ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals did something Sunday they hadn’t done in 31 years, when the Cincinnati Reds last were World Series champions and the Cardinals most recently finished in last place in their division. The year was 1990 and the event, from May 4-7, was the last time the Reds had swept a four-game series in St. Louis.
When Jesse Winker, hitting two home runs off John Gant good for five runs batted in, mostly had accounted for a 7-0 Cincinnati lead heading into the sixth inning, the aforementioned scenario seemed a foregone conclusion.
Then, with Reds starter Wade Miley out of the game, the Cardinals, who have lost five games in succession and seven out of their past eight games, ravaged three Cincinnati relievers in a seven-run sixth inning to draw even. But Winker, connecting on an 0-2 curveball from Alex Reyes in the ninth, smacked his third homer of the game, giving him six RBIs and the Reds the lead.
