TJ Friedl drives in 2, rookie Rhett Lowder earns 1st MLB win as the Reds beat the Cardinals 3-0

ST. LOUIS (AP) — TJ Friedl had a two-run single and scored Cincinnati's other run, all in the fifth inning, as the Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Tuesday night.

“TJ came through with a big hit,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “You never know if it's going to be enough.”

The Reds' Elly De La Cruz stole two bases after walking in the first inning, raising his MLB-leading total to 64 stolen bases. He was thrown out in the third inning when the Cardinals pitched out.

“He's been showing that all year,” Bell said. “He had great at-bats tonight to create those opportunities on the bases. He can make things happen, but it all starts with the at-bats.”

Rhett Lowder (1-1) earned his first win in his third big-league appearance. The 22-year-old right-hander, who was a first-round pick in the 2023 draft, worked five scoreless inning and finished with three strikeouts and no walks.

“I'm glad we got out of here with the win,” Lowder said. “I lean on my ability to get the ball on the ground. I trust these guys in the field. They do a great job.”

Emilio Pagán pitched the ninth for his first save this season and 33rd of his career. He loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before striking out the next three batters — rookies Jordan Walker and Thomas Saggese and then pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter.

“It was crazy,” Pagán said. “First off all, I had a blast. It was probably the best I've ever pitched to get in that scenario. I felt like I was throwing the ball super well. In those spots, you just try and execute. Once I got the first strikeout, I just tried to be as nasty as possible. It was a fun way to finish it.”

Five Reds pitchers combined for the team's sixth shutout this season.

“We didn't have a whole lot going on the whole game," St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “We didn't string anything together in that whole game. We had a little life there at the end potentially pulling something off, but it just wasn't enough today.

”Walker and Saggese are going to take their best shot. There are times they’re going to come through. There are times they’re going to get beat. ... You take your shot there with Carpenter."

Andre Pallante (6-8) pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out six, with five walks, a balk and a wild pitch.

“It’s mentally draining, especially when you’re out there focusing so hard with runners on base I felt like every inning,” Pallanete said. "And every inning I felt like every one of them was going to steal. ... I was definitely exhausted toward the end of that game.”

After stranding six runners through four innings, the Reds broke through with three runs in the fifth off Pallante.

Jonathan India walked and De La Cruz singled. A wild pitch advanced both runners. With one out, Friedl singled through the hole at shortstop, driving in both runners. Friedl’s single snapped an 0-for-8 skid. Friedl went to third on a balk and stolen base and scored on a high chopper to Pallante, who could only throw to first for an out.

Red manager David Bell was ejected in the sixth inning after De La Cruz was called out on strikes. It was Bell’s fifth ejection this season and 32nd in his career.

Brendan Donovan had three singles in four at-bats for the Cardinals.

TRANSACTIONS

Cardinals: Recalled INF Thomas Saggese from Triple-A Memphis. Optioned OF Victor Scott II to Memphis. Saggese was in the lineup Tuesday, hitting seventh and playing shortstop. The 22-year-old Saggese was acquired from Texas last summer in the Jordan Montgomery trade.

TRAINING ROOM

Reds: 2B Jonathan India (left elbow discomfort) returned to the lineup Tuesday. He left Sunday’s game against the New York Mets after striking out in the sixth inning.

Cardinals: INF Brendan Donovan (foot infection) missed the last two games. He returned to the lineup playing second base and leading off. … RHP Lance Lynn (knee strain) will be activated Wednesday and will start.

UP NEXT

Lance Lynn (6-4, 4.06 ERA) is 9-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 10 career starts (11 appearances) against Cincinnati at Busch Stadium. The Reds have not announced a starter.

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Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, left, celebrates as St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter strikes out with the bases loaded to end a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. The Reds won 3-0. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals' Pedro Pages singles during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz throws out St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson to end the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz, left, is caught stealing by St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Brent Suter throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz (44) and TJ Friedl (29) celebrate a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals following a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Emilio Pagan celebrates after striking out St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter with the bases loaded to end a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in St. Louis. The Reds won 3-0. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A key employee who labeled a doomed experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage testified Tuesday that he frequently clashed with the company’s co-founder and felt the company was committed only to making money.

