Reds Rally from Three Down for Walk-Off Win Over Cardinals
CIN def. STL · August 17, 2026 · Final: Reds 6, Cardinals 5
Cincinnati trailed 4-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, having fallen into a three-run hole after St. Louis scored twice in the top of that inning. At that point, the path back looked steep.
The Reds started cutting into it immediately. In the bottom of the sixth, Cincinnati first baseman Michael Toglia lined a double to right that scored JJ Bleday to make it 4-2. Then right fielder Héctor Rodríguez grounded a single to center, scoring both Eugenio Suárez and Toglia to tie it at four — though Rodríguez was thrown out trying to stretch the hit, the damage was done.
St. Louis reclaimed the lead in the top of the eighth when Cardinals outfielder Bryan Torres singled home Jordan Walker to put the visitors up 5-4.
That's where it stood heading into the bottom of the ninth, Cincinnati's win probability sitting at 4.7 percent. Reds center fielder Dane Myers changed the equation with one swing, sending a solo home run — his fifth of the season — to left center to tie it at five.
The game moved to the tenth inning with the score still knotted. Cincinnati had placed a runner at second to start the inning, per extra-innings rules. Elly De La Cruz, the Reds' designated hitter, hit a ground ball toward third that deflected off Cardinals third baseman Blaze Jordan and skipped into left field. Tyler Stephenson scored on the play, and De La Cruz was credited with his 19th double of the season.
Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 5.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 3 runs — in the top of the 6th
- Win-probability nadir
- 4.7% (down 1 in the bottom of the 9th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 10th
- Lead changes
- 2
- Final
- CIN 6, STL 5 — won by 1, walk-off
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | Eugenio Suárez out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Nathan Church. Elly De La Cruz scores. | 0-1 |
| T4 | Iván Herrera homers (14) on a fly ball to center field. | 1-1 |
| T4 | Masyn Winn singles on a ground ball to right fielder Héctor Rodríguez. Alec Burleson scores. Joshua Báez to 2nd. | 2-1 |
| T6 | Nathan Church singles on a line drive to center fielder TJ Friedl. Jordan Walker scores. | 3-1 |
| T6 | Blaze Jordan singles on a line drive to left fielder JJ Bleday. Nathan Church scores. Bryan Torres out at 3rd on the throw, left fielder JJ Bleday to third baseman Eugenio Suárez to shortstop Matt McLain. | 4-1 |
| B6 | Michael Toglia doubles (2) on a line drive to right fielder Joshua Báez. JJ Bleday scores. Eugenio Suárez to 3rd. | 4-2 |
| B6 | Reds challenged (tag play), call on the field was upheld: Héctor Rodríguez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Nathan Church. Eugenio Suárez scores. Michael Toglia scores. Héctor Rodríguez out at 2nd on the throw, center fielder Nathan Church to first baseman Alec Burleson to second baseman JJ Wetherholt. | 4-4 |
| T8 | Bryan Torres singles on a ground ball to left fielder JJ Bleday. Jordan Walker scores. Masyn Winn to 3rd. | 5-4 |
| B9 | Dane Myers homers (5) on a fly ball to left center field. | 5-5 |
| B10 | Elly De La Cruz doubles (19) on a ground ball to left fielder José Fermín, deflected by third baseman Blaze Jordan. Tyler Stephenson scores. Elly De La Cruz to 1st. | 5-6 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| CIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 1 |
CINWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elly De La CruzDH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .261 |
| Sal Stewart2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .258 |
| JJ BledayLF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .223 |
| Michael Toglia1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .158 |
| Matt McLainSS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .194 |
| Héctor RodríguezRF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .107 |
| Dane MyersCF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .259 |
| Tyler StephensonC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .248 |
| Eugenio Suárez3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .210 |
| Jose TrevinoC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .242 |
| TJ FriedlCF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .158 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhett Lowder | 6.2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 99 |
| Brock Burke | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 30 |
| Zach McCambley | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| Emilio Pagán | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
STLLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JJ Wetherholt2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .244 |
| Alec Burleson1B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .289 |
| Jordan WalkerDH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .289 |
| Joshua BáezRF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .167 |
| José FermínLF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .238 |
| Masyn WinnSS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .236 |
| Everson PereiraCF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .234 |
| Blaze Jordan3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .253 |
| Iván HerreraC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .248 |
| Nathan ChurchCF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .234 |
| Bryan TorresLF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .229 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Pallante | 6.0 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 88 |
| Peter Strzelecki | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 46 |
| Justin Bruihl | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |