ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jonathan India doubled twice in his eighth consecutive multihit game, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 on Saturday.
India scored a run and drove in two more. He has at least one double in each of his last seven games. He is batting .512 (21 for 41) with one homer and six RBIs during an 11-game hit streak.
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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jonathan India doubled twice in his eighth consecutive multihit game, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 on Saturday.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray walks to the dugout after being pulled in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson, right, is congratulated by first base coach Collin Cowgill (54) after hitting a two-run single in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt (46) is congratulated by third base coach Ron 'Pop' Warner, left, after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds catcher Austin Wynns, left, celebrates with teammate Brent Suter, right after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Brent Suter throws in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds' Jonathan India hits an RBI ground rule double in the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
“He just looks so good out there in every part of the game,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He’s moving well. Physically, he looks great, and we’ve always known he can hit. It seems like he’s been here for so long, and he’s still young and getting better.”
Austin Wynns hit three doubles for Cincinnati in his first major league game since Oct. 1 for Colorado against Minnesota. Elly De La Cruz doubled and tripled, and Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild each had two RBIs.
Paul Goldschmidt hit his 11th homer for St. Louis, which beat Cincinnati 1-0 on Friday. Sonny Gray (9-5) was charged with six runs, three earned, and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Cincinnati (39-44) broke it open when it sent 10 batters to the plate in a six-run fifth. With one out and the bases loaded, De La Cruz scampered home when third baseman Nolan Arenado mishandled a potential double-play grounder.
“It just didn't go our way,” Gray said. “Once that fifth inning kind of went the way it does, it kind of felt like after Marte's at-bat the momentum was completely on their side. We were kind of flirting with it at the time. It kind of went to their side and then that inning kind of escalated on us.”
Fairchild and Benson hit consecutive two-run singles off John King with two down, and Wynns doubled home Benson for an 8-1 lead.
“The approach off Sonny was so good," Bell said. “Staying through the middle of the field, hitting line drives. When we're not hitting home runs, it's nice to get rewarded by hitting doubles.”
Reds starter Carson Spiers (2-1) allowed two runs, one earned, and three hits in six innings.
“Utilizing both sides of the plate, that’s kind of what I did today,” Spiers said. “Very efficient, very effective early, especially setting the tone. I think that’s when I kind of get into a groove and things kind of start rolling. Changeups were working really good early and then spotted some cutters up and fastballs up so it worked out.”
Goldschmidt went deep in the sixth, stopping Spiers’ streak of 43 consecutive innings without allowing a home run.
Gray struck out and walked one in his shortest start of the season. It was his second career start against the Reds, who traded him to Minnesota in March 2022.
“I thought Sonny actually did a good job,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Overall man, he made his pitch there at the end, and it didn't go our way.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: OF Jake Fraley (bruised right calf) returned to the lineup and started at designated hitter for the first time since being scratched before Wednesday’s game at Philadelphia.
Cardinals: OF Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain) started in right field and went 0 for 3 while playing five innings for Double-A Springfield in the first game of a rehabilitation assignment on Friday night. Nootbaar is scheduled to play seven innings for Springfield on Saturday night.
UP NEXT
Reds RHP Hunter Greene (5-3, 3.79 ERA) will face Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (3-3, 3.86 ERA) on Sunday in the finale of the four-game set.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Cincinnati Reds' Stuart Fairchild hits a two-run single in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray walks to the dugout after being pulled in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson, right, is congratulated by first base coach Collin Cowgill (54) after hitting a two-run single in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt (46) is congratulated by third base coach Ron 'Pop' Warner, left, after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds catcher Austin Wynns, left, celebrates with teammate Brent Suter, right after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Brent Suter throws in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
Cincinnati Reds' Jonathan India hits an RBI ground rule double in the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A dangerous and extremely powerful Hurricane Beryl made landfall Monday on the Caribbean island of Carriacou after becoming the earliest storm of its strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.
Carriacou is one of the islands of Grenada, where officials said winds increased up to 150 mph (240 mph), blowing off roofs and causing other damage.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as thousands of people hunkered down in homes and shelters. The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.
Late Monday morning, Beryl was located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of the island of Grenada, with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) per hour, and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph).
Officials in Barbados received more than a dozen reports of roof damage, fallen trees and downed electric posts across the island, said Kerry Hinds, emergency management director.
Once Beryl passes, drones will assess damage and speed up response, said Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information. Before, it used to take two hours to receive information as crews fanned out across the island, versus seven minutes with drones, he noted.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for St. Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Haiti’s entire southern coast, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti. A hurricane watch was issued for Jamaica.
Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl made landfall, with 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15 centimeters) of rain for Barbados and nearby islands and possibly 10 inches in some areas (25 centimeters), especially in Grenada and the Grenadines.
The storm was expected to weaken slightly over the Caribbean Sea on a path that would take it just south of Jamaica and later toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1.
“It should be emphasized that Beryl is forecast to remain a significant hurricane during its entire trek across the Caribbean region,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Officials in some southeast Caribbean islands announced controlled shutdowns of electricity and warned of water outages ahead of the storm, urging people to seek shelter. They warned of landslides and flash flooding as they shuttered schools, airports and government offices.
Hours before the storm, Barbadian Michael Beckles said he feared the worst for his island despite witnessing how people were taking it seriously.
“As prepared as we can try to be, there are a lot of things that we can’t control,” he said. “Electricity probably will go. We’ll have issues with water. There are a lot of houses that are not ready for a storm like this.”
Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.
It also was the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.
“This is a dangerous hurricane for the Windward Islands," said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry, who warned that when Beryl comes ashore, “it’s going to be a very serious situation.”
Beryl amassed its strength from record warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, he said.
Beryl also marked the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
Among those weathering the storm was Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who had traveled to Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event. He and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans, their flights canceled on Sunday.
He said by phone that it's the first time he has experienced a hurricane, with heavy rain starting at midnight. He and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.
“We couldn’t sleep last night,” Parmar, 47, said. “We were keeping an eye on it.”
Even as Beryl bore down on the southeast Caribbean, government officials warned about a cluster of thunderstorms mimicking the hurricane’s path that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.
“There’s always a concern when you have back-to-back storms,” Lowry said. “If two storms move over the same area or nearby, the first storm weakens the infrastructure, so the secondary system doesn’t need to be as strong to have serious impacts.”
Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico and killed four people.
On Sunday night, a tropical depression near the eastern Mexico coastal city of Veracruz briefly strengthened into Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the season. It weakened on Monday and was downgraded back to a tropical depression forecast to move inland. The National Hurricane Center early Monday reported heavy rainfall and flooding, with the possibility of mudslides, before the storm dissipates.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Associated Press videographer Kofi Jones in Bridgetown, Barbados, contributed to this report.
A resident carries wood to cover his house's windows in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People disassemble a beach bar's awning in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People walk off the beach after attending a religious gathering in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Sailboats line up to enter a marina ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Speightstown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
