Jonathan India collects 2 more hits as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4

Updated Jun. 29, 2024 6:37 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jonathan India doubled twice in his eighth consecutive multihit game, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 on Saturday.

India scored a run and drove in two more. He has at least one double in each of his last seven games. He is batting .512 (21 for 41) with one homer and six RBIs during an 11-game hit streak.

“He just looks so good out there in every part of the game,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He’s moving well. Physically, he looks great, and we’ve always known he can hit. It seems like he’s been here for so long, and he’s still young and getting better.”

Austin Wynns hit three doubles for Cincinnati in his first major league game since Oct. 1 for Colorado against Minnesota. Elly De La Cruz doubled and tripled, and Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild each had two RBIs.

Paul Goldschmidt hit his 11th homer for St. Louis, which beat Cincinnati 1-0 on Friday. Sonny Gray (9-5) was charged with six runs, three earned, and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Cincinnati (39-44) broke it open when it sent 10 batters to the plate in a six-run fifth. With one out and the bases loaded, De La Cruz scampered home when third baseman Nolan Arenado mishandled a potential double-play grounder.

“It just didn't go our way,” Gray said. “Once that fifth inning kind of went the way it does, it kind of felt like after Marte's at-bat the momentum was completely on their side. We were kind of flirting with it at the time. It kind of went to their side and then that inning kind of escalated on us.”

Fairchild and Benson hit consecutive two-run singles off John King with two down, and Wynns doubled home Benson for an 8-1 lead.

“The approach off Sonny was so good," Bell said. “Staying through the middle of the field, hitting line drives. When we're not hitting home runs, it's nice to get rewarded by hitting doubles.”

Reds starter Carson Spiers (2-1) allowed two runs, one earned, and three hits in six innings.

“Utilizing both sides of the plate, that’s kind of what I did today,” Spiers said. “Very efficient, very effective early, especially setting the tone. I think that’s when I kind of get into a groove and things kind of start rolling. Changeups were working really good early and then spotted some cutters up and fastballs up so it worked out.”

Goldschmidt went deep in the sixth, stopping Spiers’ streak of 43 consecutive innings without allowing a home run.

Gray struck out and walked one in his shortest start of the season. It was his second career start against the Reds, who traded him to Minnesota in March 2022.

“I thought Sonny actually did a good job,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Overall man, he made his pitch there at the end, and it didn't go our way.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: OF Jake Fraley (bruised right calf) returned to the lineup and started at designated hitter for the first time since being scratched before Wednesday’s game at Philadelphia.

Cardinals: OF Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain) started in right field and went 0 for 3 while playing five innings for Double-A Springfield in the first game of a rehabilitation assignment on Friday night. Nootbaar is scheduled to play seven innings for Springfield on Saturday night.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Hunter Greene (5-3, 3.79 ERA) will face Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (3-3, 3.86 ERA) on Sunday in the finale of the four-game set.

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