them as they adjust to pitchers throughout the season.” Latos has tamed the notoriously hitter friendly coziness of GABP, posting a 3.02 ERA in 1782/3 innings at the Reds’ home ballpark. That’s the lowest ERA of any with least 10 starts at the ballpark that Cardinals rookie Tyler Lyons learned the dimensions of quickly. In his fourth major-league start, Lyons failed to escape the sixth inning and had each of his mistakes pounded for extra bases. The Reds got solo home runs from and Jay Bruce off Lyons (2-2) to erase the Cardinals early one-run leads. Votto drilled a from Lyons for a tie-breaking in the sixth inning that produced the eventual winning run. Lyons allowed four runs on six hits and one walk. He pointed to the two homers and four doubles off him as proof of the Reds’ unforgiving lineup in an unforgiving park. “When (the pitch) got up they capitalized on it,” said Lyons after his 51/3-inning start, the shortest outing of his four appearances. “The mistakes that I made they were obvious and they turn what could be a good outing into a subpar outing really fast.” The Reds had chances to add to their leads but it took sending seven batters to the plate and getting five baserunners in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie. With the bases loaded, rookie coaxed a ball to end the inning. In the seventh, consecutive hits brought Votto back to the plate with one out and runners in scoring position. Rookie lefty in his second big-league appearance was brought in to face one of the best lefthanded hitters in the big leagues. Siegriest fell behind 3-1 to Votto before catching him looking at a fastball for a called strike three. With the bases loaded he faced Bruce and struck him out with a 94-mph fastball that home-plate umpire Miek Estabrook called for a third strike. “You don’t want to do that too often or at all to a hitter like that,” Siegrist said of falling behind Votto. “I wanted to see how he reacted to my fastball.” The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when drove home Yadier Molina with a shattered-bat groundout. The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the third inning when extended his to 12 games with an RBI . pushed his hitting streak to 18 games, and Matt Carpenter’s single in the first inning put his hitting streak at 17 games. The hits the Cardinals couldn’t get were ones with runners in scoring position. They went one-for-seven a day after going eight-for-19 in those spots. Latos kept the Cardinals off balance because “every time we’ve faced him he’s pitched differently,” Beltran said. He saw backdoor sliders Saturday. Before Latos tested him with and curveballs away. Latos also received some help from his . Shin-Soo Choo robbed Molina of extra bases with a catch in deep right-center field. Bruce made the catch that couldn’t in Game 6 of the when he jumped to keep Freese’s liner from richoeting of the right field wall. And then there was Frazier’s play to end it. The Cardinals had the tying run on base when Beltran turned on Chapman’s pitch for a sharp grounder to third base. Frazier backpedaled for the play and made the throw that took Votto off the base. Cardinals who saw the replay said Votto’s toe didn’t stay on the base. Didn’t matter. Cuzzi said it did. “Nothing we can do about it,” Beltran said. “The game is over.”

Cards pick high school star Forinaro 12 HOURS AGO • BY [email protected] 314-340-8196

The Cardinals started their participation in the three-day Major League Baseball amateur draft by taking Gonzaga University lefthanded starter . They finished it by taking the Gonzaga closer, righthander Artie Reyes. In between, the Cardinals took 39 other players, as the procedure finished on Saturday night. Several players with local connections were picked, including Francis Howell pitcher Calvin Munson, who was on the state title team but who also was the Post-Dispatch’s football defensive player of the year and is headed to San Diego State as a linebacker. The key selections of the day, however, were 11th-round choice Steven Forinaro, a highly-touted California high school righthander who, so far, is pegged for UCLA and, to a lesser extent, Puerto Rican Ricardo Bautista, who might be signed more easily. Both are just 17 years old but were third-day targets, said Cardinals scouting director Dan Kantrovitz because the Cardinals had, in essence, squirreled away some money the day before in drafting some college seniors, so that they had some wiggle room in their mandated $6.9 million cap for the first 10 rounds (11 players). “Our plan based on saving some money (Friday) through some cost certainty maneuvers translated into more upside picks today,” said Kantrovitz on Saturday night. Forinaro, a highly touted player from the Oakland area, was at a Cardinals pre-draft workout last week at Busch Stadium. The 6-foot righthander had an 0.82 average, fanned 157 batters in 77 innings and held opposing hitters to a .107 average this year. “I know it probably will take significant resources to sign Forinaro,” said Kantrovitz, who, nonetheless, was optimistic that it could be done. Kantrovitz equates Forinaro to a second-round selection and the slot for the high school the Cardinals drafted in that round, Oscar Mercado, was $941,400. Kantrovitz labels Forinaro’s fastball in the 90 to 94 mph range, with an excellent . “He came on the scene a little bit later than some of the more famous high school pitchers,” said Kantrovitz, who is convinced that “our scouts really beat the industry. “If we accrued enough money on rounds three to 10, then, hopefully we can sign a premier talent on Day Three,” Kantrovitz said. Many of the Cardinals’ selections Saturday were “gut feels,” of the scouts, said Kantrovitz, with the primary goal to stock the rosters of the Cardinals’ three first-year teams. Munson, the 31st round selection, could be one of the harder signs but Kantrovitz said he wanted to sit down with the family of the two-sport star. But Kantrovitz wasn’t prepared to say the Cardinals would allow Munson to play college football if they signed him. “He’s got a high ceiling in baseball but we don’t want to do anything to stand in the way of what future football has for him,” Kantrovitz said. “But we won’t typically take a player if we don’t think they will sign.” Munson has hit 95 miles on occasion, although the Howell first baseman hasn’t pitched that much. Coker (S.C.) College pitcher Zach Loraine, the 20th rounder, was at the Cardinals’ workout last week. He is a Fort Zumwalt and Lindenwood product who has been shifted from the to the mound, and he reached 96 miles an hour on the radar gun. “For a guy’s who has just been converted to a pitcher, that’s an arm you take a chance on,” said Kantrovitz. Former Lafayette catcher Luke Voit, who played at Missouri State and hit .299 with eight stolen bases, was the Cardinals’ 22nd-round choice. Kantrovitz said he was impressed by both Voit’s strong arm and his ability to block pitches. O’Fallon, Mo., native Blake McKnight, the Cardinals’ 38th-round choice, compiled an 11-3 record in his senior season at Evangel College, posting a 1.56 and a .156 opposition average, featuring a low 90s fastball with some sink. The Cardinals chose six in their first 20 picks but Kantrovitz said all of them won’t be shortstops when they start playing in the system. “We were taking shortstops who can move to a lot of different positions if they don’t end up maintaining shortstop,” Kantrovitz said. One of the other interesting drafts happened in the 14th round when switch hitting Elier Rodriguez, a high school catcher, was picked. “He was a little bit under the radar,” Kantroviz said. “He has ‘plus’ catching and throwing skills and he has power from both sides of the plate.” But the draft ended the way it started, with the Cardinals taking a Gonzaga junior pitcher. Though Gonzales is much more acclaimed, Kantrovitz said Reyes was “an interesting prospect in his own right. “More than anything, his mechanics are off the charts,” said Kantrovitz. “He’s almost as much fun to watch as Marco. I don’t know if he rubbed off on Marco or vice versa. It looks at times that they do it with no effort.” The Cardinals chose 22 pitchers, seven of them lefthanded. And they drafted one of the family. Switch hitting junior college A.J. Kruzel is the son of Joe Kruzel, the Johnson City manager who, in theory, could be skippering his own son.