David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former operations director, is one of the most anticipated witnesses to appear before a commission trying to determine what caused the Titan to implode en route to the wreckage of the Titanic last year, killing all five on board. His testimony echoed that of other former employees Monday, one of whom described OceanGate head Stockton Rush as volatile and difficult to work with.

“The whole idea behind the company was to make money,” Lochridge said. “There was very little in the way of science.”

Rush was among the five people who died in the implosion. OceanGate owned the Titan and brought it on several dives to the Titanic going back to 2021.

His testimony began a day after other witnesses painted a picture of a troubled company that was impatient to get its unconventionally designed craft into the water. The accident set off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration.

The company, based in Washington state, suspended its operations after the implosion.

OceanGate's former engineering director, Tony Nissen, kicked off Monday's testimony, telling investigators that he felt pressured to get the vessel ready to dive and refused to pilot it for a journey several years before Titan's last trip.

“‘I’m not getting in it,’” Nissen said he told Rush.

When asked if there was pressure to get Titan into the water, Nissen responded, “100%.”

But asked if he felt that the pressure compromised safety decisions and testing, Nissen paused, then replied, “No. And that’s a difficult question to answer, because given infinite time and infinite budget, you could do infinite testing.”

OceanGate's former finance and human resources director, Bonnie Carl, testified Monday that Lochridge had characterized the Titan as “unsafe.” Lochridge is expected to provide more perspective on what caused the implosion.

Coast Guard officials noted at the start of the hearing that the submersible had not been independently reviewed, as is standard practice. That and Titan's unusual design subjected it to scrutiny in the undersea exploration community.

During the submersible's final dive on June 18, 2023, the crew lost contact after an exchange of texts about the Titan's depth and weight as it descended. The support ship Polar Prince then sent repeated messages asking if the Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display.

One of the last messages from Titan’s crew to Polar Prince before the submersible imploded stated, “all good here,” according to a visual re-creation presented earlier in the hearing.

When the submersible was reported overdue, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor about 330 yards (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said.

Scheduled to appear later in the hearing are OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein and former scientific director, Steven Ross, according to a list compiled by the Coast Guard. Numerous guard officials, scientists, and government and industry officials are also expected to testify. The U.S. Coast Guard subpoenaed witnesses who were not government employees, said Coast Guard spokesperson Melissa Leake.

Among those not on the hearing witness list is Rush’s widow, Wendy Rush, the company’s communications director. Asked about her absence, Leake said the Coast Guard does not comment on the reasons for not calling specific individuals to a particular hearing during ongoing investigations. She said it’s common for a Marine Board of Investigation to “hold multiple hearing sessions or conduct additional witness depositions for complex cases.”

OceanGate has no full-time employees at this time but will be represented by an attorney during the hearing, the company said in a statement. The company said it has been fully cooperating with the Coast Guard and NTSB investigations since they began.

The time frame for the investigation was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer. The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty investigation conducted by the Coast Guard. When the hearing concludes, recommendations will be submitted to the Coast Guard’s commandant. The National Transportation Safety Board is also conducting an investigation.

Coast Guard's Thomas Whalen, left, speaks with Nicole Emmons, right, during a break for the Titan marine board formal hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Coast Guard's Thomas Whalen speaks with another Coast Guard member during a break for the Titan marine board formal hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Jason Neubauer, board chairman, of the investigative board for the Titan marine board formal hearing pauses for a moment of silence inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Coast Guard members of the investigative board for the Titan marine board formal hearing pause for a moment of silence inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Coast Guard members of the investigative board for the Titan marine board formal hearing take an oath inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A key employee who called the Titan unsafe will testify before the Coast Guard

FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)

A key employee who called the Titan unsafe will testify before the Coast Guard