CINCINNATI _ Carlos Martinez walked a career high five on Sunday for the Cardinals. But, the right-handed ace was elusive through the first six innings as none of the walks scored.
Finally, the Cincinnati Reds strung together three straight hits in the seventh to knock Martinez from the game and cut the Cardinals' lead to three runs. It was then that the Cardinals' relief corps, in the persons of Zach Duke, Kevin Siegrist, Seung Hwan Oh preserved that lead for a 5-2 victory, enabling the Cardinals to avoid a series sweep against the National League Central Division bottom feeders.
Siegrist threw a double play ball in the eighth. Oh gained his 15th save with a scoreless ninth. Duke danced around trouble in the seventh, with the help of Moss, who temporarily has lost his slugging ways in a nothing-for-18 nosedive, featuring three strikeouts on Sunday.
The play of the game however, game from outfielder Brandon Moss. Fielding Scott Schebler's high fly ball to left with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Moss, having time to position himself, fired off the ball to catcher Yadier Molina to cut down base runner Tyler Holt to complete one of the Cardinals' four double plays. It was the second outfield assist Moss has had in his two seasons with the Cardinals and the first where he threw directly to a base to catch a runner.
His other one had been one of three throws to retire Joe Panik of San Francisco on June 4 of this year and Moss was well aware of that when he politely scolded a reporter for stating that Sunday's toss had been his first outfield assist as a Cardinal.
Asked how imperative it was that he do something defensively when he was nothing for 18, Moss answered, "Just as imperative as it is if you're nine for 18. Obviously, that wasn't there this series. I had a really bad series this series.
"It didn't go well for me. But it happens. To be able to come up with a big throw right there ... it felt good to be able to contribute.
"But I was pretty sure I was going to throw him out. I didn't really feel like 'I hope I get this right.' At that depth, I was pretty confident I was able to throw him out.
"It wasn't like the stars aligned."
Manager Mike Matheny said the throw "got us out of a tough jam. Either in the outfield or at first base, I think he's going to be a 'plus' defender for us. He covers a lot of ground. He has good instincts, (gets) good jumps."
Randal Grichuk and Kolten Wong both homered for the Cardinals, who extended their club record consecutive games in which they had homered to 23, two shy of San Diego's major league high this season and four off the 2002 Texas team's major league record of 27.
The two runs allowed by Martinez were the most he had given up in his last four starts as he boosted his record to 13-7 and 8-1 on the road as the Cardinals maintained their position as the second wild-card team in the National League.
"Carlos' stuff was very good," Matheny said. "Later in the game, I thought he got a little tired but, besides that, he'd (give up) that walk and come right back and make good pitches.
"It kind of shows you where his mindset is with each hitter."
