Reds stop 11-game skid, beat Cardinals 4-1 behind Lodolo

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds ended an 11-game losing streak, their longest in six years, jumping to a first-inning lead and beating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 on Sunday as former first-round draft pick Nick Lodolo got his first major league win.

Colin Moran drove in two runs for the Reds, who had been 0-4 at home this year and had not won anywhere since April 10 at World Series champion Atlanta. Cincinnati had been outscored 68-20 during the skid.

“There was a lot of celebration going on today,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It was obviously a big win. You could kind of see it weighing on guys, really for the first time. I was concerned that it might be affecting us, then they bounced back today. When we needed it the most, Nick got his first win. Throwing strikes, he had all his pitches working. It was a great day for him. It is something we can take into the off day and build on.”

The win left the Reds a major league-worst 3-13.

Tyler Naquin doubled on the second pitch from Adam Wainwright (2-2), who walked Tommy Pham and Joey Votto with one out. Moran hit a sacrifice fly and Nick Senzel followed with an RBI single.

The Reds’ 2-0 lead after the first inning was their first after a full inning since the 6-3 win at Atlanta on April 10.

Alejo Lopez singled leading off the second and scored on Naquin’s RBI grounder for a 3-0 lead.

Lodolo (1-2), a 24-year-old left-hander selected seventh overall in the 2019 amateur draft, made his third big league start. Facing an exclusively right-handed lineup, he allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none in 5 1/3 shutout innings before Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O'Neill hit consecutive doubles in the sixth. Lodolo retired Nolan Arenado on a flyout, and Tony Santillan got Albert Pujols to pop out.

“Nine right-handed bats with a team of this calibre really feels good, especially after the skid we’ve been on,” Lodolo said.

Lodolo has 15 strikeouts in a combined 10 2/3 innings over his last two starts.

“The first major league win?” he said, echoing a question. “Its good. It was cool, especially the skid we’ve been on. It’s good to get a win. It was a good celebration. I won’t speak too much on it, but it was a lot of fun.”

Santillan and Art Warren combined for 2 1/3 innings shutout innings, and Lucas Sims pitched a perfect ninth for his first save this season.

Arenado went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at Great American Ball Park at 18 games, a stadium record.

The Reds avoided their longest losing streak since dropping 13 straight in 2015.

Pham scored two runs and had two hits, ending an 0-for-10 slide.

Wainwright (2-2) allowed four runs, eight hits and three walks in five-plus innings, and the Cardinals finished a 6-4 trip. Moran chased Wainwright with an RBI single in the sixth.

“They spat on every close pitch,” Wainwright said. “They didn’t swing at any of them. They didn’t swing at anything an inch off the plate. They had a good plan on me, I guess.

The leadoff batter reached in five of the six inning started by Wainwright.

“That’s not a good plan,” he said. “That’s not sustainable.”

POWER OUTAGE

The Reds and Cardinals combined to go all three games without hitting a home run, just the second time in Great American Ball Park’s 20-year history that a three-game series ended with nobody clearing the fence. The first was against the Nationals on July 25-27, 2014. A three-game homer drought played out over two home stands in 2021 with one game against Detroit and two against the Dodgers.

EYES HAVE IT

The game was delayed in the bottom of the eighth inning while Reds trainers worked to help plate umpire Brian O’Nora clear up an eye problem.

MOVE

The Reds claimed infielder Matt Reynolds from the Mets and designated for assignment RHP Ryan Hendrix.

MEDAL MAN

Cincinnati C Mark Kolozsvary, the starter for the United States team that won a silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Ouympics, made his first career start and plate appearance.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: 2B Jonathan India (right hamstring) took groundballs and could be activated on Tuesday. … C Tyler Stephenson (concussion) might not make the trip that is scheduled to start on Friday in Colorado, Bell said before Sunday’s game.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (1-0, 1.76) is the scheduled starter for Monday’s opener of a three-game home series against the Mets.

Reds: LHP Reiver Sanmartin (0-2, 7.11) is Tuesday’s scheduled starter against the Padres, who swept a three-game series against Cincinnati last week in San Diego.

TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Volpe grew up watching Derek Jeter star at shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Now, the 21-year-old is getting the chance to be the Yankees’ opening day shortstop against the San Francisco Giants.

The team announced after a 6-2 win over Toronto in spring training that Volpe had won the spot. New York manager Aaron Boone called the kid into his office to deliver the news.

“My heart was beating pretty hard,” said Volpe, rated one of baseball’s best prospects. “Incredible. I’m just so excited. It’s hard for me to even put into words.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, hitting coach Dillon Lawson and bench coach Carlos Mendoza were also present.

Volpe was able to share the news with his parents and other family members near the Yankees’ dugout and said it is something he will never forget.

“It was pretty emotional,” Volpe said. “It was just an unbelievable moment to share with them.”

Volpe, who grew up a Yankees fan, lived in Manhattan as a child before moving to New Jersey. Jeter was his favorite player.

“It’s very surreal,” Volpe said. “I’ve only ever been to games at Yankee Stadium and for the most part only watched him play there.”

Volpe is hitting .314 with three homers, five RBIs and a .417 on-base percentage in 17 Grapefruit League games. He has just 22 games of experience at Triple-A.

Spring training started with Volpe, Oswald Peraza and holdover Isiah Kiner-Falefa competing for the everyday shortstop job. Kiner-Falefa was shifted into a utility role midway through camp, and Peraza was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday evening.

“While certainly the performance was there, he killed it between the lines,” Boone said of Volpe. “All the other things that we’ve been hearing about showed up. There’s an energy he plays the game with, and an instinct that he has that is evident. He really checked every box that we could have had for him. Absolutely kicked the door in and earned his opportunity.”

Volpe arrived in Florida in December to work out at the Yankees’ minor league complex.

“He’s earned the right to take that spot, and we’re excited for him and excited for us,” Cashman said. “He just dominated all sides of the ball during February and March, and that bodes well obviously for him as we move forward.”

Volpe was selected out of high school with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft from Delbarton School in New Jersey. He passed up a college commitment to Vanderbilt to sign with the Yankees.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get into the organization,” Volpe said. “This day, this feeling, this moment was kind of what I’ve worked my whole life for when I made that big decision.”

“Right now it’s crazy,” he added. “I don’t even know what lies ahead but Thursday I just want to go out and play, and have fun.”