Strauss: Duncans 'perfect fit' ends too soon 12 HOURS AGO • JOE STRAUSS • [email protected]

To know those in the Duncan family even casually is to know they don’t intend their pain for public consumption. But to have known Jeanine Duncan left little choice. To have known Dave and Jeanine Duncan more than a little bit one realizes that the couple perfectly complemented one another. The Cardinals former pitching coach was the couple’s public face but Jeanine possessed its more public personality. Baseball knows Duncan as Tony La Russa’s chief lieutenant, without whom TLR insists his Hall of Fame career would have been far less. Duncan is a man who weighs his words carefully and typically thinks again before using them. As a coach, he carried a hard exterior, rarely smiling. ‘Papa Dunc’ could intimidate the millionaires who worked for him. But he is also fond of composing letters longhand, sometimes in verse. If some considered Dave imposing, everyone knew Jeanine never perceived anyone to be a stranger, only folks she had not met . Jeanine had little use for a handshake. An embrace worked so much better. Now Jeanine is gone at 64, a brain malignancy claiming her Thursday night shortly before the Cardinals’ first pitch. In accordance with the family’s wishes, the club announced her passing late Friday morning. “Jeanine was the perfect match for him,” La Russa offered Saturday as he prepared for the 30-year reunion of the 1983 team he steered to the West title. “Dave is the strong, silent type. Jeanine was so vivacious. She cared about everybody and everything and had no problem showing it.” Dave served as Cardinals pitching coach for 16 seasons. The couple’s younger son, Chris, spent 11 years with the organization as a first baseman-corner outfielder. He celebrated the team’s win in the same clubhouse with his father. The Cardinals were personal to the family, Jeanine included. “Jeanine was an extremely proud mother,” said Cardinals general manager , who drafted Chris as the organization’s scouting director in 1999. “She loved life and felt very blessed to live it in the baseball world and to have two sons (Shelley being the other) in the major leagues.” Dave might go several days between sentences to a ; Jeanine, also a baseball lifer, organized luncheons for the pitchers’ wives at the family residence. Matt and Heather Morris left the Cardinals following the ’05 season when free agency carried Matt to San Francisco. The couple married in 2002, seven years after the Cardinals made Morris their first-round draft choice. Previously a Chicago-based journalist, Heather arrived needing to familiarize herself with St. Louis and Busch Stadium. Jeanine became a second mom. “I don’t know how she was with the other pitchers but she was very sweet to Matt,” Heather Morris recalled Saturday. “They’re both special people. She was a nurturing, mother figure who always treated you like you were the most important person in the room, or the stadium, even if you really weren’t. “I never saw her look down on anyone or be cross with anyone. She was such a positive person. We could all learn a lot from her approach to life.” Dave could be terse with the know-little, talk-a-lot crowd but Jeanine found a way to embrace anyone who came across her path, even after life began to fray on Aug. 20, 2011. Jeanine lost sensation that day on her left side and wrecked a golf cart. Dave was informed in the laundry room of the visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field following a loss to the Cubs and immediately returned to St. Louis. He wouldn’t put on his uniform again until the final game of the regular season. The family initially thought Jeanine had suffered a stroke but soon learned an aggressive plum-sized malignancy called a glioblastoma was growing within her brain. Dave, Jeanine and their sons knew the likely outcome but refused to concede. Jeanine underwent surgery at Missouri Baptist Medical Center then took part in an experimental program carried out at Duke Medical Center. Dime-size wafers were implanted in her brain. She rehabilitated. For almost 22 months Jeanine staved off a disease that claimed Hall of Fame catcher in only 10. Dave stepped down as the game’s longest-tenured pitching coach in December 2011 to be with Jeanine in their Table Rock Lake home. Chris’ playing career ended because of injury. Older son Shelley is an outfielder in the Tampa Bay system. With Jeanine undergoing treatment, a brain malignancy was found on the left side of Chris’ brain last October, necessitating surgery at Duke. The odds of mother and son sharing the condition are exponential. Several months ago La Russa called it “beyond unfair.” Jocketty, as assistant general manager with the Oakland A’s then general manager with the Cardinals from 1994- 2007, maintains close ties to the family. Jocketty’s wife, Sue, and Jeanine stayed friends. “It’s a loss to many people,” Jocketty said Saturday hours before his current team faced his former one, “I’m sure to everyone who met her.” It’s not that Jeanine would complete her husband’s thoughts. There were times when she would state the entire paragraph. It was Jeanine who in 1993 informed second-year A’s video coordinator Chad Blair how much Dave valued his work. “It was all news to me when Jeanine told me,” recalled Blair, who later accompanied La Russa and Duncan to St. Louis and still serves the Cardinals with the same title but much more responsibility. “It’s kind of the way they were together. She was expressive and gregarious. Dave’s not. But they fit each other.” At 21, Heather Morris lost her mother to brain cancer. She knew too well the odds Jeanine faced and the final months’ purgatory. She remembers how relief over an end to her parent’s suffering mixed harshly with an excruciating sense of loss. “I was hoping so much she would be one of the few lucky ones,” she said. Dave and Jeanine returned to Busch Stadium in April 2012 for a day held in La Russa’s honor. Jeanine had since ebbed and stabilized. Several months ago she lost her ability to walk. Within the last two weeks the family accepted her race was almost run. Few outside a tight circle knew but on Friday many reacted. Jeanine was about Dave and he was about her. To subtract one half from a perfectly balanced equation creates a worry. “The two of them together were a hell of a match,” Blair said. “I can’t imagine what he’s going though … what he’s been going through. He’s been going through it for a while now. All of us have that concern. Dave is a pretty strong man. My hope is that this game ends up being cathartic for him. I hope he gets back and finds a place in the game.” Jeanine Duncan loved life and those who filled it. Her family and her friends will celebrate her next Saturday at Cathedral Basilica.

