The Cincinnati Reds gutted out a 4-2 comeback victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, July 24, at Busch Stadium, erasing a one-run deficit to claim a division road win. Eugenio Suárez delivered the big blow with a home run and two RBI, Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson added key hits, and a five-man bullpen relay held St. Louis in check after starter Rhett Lowder exited. The win keeps Cincinnati applying pressure in the NL Central.
Eugenio Suárez Powers Cincinnati Offense
It was a fitting night for Suárez to step up in a division game. The veteran third baseman went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, providing the punch the Reds needed to flip the scoreboard. His blast was the kind of swing that changes the complexion of a road game in a rivalry series, and Suárez delivered it when Cincinnati needed it most.
Sal Stewart was right there with him. The rookie went 2-for-5 with an RBI, continuing to show why the organization views him as a building block. Tyler Stephenson, who has been one of the team's steadier bats, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and reached base three times. Nathaniel Lowe chipped in a 2-for-5 night to keep things moving. Notably absent from the offensive box was JJ Bleday, who has been one of the Reds' best hitters since his April 26 recall — his presence or absence in the lineup remains a storyline worth tracking as the series continues.
Lowder Gives Reds Five Innings, Bullpen Finishes the Job
Rhett Lowder's outing was a mixed bag. He held St. Louis to just one hit over five innings but walked two and allowed two earned runs — enough to put Cincinnati in an early hole. He struck out four and kept the Cardinals mostly at bay, but the Reds needed to come from behind to win this one.
The bullpen took it from there. Caleb Ferguson, Julian Garcia, Brock Burke, Tejay Antone, and Emilio Pagán combined for four scoreless innings to close it out. Garcia, who threw just one-third of an inning but struck out one, earned the win. Pagán got the save, striking out two in a clean ninth inning.
On the St. Louis side, Dustin May gave the Cardinals a quality start — six innings, eight strikeouts, seven hits allowed, one earned run. But George Soriano ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing three hits and two earned runs in one inning. That was the turning point. Soriano was tagged with the loss.
The Turning Point: Seventh-Inning Surge
Cincinnati was trailing or tied heading into the middle innings, but the seventh is where this game turned. Soriano came on in relief of May and the Reds pounced, pushing across two runs to take the lead for good. The back of the Cincinnati bullpen made sure that lead never wavered.
Key Performers at a Glance
- Eugenio Suárez: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
- Sal Stewart: 2-for-5, 1 RBI
- Tyler Stephenson: 2-for-3, 1 RBI
- Nathaniel Lowe: 2-for-5
- Rhett Lowder: 5.0 IP, 4 K, 2 ER, 1 H, 2 BB
- Emilio Pagán: 1.0 IP, 2 K, 0 ER (save)
- Julian Garcia: Win
- George Soriano: Loss (1.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H)
What's Next for the Reds
Cincinnati continues its road series against St. Louis with more division stakes on the line this weekend. The Reds bullpen logged significant work Friday night, and that workload is amplified by the absence of Tony Santillan, who landed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left oblique — his lost innings have pushed additional responsibility onto the relief corps. Managing arms will be worth watching over the next two days. Hunter Greene, who has been working his way back from an elbow injury, and the rest of a rotation that includes Chase Burns will be key factors as Cincinnati looks to take the series.
This was a gritty, earned win — the kind that matters in July when division standings are tightening. The Reds did not dominate, but they competed, came back, and closed. That counts.
