ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera slammed the ball to the ground in frustration when he was removed from the game Friday night, prompting a stern response from manager Oliver Marmol moments before St. Louis closed out a 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Cabrera was pulled after giving up consecutive hits to start the ninth inning. He fired the ball down as Marmol approached the mound, leading the rookie skipper to grab Cabrera and get right in his face.
“Your ego can’t get in the way of being a professional,” Marmol said. “I’ve known him a long time. He’ll be just fine. We have a good, veteran group that will address it. The kid’s a competitor, he wants to be in there. You can’t fault him for that.”
Veteran slugger Albert Pujols spoke to Cabrera as the pitcher sat on the bench. Standing in front of him, Pujols tapped Cabrera twice on the top of his cap before walking away.
All-Star reliever Ryan Helsley earned his eighth save when he got Brandon Drury to fly out to deep center field with the bases loaded.
Nolan Gorman hit a tiebreaking homer for the Cardinals, and Brendan Donovan drove in three runs. St. Louis stopped its two-game skid and improved to 4-4 on a 10-game homestand, its longest of the season.
Cincinnati had won six of seven and was coming off back-to-back series wins for the first time this season. The last-place Reds swept Tampa Bay at home and took two of three on the road from the major league-leading New York Yankees.
Andre Pallante (3-4) allowed three runs and six hits over five innings for his first win since June 10. He struck out five and walked three.
Gorman broke a 3-all tie with a drive off fellow rookie Hunter Greene (3-2) leading off the fourth inning. He was 2 of 24 over his previous eight-plus games before unloading for his ninth homer of the year.
“I kind of changed things up a bit,” Gorman said. “I had nothing to lose in that at-bat. It felt really good to get a barrel to a ball — and get it out.”
Marmol was impressed with the way Gorman handled himself during the slump.
“Regardless of how he's going, he's the same guy, coming in every day, working hard,” Marmol said. “He's still approaching it in a really positive manner."
Corey Dickerson added an RBI single in the sixth.
Donovan, who had been slowed by the flu, hit a two-run single in the seventh to make it 7-3. He also had a sacrifice fly in the first.
“I'm still looking for ways to grow and improve,” Donovan said. “But, I'm happy with how I'm competing.”
Dylan Carlson walked three times and had an RBI double in the second.
Cincinnati scored twice in the opening inning on a single by Kyle Farmer. Joey Votto had an RBI single in the third.
Greene allowed four runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked three.
“Just some pitches that weren't executed,” Greene said. “It's going to happen. That's where they capitalized.”
BIG OPPORTUNITY
The Cardinals play 48 of their next 69 games against teams that currently have losing records. St. Louis is 26-13 versus opponents under .500 this season.
TWO FOR ONE
St. Louis turned its major league-high 104th double play to end the second inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RHP Tyler Mahle remained in Cincinnati to throw on the side. He is expected to rejoin the team after the All-Star break. Mahle was placed on the 15-day injured list July 5 with a right shoulder strain.
Cardinals: RHP Dakota Hudson went on the 15-day IL with a neck strain. He allowed four runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 4-0 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday and is 6-6 with a 4.10 ERA. Marmol indicated Hudson has been pitching through the neck issue in his last two starts. ... OF/INF Juan Yepez was put on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain. Yepez went 0 for 2 on Thursday and is hitting .254 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati LHP Nick Lodolo (2-2, 4.44 ERA) faces RHP Miles Mikolas (6-7, 2.62) in the middle game of the series Saturday afternoon. Lodolo, the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft out of TCU, has not pitched past the sixth inning in any of his five starts this season. Mikolas has allowed 12 home runs in 55 innings against the Reds.
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