Close call denies Cards' ninth-inning rally By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com | 6/9/2013 12:05 AM ET

CINCINNATI -- The outcome may well have remained as is, a 4-2 Reds victory over the Cardinals in front of a sellout crowd at Great American Ball Park on Saturday. But Matt Holliday should first have had his say. Holliday was left standing in the on-deck circle, his opportunity to come to bat with the bases loaded against flamethrower Aroldis Chapman thwarted by an game-ending out call that replays later confirmed never should have been made by first-base umpire Phil Cuzzi. With the potential tying runs aboard, Carlos Beltran sent a sharp liner to Todd Frazier, whose throw across the diamond drew first baseman Joey Votto off the bag. Only, Cuzzi didn't see it as such. He pointed at Votto's foot, implying that it stayed on the base, and called Beltran out. Cardinals first-base coach immediately contested the call. Manager Mike Matheny sprinted from the dugout to voice his displeasure as the Reds began their on-field celebration. "I can see it from the dugout," Matheny said. "I can't believe the home-plate umpire didn't see. Actually, the second- base umpire should have seen it from the angle we had from the camera." Shadowing Cuzzi as he walked toward the tunnel, Matheny asked him to seek a second opinion from someone else on the crew. Cuzzi didn't, eventually disappearing off the field. "He was off the bag," Beltran said. "But I guess the position that he [the umpire] had, he just didn't see it. He made the decision based on the ball getting there before me." Matheny, too, took exception with the umpire's seemingly less-than-ideal position to get a clear read on when Votto's foot left the bag. "He was trying to get around to it to see it," Matheny said. "I can't tell exactly where he was, and I don't know exactly what the perfect umpire's position is anyhow, but it looked obvious from the dugout." The call sealed the win for the Reds, who had earlier capitalized on a few elevated fastballs from Tyler Lyons to push in front. On the other end, Mat Latos, who has been a kryptonite of sorts against St. Louis, helped keep the season series from becoming even more lopsided. Though the Cardinals own a 5-3 advantage against the Reds this year, the three losses have come in games started by Latos. He didn't factor into the decision when he started at Busch Stadium on April 8, but he has since reeled off a pair of quality-start victories against the Cardinals. The right-hander's record sits at 6-0 on the season and he hasn't lost in his last 20 regular-season starts. "That's a great lineup," Latos said. "They used to kick the crap out of me pretty good, but this year I've adjusted to them." He's done that largely by pitching differently against them each time. In doing so, he's kept the Cardinals' offense from finding some semblance of predictability. The Cardinals were able to pepper Latos for eight hits in seven innings, but could string few together. Yadier Molina doubled and scored on a pair of productive outs in the second. An inning later, Allen Craig pushed the Cardinals in front, 2-1, when he singled home Holliday. St. Louis wouldn't advance another runner into scoring position until the ninth. "We took little chips and had some pretty good at-bats, but it wasn't one of those situations where we had overwhelming opportunities and things we left on the table," Matheny said. "But I thought we had a pretty good approach against him." Lyons served up a pair of solo homers to Jay Bruce and Devin Mesoraco, the second of which evened the game at 2- 2 in the fifth. Lyons, who entered the night 2-0 in his previous two road starts, fell into more trouble in the sixth. The Reds opened the inning with consecutive doubles, and before reliever Seth Maness could close the inning with a double play, they padded the lead with a bases-loaded single from Mesoraco. All four runs were charged to Lyons, who has given up eight in 11 2/3 innings since jumpstarting his big league career with a pair of seven-inning, one-run outings. "I thought for the most part, I threw the ball pretty well," Lyons said. "But the mistakes that I made were obvious. They turned what could be a good outing into a subpar outing really fast." Whether or not Lyons has earned himself a longer stay in the Cardinals' rotation is a question the Cardinals will be answering in the coming days. With Jake Westbrook nearing a return, St. Louis will have to unplug someone currently in the rotation. The Cardinals' attempts to scratch away at the lead were halted by some terrific defensive plays by the Reds' . Shin-Soo Choo and Bruce took away extra-base hits with consecutive highlight catches in the sixth. In the eighth, Bruce tracked Holliday's deep fly ball and made a leaping catch at the wall in right field. The Cardinals' rookie relievers, however, also did their part in keeping the game get further out of hand. After Maness escaped additional trouble in the sixth, Kevin Siegrist and Keith Butler shut down Cincinnati. Siegrist struck out Votto and then Bruce, with the bases full in the seventh. Keith Butler pitched a 1-2-3 eighth that featured a pair of , as well. "They've got five or six guys that can reach the fence at any time," Reds manager said. "You really want to add on as many runs as you should, especially easy runs. I'm just glad we won. I'm glad it didn't come back to haunt us." Despite the run-production difficulties, the Cardinals did have four players advance personal hitting streaks of at least nine games. By the fourth inning, Matt Carpenter (17 games), Beltran (nine games), Craig (12 games) and Freese (18 games) had already extended their streaks. All eight starting position players finished with a hit.

