Roundtable Sports' John Denton breaks down another strong start from Cardinals' 6-foot-5 right-hander Kyle Leahy in the 3-0 win over the Reds. Once asked for a self-scouting report on the six different pitches that he throws, Cardinals’ blossoming right-hander Kyle Leahy half-jokingly said the hitter couldn’t possibly know what was coming next because he has no clue what he is about to throw. Instead, the 29-year-old Leahy stressed that he leans heavily on the suggestions offered up by catcher Pedro Pagés, who feels comfortable calling just about anything in any count because of the pitcher’s command of his arsenal. Missing those six pitches beautifully yet again and not allowing a walk for a third straight game, Leahy systematically mowed down the Reds over five scoreless innings. That effort pushed the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder’s streak of outings of surrendering two or fewer runs to 10, and he got plenty of offensive support from Masyn Winn as the Cardinals toppled the Reds 3-0 at Great American Ball Park. "Credit to him because there was a lot of work put in, starting in the offseason, and he's as prepared as anybody and he's determined," manager Oliver Marmol said of Leahy to Cardinals TV. "Every pitch has a purpose and today was a solid day for him. We knew we were just going five (innings) with him and he gave us a really, really solid look." Winn hit his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning and added two doubles to help the Cards win for the sixth time in their last nine games and for the 11th time in 16 games since dropping a season-worst three games below .500 on Aug. 1. "I was just trying to see something in after hitting a changeup away in my first at bat," Winn said to Cardinals TV after homering for the first time since July 3. "I figured they would try to go with some sort of (velocity) in and I just wanted to get the head (of the bat) out. I'm just glad that I got it into the air."
Masyn solo homer💥 pic.twitter.com/j7iE7E4p6C — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 18, 2026 Jose Fermin added an RBI double and rookie standout Joshua Baez drove in his sixth run in four games with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Winn became the first Cardinals’ shortstop with three extra-base hits in a game since Tommy Edman did it April 19, 2023. All-Star closer Riley O'Brien pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his National League-leading 32nd save. He is just three saves behind Tampa's Bryan Baker for the MLB lead. Joshua Baez Continuing to Impress with Hard Contact Following Historic Debut Tuesday’s win also helped the Cards improve to 7-4 against the Reds and clinch the season series. And on this all-important three-city, 11-game road trip, the Cardinals have captured four of the first six games against the Cubs and Reds. The Cardinals can wrap up their fifth straight series win on Wednesday if they can find a way to beat Reds fireballer Chase Burns (14-2). Matthew Liberatore will start for St. Louis. "Obviously, a lot of people counted us out early and we don't feel that way at all," Winn said of the Cardinals, who lost their first six series after the break for the MLB All-Star Game. "We feel great, every single day we're going to war and it's been fun with the boys."
Fermín brings Masyn home! pic.twitter.com/oa6eCos89l — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 19, 2026 Even though he was purposefully limited to five innings of work because he is already in career-most territory in terms of workload, Leahy (10-4, 3.24 ERA) still dominated the action with his calm, cool efficiency. Leahy allowed just three hits, and no Red advanced past second base in his five innings of work. Leahy struck out six with four different pitches – three with his slider, one with his changeup, one with a sinker and a one with a four-seam fastball. Just like during the season when he spreads out his pitch usage almost equally, Leahy threw 20 four-seamers, 17 curveballs, 15 sliders, 14 sinkers, 13 changeups and 11 sweepers – something that kept the Reds off balanced and guessing all night. Leahy has not allowed more than two earned runs in a start since June 17 when the Padres reached him for three runs and seven hits over six innings. In the converted relievers 10 starts since then, he has gone 5-0 with a miniscule 1.38 ERA. Not only did he not walk a batter in his last three starts, but he has piled up 20 punchouts during that hot streak.