ST. LOUIS — Jonathan India had two hits to extend his hitting streak to nine games, Spencer Steer homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4 on Thursday night.
India had his sixth straight multi-hit game. He had reached safely in 11 consecutive at-bats before finally being retired Wednesday.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott (7-6) was the winner, allowing two runs on two hits and six walks in five innings. Cincinnati won for the second time in six games.
Miles Mikolas (6-7) lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing at least one run in each inning he pitched in. He gave up a career-high 10 runs, nine of them earned, on 12 hits and a walk.
Noelvi Marte, in his first game back for the Reds after serving an 80-game suspension for banned substances, had three hits, scored three runs and drove in another.
Elly De La Cruz had three hits and stole his major league-leading 38th base. Steer, Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild also had multi-hit games as the Reds scored double-digit runs for the seventh time this season.
De La Cruz’s triple scored India to give the Reds a 1-0 lead in the first inning and India’s RBI double added to the lead in the second. It is the fifth straight game that India has doubled in, the longest by a Red since India’s four-game run from Sept. 24-27, 2021.
Steer, Nick Martini and Marte each doubled and scored in the third to make it 5-0 Reds.
Steer’s homer in the fourth made it 7-2 Reds and Benson and Fairchild each had an RBI double to extend the lead to 10-2 in the fifth.
Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer in the third for St. Louis, his first since June 5. Brendan Donovan and Dylan Carlson added RBI doubles in the eighth, as the Cardinals lost for the second time in their last seven games.
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson was a late scratch from the lineup and was replaced by Luke Maile. Stephenson left the game to be with his pregnant wife.
TRANSACTIONS
Aside from reinstating Marte, the Reds optioned IF Livan Soto to Triple-A Louisville and moved RHP Emilio Pagán (right lat strain) to the 60-day injured list.
TRAINERS ROOM
Reds: OF Jake Fraley (right calf contusion) and 3B Jeimer Candelario (hamstring tendinitis) each missed their second straight game, but neither is expected to require an IL stint.
Cardinals: OF Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Springfield on Friday.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will send RHP Andre Pallante (3-3, 5.23 ERA) to the mound in the second of a four-game series against the Reds and RHP Frankie Montas (3-5, 4.48 ERA) on Friday night.