Cards Draft combines high upside, cost certainty By Chad Thornburg / MLB.com 6/9/2013 12:35 A.M. ET

After three days of decisions -- 40 rounds and 41 picks -- the Cardinals' scouting director was finally stumped. When asked if any of the St. Louis Draft selections stood out or had a particularly interesting story, Dan Kantrovitz couldn't put his finger on any one of them, ready to just run down the list, No. 19 to No. 1,205. "They're all special to me right now," said Kantrovitz upon completion of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft. "I could go on and on about all of them." The Cardinals refueled their farm system with 41 fresh faces: 30 college players and 11 high schoolers, all of which the club will be looking to lock down with a contact in the coming days and weeks. Negotiations between the Cardinals and their drafted players will begin immediately. The two sides have until 4 p.m. CT on July 12 to reach an agreement on a signing bonus. "It all came together really seamlessly," Kantrovitz said. "Although all of us are exhausted, it was just a lot of fun and I couldn't be more happy with the players that we selected. Now comes the hard part -- we have to get these guys signed." If there was a theme to this year's draft, Kantrovitz said, much like last year, it's pitching. Beginning with first- rounders Marco Gonzales and , the Cardinals selected 22 pitchers in addition to the 11 , five outfielders and three filling out this year's Draft class. "When we weren't taking pitchers, the plan was to take athletes or players that had some versatility with where they might end up," Kantrovitz said, adding that in most cases, that means taking a shortstop, a position that lends itself to flexibility. The Cardinals took an aggressive approach to Day 1, drafting what Kantrovitz called three first-round talents in Gonzales (LHP), Kaminskiy (LHP) and Oscar Mercado (shortstop). But on Day 2, they made some "cost-certainty" selections to preserve cap space, allowing for a Day 3 that began with promising prep prospects Steven Farinaro (No. 335) and Ricardo Bautista (No. 365). Farinaro, a UCLA committ, could turn out to be one of the Cardinals' most difficult signs, but Kantrovitz said he has first- and second-round talent. "We're thrilled with how it all played out," Kantrovitz said. "Based on saving some money yesterday through some more cost-certainty maneuvers, we could then translate that into some higher-upside guys early on [Saturday]." Although many of this year's 1,216 Draft selections will never reach the big leagues, Kantrovitz cautioned not to sleep on any of the later-round players, adding that signing bonus, not round selected, is most indicative of how a club views a player's Major League prospects. "For example, a guy like Steven Farinaro, who we took [Saturday]," Kantrovitz said. "If we're fortunate enough to sign him, his bonus will be a lot more than some of the guys that went before him. … Teams tend to spread out their money in different ways, but we definitely have a good feel for what players' chances are of reaching the Major Leagues."

