Naquin powers Indians past Cardinals in 12 innings

Tyler Naquin hit a go-ahead RBI double in the 12th inning to lift the visiting Cleveland Indians to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

Aug 29, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez is congratulated by a teammate after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

Naquin’s decisive hit off losing pitcher Alex Reyes (1-1) drove the Indians to their fourth straight victory and 11th in 14 games.

Nick Wittgren (2-0) picked up the win after tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Brad Hand earned his 10th save after retiring the side in the 12th.

The Cardinals went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position and lost their four straight game.

Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco held the Cardinals to two hits in his six scoreless innings.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty scattered three hits in five innings, but one of those was Jose Ramirez’s solo homer that gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Flaherty hit Sandy Leon with a pitch to lead off the third inning. Cesar Hernandez drew a walk and Ramirez hit the ball into center field, however Harrison Bader threw out Leon at the plate.

Genesis Cabrera relieved Flaherty and walked Francisco Lindor leading off the sixth. Lindor stole second base and took third on catcher Yadier Molina’s throwing error, but Cabrera struck out Franmil Reyes and Naquin to strand him.

Austin Gomber replaced Cabrera — who departed with a cracked fingernail — and walked the first two batters in the seventh. But Gomber got help from Molina, who threw out pinch runner Delino DeShields trying to steal third.

Miller drew a walk from reliever James Karinchak in the bottom of the seventh and reached third on Molina’s hit-and-run single. Matt Carpenter tied the game with a RBI single, but Karinchak prevented further damage.

The game moved into the tiebreaker format in extra innings with a runner on second base to start each inning.

The Indians tried the sacrifice strategy in the 10th inning. Reliever John Gant fielded Leon’s bunt, threw DeShields out at third and escaped the frame unscathed.

In the Cardinals half, Paul DeJong popped out to strand the bases loaded. Reyes retired the Indians in order in the 11th and Molina hit into an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the inning.

With the Indians up 2-1 in the bottom of the 12th, Hand’s wild pitch moved Molina to third base with nobody out. But the game ended on an odd double play, with Carpenter grounding out to first and Molina getting caught off third.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com