Paul Goldschmidt‘s double in the eighth inning scored Michael Siani with the tiebreaking run, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Wednesday night.
JoJo Romero (7-2) got the final two outs in the eighth inning and earned the win. Ryan Helsley needed just eight pitches for a 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his MLB-leading 44th save in 48 opportunities.
St. Louis starter Lance Lynn tied his career high with seven strikeouts in five innings. The 37-year-old right-hander allowed one run on five hits and one walk.
With his five-inning outing, Lynn reached 2,000 innings in his career, becoming the sixth active pitcher to reach that plateau.
St. Louis tied it 1-1 in fourth when Nolan Arenado hit his 16th homer.
In the finale of the three-game series, the Cardinals will send RHP Sonny Gray (12-9, 3.84 ERA) to the mound against LHP Brandon Williamson (0-0, 2.08), 11:20 with the pregame and the first pitch at 12:15 on KIRX.