Cardinals lose despite Poncedeleon’s strong start

NATIONAL LEAGUE REDS 2, CARDINALS 1

CINCINNATI — St. Louis starter Daniel Poncedeleon made a sensational debut 14 months after suffering a severe head injury, throwing no-hit ball for seven innings Monday night before Eugenio Suarez led the Cincinnati Reds’ two-out rally in the ninth for a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals.

Suarez’s two-out, solo home run off Bud Norris (3-3) tied the game 1-1. The closer then loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, and pinch-hitter Dilson Herrera singled to end the Reds’ losing streak at four games.

Jared Hughes (3-3) pitched the ninth for the victory.

The late rally overshadowed Poncedeleon’s incredible comeback.

The 26-year-old right-hander was hit on the right temple by a line drive while pitching for Class AAA Memphis on May 9, 2017, fracturing his skull and causing bleeding in the brain. He had emergency surgery followed by months of slow recovery.

Poncedeleon was one of the top pitchers in the Pacific Coast League when St. Louis called him up Mon- day to help their injury-depleted rotation. He walked 3 and struck out 3, threw 116 pitches and gave way to a pinch-hitter in the eighth with St. Louis up 1-0.

Jordan Hicks allowed a one-out single up the middle by pinch-hitter Phillip Ervin in the eighth for Cincin- nati’s first hit. Suarez’s tying home run was only Cincinnati’s second hit. It was Norris’ third blown save in 21 chances.

Matt Carpenter had two hits, including a double in the fifth inning off Luis Castillo. Yadier Molina followed with a single for his 17th RBI

against the Reds this season, the most by any major league player against Cincinnati.

Carpenter homered in six consecutive games last week, a streak that ended Sunday. He’s 14 for 28 in the last eight games.

The Cardinals plan to start three rookies in the series, the first time they’ve had three rookies start in a row since September 1997 when Mike Busby, Matt Morris and Manny Aybar pitched against the Cubs. The last time they had three consecutive rookie starters before September was in August 1959, when Bob Gibson, Ernie Broglio and Marshall Bridges faced the Phillies, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

St. Louis infielder Kolten Wong went on the 10-day disabled list with a sore left knee, opening a roster spot for Poncedeleon. BRAVES 12, MARLINS 1 Freddie Freeman hit his 17th homer and also doubled for the Atlanta Braves, who totaled 16 hits to beat the host Miami Marlins. Freeman is batting .469 with five homers in eight games against Miami this year. The Braves improved to 6-2 versus the Marlins and have outscored them 56-29. Charlie Culberson had a career-high four hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in three runs. Dansby Swanson hit his eighth homer. Sean Newcomb (9-5) overcame a wobbly start to allow one run in six innings and earn his first win since June 16. He improved to 3-0 in three outings against Miami this season with an ERA of 1.00. Three relievers completed a five-hitter. Jose Urena (2-10) permitted five runs in four innings. He fell to 0-8 at home. Justin Bour homered for Miami. Freeman hit a two-run homer in the first, and Swanson added a solo shot in the second. A two-out intentional walk to Nick Markakis backfired on Miami in the third when he came around to score on Johan Camargo’s tworun single, making it 5-1. Ender Inciarte contributed two singles and a two-run double.

PADRES 3, METS 2 Jacob deGrom’s winless streak reached five games as the major league ERA leader was hurt by two errors behind him, and the visiting San Diego Padres beat the New York Mets in a matchup of teams with the worst records in the National League. Rookie left-hander Joey Lucchesi (5-5), brought back from the minor leagues, baffled the Mets for the much of the evening with his churve, a combination curveball-changeup at about 80 mph. Manuel Margot hit a go-ahead triple in a two-run fifth inning after right fielder Jose Bautista dropped Christian Villanueva’s fly ball. The Padres made it 3-1 in the sixth when Wil Myers doubled and scored when charging shortstop Amed Rosario let Eric Hosmer’s chopper get under his glove and bounce into the outfield.