La Russa impressed by Cards' hot start By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com 6/8/2013 7:15 P.M. ET

CINCINNATI -- After spending Thursday at the MLB Network studios to participate in First-Year Player Draft festivities and then jetting to Cincinnati to speak at an area function on Friday, former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was in Chicago on Saturday as the White Sox recognized the 30th anniversary of their 1983 division championship. But amid his hectic travel schedule and Major League Baseball obligations, La Russa said that he has kept his eye on the Cardinals, a team he managed from 1996-2011. It is the organization's storied tradition, La Russa told reporters in Chicago on Saturday, that he believes is the backbone of the team's ongoing success. "I understood when I first got there, and this is the same thing that's benefiting [manager] Mike [Matheny] -- there's almost a 100-year history there," La Russa said. "And when you go there, you have a responsibility to try to maintain or add to. And it's a very powerful force. The fans have positive expectations, and then you have Hall of Famers walking around all the time. And they're really encouraging. They want you and the team to do well. Now, Mike has got that." That '83 division title was the only one the White Sox won under La Russa, who was the team's manager from 1979-86. When he got word that the White Sox wanted to celebrate that division title during the 2013 season, La Russa suggested the team choose this weekend when the A's were in town. After managing in Chicago, La Russa went on to manage Oakland for 10 seasons. He then ended his managerial career in St. Louis, helping lead the organization to a pair of World Series championships and seven division titles. The Cardinals have carried over that run of success since he left, too. On Friday, the Cardinals became the Majors' first team to reach the 40-win mark. "I watched them play half a game last night in Cincinnati, and they get at it," La Russa said. "They really compete every day with a lot of urgency, and the guys on the staff like Mike. ... It's a strong mentoring system, the veterans teach the young guys, they do it throughout the system, great development. It's a very, very healthy organization and I was honored to be a part of it." Worth noting • Right-hander Jake Westbrook is scheduled to make a rehab start with Peoria on Sunday. Westbrook is expected to throw around 75-80 pitches. If all goes well, Westbrook, who has been on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation since May 12, is expected to rejoin the Cardinals' rotation next week. • Outfielder and top prospect Oscar Taveras returned to Triple-A Memphis' lineup on Saturday after missing nearly four weeks due to a high right ankle sprain. At the time of the injury, Taveras was hitting .317 with a .351 on-base percentage and 20 RBIs in 31 games. • A day after being taken out during the sixth inning with discomfort in his leg, Carlos Beltran returned to the Cardinals' lineup on Saturday. • After the Cardinals' Sunday night game in Cincinnati, Beltran will fly to Puerto Rico, where he will watch members of the first graduating class at the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy receive their diplomas. Two of those graduates -- shortstop Jan Hernandez and outfielder Joseph Monge -- were selected in the First-Year Player Draft this week. Hernandez was taken by the Phillies in the third round; Monge was selected in the 17th round by the Red Sox.

Lynn faces Arroyo to settle Cards-Reds in prime time By Zack Meisel / MLB.com | 6/8/2013 10:55 PM ET

Yadier Molina sat in his crouch, but did not put down a sign. Tyler Lyons stared in, waiting. This was the Cardinals catcher's way of telling the rookie pitcher to slow down during the fifth inning of Saturday's loss to Cincinnati. St. Louis enters Sunday night's series finale with the best record in baseball, and manager Mike Matheny credits Molina's work with a young staff as one of the main reasons. "He enjoys competing as much as anybody I've ever seen," said Matheny, a former catcher himself. "He loves getting the most he can out of his pitching staff. He's one of the least selfish guys when it comes to winning. And he takes a lot of pride in helping a young Tyler Lyons or Shelby Miller or whoever it is that's going to get on the mound to try and get them an opportunity to succeed. He puts a lot of time and effort and a lot of passion into it and it's obvious how our staff responds to it." Molina hasn't exactly been a slouch at the plate, either. The backstop is batting .352 with a .390 on-base percentage. "Everybody around here understands his value," Matheny said. "If you go talk to the veteran pitchers, they'll be the first ones to pass praise his way. He's a difference maker. He does something every day to help us win that stats never really give due credit." On Sunday, Molina will attempt to direct to his ninth win of the season. The right-hander has compiled an 8-1 mark and 2.76 ERA through 12 starts. The Reds will counter with (6-5, 3.38 ERA), who has faced the Cardinals twice already this season. Arroyo dropped a contest to St. Louis on April 9, when he surrendered four runs on five hits in six innings. Three weeks later, the righty held the Cardinals to two runs over seven frames, but suffered another loss in a 2-1 defeat. Cardinals: Westbrook on the mend Right-hander Jake Westbrook is slated to start for Class A Peoria on Sunday, in what will be his second rehab outing. If all goes well, the Cardinals don't expect Westbrook to need another start before he returns to the big league rotation, perhaps by next week. Reds: Relievers swapped Cincinnati optioned Logan Ondrusek to Triple-A Louisville on Saturday and promoted Curtis Partch to the big league squad. Ondrusek was 2-0 with a 5.64 ERA with the Reds, including an 8.71 ERA at Great American Ball Park. Partch posted a 1-2 mark and 3.74 ERA in 16 appearances for the Bats. Worth noting • Arroyo has faced the Cardinals more than any other team in his career. In 35 outings (33 starts) against St. Louis, he has compiled an 8-15 record and 4.54 ERA. • Reds hurler Mat Latos, who earned the victory on Saturday, has not dropped a regular-season decision since Aug. 24, 2012, a span of 20 starts.

Preview: Cards look to rebound for fifth straight series win against Reds | Published: Sunday, June 09, 2013, 8:00am

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Lance Lynn's start to 2013 is practically an exact copy of his start from a year ago.

He'd like to avoid repeating what followed last season's impressive start.

Lynn attempts to gain a share of the major league lead in wins by beating the Cincinnati Reds for a third time this year in the finale of this three-game set Sunday night.

Lynn (8-1, 2.76 ERA) went 8-1 with a 2.54 ERA over his first 10 starts in his first full season in the majors last year, earning a selection to the All-Star game.

The right-hander, however, followed that up by going 5-4 with a 5.02 ERA over his next 15 games and lost his spot in the rotation.

He's looking to avoid a similar fate, while attempting to tie teammate Adam Wainwright, Arizona's Patrick Corbin and Clay Buchholz of for the most wins in baseball.

Lynn is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA over his last three starts, yielding one run in seven innings of a 7-1 win over Arizona on Monday.

He's won both of his starts against the Reds this season, limiting them to two runs with 15 strikeouts in 13 innings. However, both of those outings came at home, and he was tagged for four runs and six hits in two-plus innings, while not getting a decision in an 8-5 win at Cincinnati on Aug. 24.

The Cardinals (40-22), owners of the best record in baseball, are hoping Lynn can help them rebound from Saturday's 4-2 loss to Cincinnati (37-25) as they seek a fifth-straight series win against the NL Central rival.

St. Louis took the series opener 9-2 on Friday.

While Lynn has been terrific on the mound, Matt Carpenter and David Freese continue to pace the offense.

Freese is batting .388 with 16 RBIs during an 18-game hitting streak, the longest active run in the majors. Carpenter is right behind, batting .425 with 16 runs while hitting safely in 17 straight.

Both may be in for a stiff test against Cincinnati's scheduled starter Bronson Arroyo. Freese is 1 for 12 against him, while Carpenter is 1 for 9.

After ending a three-game skid Saturday, the Reds hope Arroyo (6-5, 3.38) can build on his most recent outing.

The veteran right-hander is 4-1 with a 2.12 ERA in his past five trips the mound and is coming off his best start of that stretch, giving up four hits over eight innings of a 3-0 victory over on Monday.

That performance was in stark contrast to his 5-2 loss at Cleveland five days earlier, when he surrendered five runs and two homers in 5 2-3 innings.

"That's baseball, man," Arroyo told the team's official website. "I could throw the same stuff up there two nights in a row, probably have a pitching machine, and get completely different results. It's just some days, man, the ball bounces your way."

That largely hasn't been the case over his last 11 starts versus the Cardinals, with Arroyo going 1-7 with a 5.27 ERA.

Joey Votto is 11 for 29 (.379) in eight season meetings with St. Louis after getting a pair of doubles and an RBI Saturday. The slugging first baseman is 2 for 4 with two walks against Lynn this year.

Recap: Reds even series in 4-2 win over Cardinals ASSOCIATED PRESS | Published: Saturday, June 08, 2013, 9:08pm

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Three Mat Latos starts against St. Louis. Three Cincinnati Reds wins - their only wins against the Cardinals this season.

That's the record after Latos turned in seven solid innings and the Reds broke out of their slump with a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Saturday night.

"It felt real good," said Latos, who didn't get the decision in the Reds' first win over St. Louis this season. "Against that lineup, any time you can them to two runs or less and not walk anybody is a good day. That's a great lineup - not tough. Great."

Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in two runs, and Jay Bruce also homered and turned in one of several eye- catching defensive plays as the Reds snapped a three-game losing streak and scored more than two runs against St. Louis for the first time in the last seven games between the teams.

Latos (6-0), who got the decision in Cincinnati's last win over St. Louis on April 29, allowed eight hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts against a Cardinals team that went into the game leading the National League in hitting. He gave the Reds exactly what they needed.

"That was a very, very, very good ballgame," manager Dusty Baker said.

St. Louis right fielder Carlos Beltran credited Latos with making adjustments.

"Every time we face Latos, he seems different," Beltran said, who struck out to end the seventh as the last Cardinals batter to face Latos. "He mixes it up pretty good. He kept me off balance. When a pitcher can do that most of the time, he is going to be successful."

Latos got help from several stellar defensive plays, including back-to-back grabs by Shin-Soo Choo and Bruce of deep drives against the wall in the sixth, and first baseman Joey Votto's behind-the-back flip to Latos, who caught it barehanded and tagged first base to eliminate Matt Carpenter in the seventh. Latos rated that play and Bruce's leaping catch of David Freese's drive to the right field wall in the sixth as even.

"They were both outstanding," he said. "I saw Joey out of the corner of my eye. That's why I barehanded it. I wasn't sure if Jay was going to catch that ball."

The Reds, who'd lost five of their last six games against St. Louis, scored four against St. Louis rookie left-hander Tyler Lyons (2-2). He gave up six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings before a sellout crowd of 40,740 at Great American Ball Park.

Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless eighth and Aroldis Chapman allowed one hit and hit a batter in the ninth while earning his 16th .

The score was 2-2 when Derrick Robinson, a rookie outfielder making his first career start in the No. 2 slot in the batting order, led off the sixth with a double down the right-field line. Votto followed with a ringing double to straightaway center field. Robinson scored the go-ahead run, and Votto went to third on shortstop 's errant throw to the plate.

