ST. LOUIS _ The errors the Cardinals committed early in the game to give them a uphill slog for eight innings weren't nearly as costly as the ones by the Reds in the ninth.
Reds closer Raisel Iglesias deflected a potential double-play ball with the bases loaded to permit the Cardinals' first run of the ninth, and then the righthanded balked to bring home the tying run.
Kolten Wong drove a ball to the wall for a walk-off, RBI single that completed the comeback and a 5-4 victory at Busch Stadium.
The Cincinnati Reds, fresh off a doubleheader on the other side of the state, capitalized on the two early errors for a lead that lasted until the final swing of the game. The Cardinals' first game against the Reds this season was also their first at home since July 26. Since, they had an extended absence from the MLB schedule due to an outbreak of COVID-19 that led to 18 positives tests on the team, including 10 players.
They returned with the fallout from that outbreak on display _ especially as they rushed the field to celebrate the walk-off and had no contact with each other at all.
Wong thought about grabbing a water bucket to dump it on himself.
He opted not to.
"Seemed like they didn't really know what to do," starter Adam Wainwright said.
Molina became the first of those players to return from the virus, and he drove in the Cardinals' first two runs with a single in his first at-bat since last month. He added a third RBI in the decisive rally in the ninth inning.
That costly cascade began with the first of Iglesias' mistakes. He hit leadoff batter Brad Miller with a pitch. The Reds' closer than walked Tyler O'Neill to put the tying run on base. Dexter Fowler threaded a single to right field to load the bases for Molina.
Molina chopped a hard groundball back to the mound and Iglesias stabbed at it with his glove.
The ball ricocheted toward the hole between third and shortstop _ into a no man's land that allowed Molina to reach base easily and Miller to score from third. Had Iglesias gloved the ball clean or gotten out of its path the Reds would have had a double play and been one out away from cinching the win. Instead, Iglesias stayed in, flinched, and brought the tying run home on a balk.
Against reliever Nick Jones, Wong, who had struck out three times in the game, got the sweet finish with a line drive out of reach of the Reds' five infielders and two outfielders.
