Reynolds, replay keep Cardinals in it
Successful challenge leads to game-tying single in seventh vs. Pirates
ST. LOUIS -- Mark Reynolds was signed by the Cardinals in the offseason to provide a power threat from the bench. On Friday against the Pirates, Reynolds showed that he can be more disciplined than the stereotypical homer-or-bust mentality.
Reynolds' infield single in the seventh tied the game and allowed the Cardinals to complete the comeback with a 2-1 win in 10 innings.
With Jhonny Peralta on third and Jason Heyward on second with two outs, Reynolds grounded up the middle. Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer was able to keep it in the infield to prevent Heyward from coming around, but Peralta was able to score to make it 1-1.
"Big hit for us coming off the bench and being ready," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "A tough assignment, they bring in [Jared] Hughes, a power sinker guy, and Mark was ready. He had done his homework and he was ready and he put together almost enough to get it through to get both those runs in, but a big, big hit at that point in the game."
The run was made possible with a successful replay challenge by Matheny earlier in the inning.
Video: PIT@STL: Cardinals challenge out, overturned in 7th
Mercer appeared to double Peralta off of second after snagging a Yadier Molina popup in shallow left. Matheny successfully appealed second-base umpire Mark Wegner's out call.
Without the extra out, Reynolds would have never gotten the chance.
"Any time it's a close play, of course they have a very good video crew that's on top of it and keeping an eye on what's going on out there, keeping a better eye on it than we can, and they caught what we needed them to see," Matheny said.