Votto couldn't score on Brandon Phillips' groundout to a drawn-in Kozma or on Bruce's swinging bunt infield single. Todd Frazier walked to load the bases, and Mesoraco grounded a single through the hole into left field for a 4-2 lead.

The Cardinals used fundamentals to take a 1-0 lead in the second. Yadier Molina lined Latos' first pitch to right for a double, went to third base on David Freese's fly out to deep right and scored on Jon Jay's broken-bat groundout to second.

Bruce tied it in the bottom of the inning with his 10th homer of the season, a 382-foot solo shot into the right-field bullpen on a 1-0 pitch with one out.

Beltran and Allen Craig both extended hitting streaks while giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead in the third. Beltran extended his to nine games with a one-out double to left-center field and moved to third on Matt Holliday's groundout to second. Craig hit a slow bouncer up the middle that shortstop Zack Cozart fielded behind second base, but his hurried throw took Votto off the bag, allowing Beltran to score. Craig was credited with an that gave him a 12-game hitting streak.

Mesoraco tied it 2-2 in the fifth with his third homer of the season and first since May 21, a 382-foot drive into the right-center field seats on a 1-0 pitch from Lyons.

NOTES: The Reds called up right-hander Curtis Partch from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday and optioned RHP Logan Ondrusek to the Bats, one day after Ondrusek gave up four hits and four runs in one inning of relief during Cincinnati's 9-2 loss to St. Louis. ... Beltran was back in the St. Louis lineup one day after leaving in the sixth inning with a sore quadriceps. ... Carpenter wasted no time extending his hitting streak to 17 games, leading off the top of the first with a single to left. ... Freese led off the fourth with a single, extending his career-high hitting streak to 18 games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... Bruce's 39 home runs off left-handed pitchers over the last four seasons leads all left-handed batters.

Latos, Reds slow down Cardinals By Jeff Wallner, The Sports Xchange | The SportsXchange – 13 hours ago

CINCINNATI -- Reds right-hander Mat Latos is among few pitchers who've managed to tame hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. The stakes were a bit higher on Saturday night along the banks of the Ohio River, with Cincinnati having lost its past four series against rival St. Louis and in danger of falling further behind in the NL Central standings. But, Latos helped put a stop to that with seven strong innings to remain unbeaten and Jay Bruce and Devin Mesoraco homered, lifting the Reds to a 4-2 victory over first-place St. Louis on Saturday night. "I felt great," Latos said. "That's a great lineup over there. I just made adjustments, and kept the ball down. They like to ambush you." The Cardinals (40-22) now lead the N.L. Central by three games over both the Reds and . Latos (6-0) allowed two runs and eight hits and lowered his career ERA to 3.02 at Great American, the lowest among pitchers with at least 10 starts there. "He doesn't let the ballpark affect him," said Reds manager Dusty Baker. "You just pitch your game." Derrick Robinson, batting second for the first time this season, doubled twice for Cincinnati (37-25), which ended a three-game losing streak to St. Louis. "I didn't put too much pressure on myself," said Robinson of batting second. "I just tried to get on base for these guys." Robinson doubled leading off the sixth and scored on Joey Votto's double to give the Reds a 3-2 lead. Cincinnati, which hadn't scored more than two runs in its past six games against St. Louis, added an important run on Mesoraco's single with the bases loaded off Seth Maness to make the score 4-2. "To come through in that situation was a big moment for me," Mesoraco said. St. Louis starter Tyler Lyons (2-2) allowed four earned runs for the second straight game. Latos got plenty of defensive help. In the sixth, Shin-Soo Choo made a running catch of Yadier Molina's drive to the wall in center and Bruce made a leaping grab of David Freese's fly ball just shy of the wall in right. An inning later, Zack Cozart threw out Shane Robinson from deep short and Votto made a behind-the-back flip that Latos barehanded to retire Matt Carpenter at first. "Our guys expect to make those kind of plays," Mesoraco said. The Reds had the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh but failed to pad their lead. The missed opportunities made for a pressure-packed ninth inning. "You've got to add on when you can," Baker said. "You keep putting pressure on the pitching staff. They need a breather ... give me a breather, everyone a breather, the whole town." The Cardinals opened a 1-0 lead in the second when Molina doubled leading off the inning, advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on a groundout. Bruce's homer tied the score 1-1 in the bottom of the inning. In the third, Allen Craig extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single, driving homeCarlos Beltran from third to put the Cardinals ahead 2-1. That capped the scoring for St. Louis. "Every time we face Latos he seems different," Carlo Beltran said. "He mixes it up pretty good. He kept me off balance. When a pitcher can do that most of the time he is going to be successful." Lyons was efficient through four innings, throwing just 41 pitches. But Mesoraco's opposite-field tied the score 2-2 in the fifth. "It was a fastball out over the plate," Mesoraco said. "I just tried to go with it that way." Saturday's game ended in a bit of controversy. In the ninth, Pete Kozma doubled with one out against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, who then hit Carpenter with a pitch to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs. Beltran then grounded to third baseman Todd Frazier whose throw appeared to pull Votto off the first-base bag. But first base umpire Phil Cuzzi called Beltran out. Chapman earned his 16th save. "I saw it from the dugout," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "He was off the bag. I'm surprised the second base umpire didn't see it. We certainly should have had another batter." NOTES: Freese extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a fourth-inning single and Carpenter extended his streak to 17 with a single in the first. ... Cincinnati optioned RHP Logan Ondrusek to Triple-A Louisville and recalled RHP Curtis Partch from Triple-A. Ondrusek allowed four earned runs and four hits in one inning during Friday's 9- 2 loss to St. Louis. ... Beltran was in the starting lineup after leaving Friday's game in the sixth inning with a sore quadriceps.

Reds 4, Cardinals 2 By Jeff Wallner, The Sports Xchange | The SportsXchange – 14 hours ago

CINCINNATI -- Right-hander Mat Latos pitched seven strong innings to remain unbeaten and Jay Bruce and Devin Mesoracohomered, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 victory over first-placeSt. Louis on Saturday night at Great American Ball Park. The Cardinals (40-22) lead the by three games over both the Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. Latos (6-0) allowed two runs and eight hits and lowered his career ERA to 3.02 at Great American, the lowest among pitchers with at least 10 starts there. Derrick Robinson, batting second for the first time this season, doubled twice for Cincinnati (37-25), which ended a three-game losing streak to St. Louis. Robinson doubled leading off the sixth and scored on Joey Votto's double to give the Reds a 3-2 lead. Cincinnati, which hadn't scored more than two runs in its past six games against the Cardinals, added a run on Mesoraco's single with the bases loaded off Seth Maness to make the score 4-2. St. Louis starter Tyler Lyons (2-2) allowed four earned runs for the second straight game. Latos got plenty of defensive help. In the sixth, Shin-Soo Choo made a running catch of Yadier Molina's drive to the wall in center and Bruce made a leaping grab of David Freese's fly ball just shy of the wall in right. An inning later, Zack Cozart threw out Shane Robinson from deep short and Votto made a behind-the-back flip that Latos barehanded to retire Carpenter at first. The Reds had the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh but failed to pad their lead. Pete Kozma doubled with one out in the ninth against Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman, who hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs. But Carlos Beltrangrounded out to third and Chapman secured his 16th save. The Cardinals open a 1-0 lead in the second when Yadier Molina doubled leading off the inning, advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on a groundout. But Bruce's homer tied the score 1-1 in the bottom of the inning. In the third, Allen Craig extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single, driving home Beltran from third to put the Cardinals ahead 2-1. Lyons was efficient through four innings, throwing just 41 pitches. But Mesoraco's opposite-field home run tied the score 2-2 in the fifth. NOTES: Freese extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a fourth-inning single and Carpenter extended his streak to 17 with a single in the first. ... Cincinnati optioned RHP Logan Ondrusek to Triple-A Louisville and recalled RHP Curtis Partch from Triple-A. Ondrusek allowed four earned runs and four hits in one inning during Friday's 9- 2 loss to St. Louis. ... Robinson batted second for the first time this season and Cozart was moved to eighth to provide more speed at the top of the lineup. ... Beltran was in the starting lineup after leaving Friday's game in the sixth inning with a sore quadriceps.

St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese Has Found His Stroke By Bill Ivie Jr | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Sat, Jun 8, 2013 12:54 PM EDT

COMMENTARY | The 2013 season dawned with David Freese on the disabled list for the St. Louis Cardinals. A month and a half into the season, his performance had many fans wondering if he should be off the disabled list or even in the big leagues. The Cardinals opened a series against division rival Milwaukee on May 17 and Freese opened the day with a .209 batting average, a .242 slugging percentage, and had yet to hit his first home run of the season. He had been hitting the ball hard that week and commentators started to acknowledge that he seemed to be settling in at the plate, preparing to break out of his slump and be the run-producing slugger the team needed. The season seemingly turned around that day. The first homerun comes in grand fashion The game on May 17 started out great for the Cardinals and Freese, as the third-baseman would unload a in the bottom of the first inning with Matt Holliday, Allen Craig and Yadier Molinaon base. The homer would double his RBI total for the season. It would be his only hit of the day, followed by two strikeouts and a ground out to short, leaving fans wondering if he was breaking out or landed one good swing. Runs by the bunches The grand slam on May 17 would also mark the first time in 2013 that Freese would drive in more than one run in a single game. He would not wait long to reproduce that effort. Freese would suffer a sore thumb that would cause him to miss the series with the team that drafted him, the , May 20-22. He would return to the lineup against the and produce a pair of extra base hits, including his second home run, and drive in three runs. His average was up to .236 by the end of that game. Hitting streaks fix everything Not counting the magical 2011 postseason, Freese has never produced a substantial hitting streak in his career. As of June 7, Freese had extended his hitting streak to 17 games, a career best and the fourth longest such streak for a Cardinal third-baseman over the last 50 years. Dating back to May 17, Freese has produced a .397 batting average, a .619 slugging percentage, five doubles, three home runs, and 16 runs batted in during his streak. His season average has reached .286 his slugging percentage is .396. He appears to be the hitter that the Cardinals expect when they pencil him in to the sixth slot of the lineup every night. Freese appears to be past his early-season struggles and back to his run-producing ways. The only question now may be how much longer the Cardinals hit him sixth. The rest of the National League is on notice: there's a Freese warning in St. Louis once again.