ST. LOUIS — Unable to make the most of their scoring chances as they threatened to make a late comeback vs. the Cincinnati Reds, the swing the St. Louis Cardinals needed to launch them to a win on Saturday at Busch Stadium came from the hitter who didn't get a chance to take a swing in the sixth.

Lars Nootbaar, who intentionally walked during his pinch-hit at-bat with runners on second and third in the sixth inning, belted a 433-foot, two-run homer to right-center field that gave the Cardinals the runs they needed to complete a 6-5 comeback win over the Reds.

The comeback, however, was not complete without drama in the ninth.

Closer Riley O'Brien allowed two two-out singles and issued a walk to load the bases for Reds' cleanup hitter Sal Stewart. O'Brien fell behind 3-0 to Stewart before landing two sinkers for strikes, one of which required an ABS Challenge System review called for by catcher Jimmy Crooks. The challenge overturned a 3-1 sinker that was called a ball and would have walked in the game-tying run.

O'Brien sealed the win and got his 16th save on the next pitch as he induced a game-ending groundout vs. Stewart.

The Cardinals (34-28) had a bases-loaded opportunity in the sixth inning evaporate on a pair of groundouts that culminated an inning where managers from both dugouts matched one another with moves. Nootbaar's swing gave him his first homer of the year in his second game back on the Cardinals' roster after he came off the 60-day injured list on Friday and collected a single, double and an RBI in a runaway win.

The late home run was one of two the Cardinals received to claw back to a win after their 3-0 lead evaporated in the third inning with starter Matthew Liberatore on the mound.

The Cardinals received a solo homer from Jordan Walker in the fifth inning that drew them within one run and tied Walker's career-high for a season.

Nootbaar's and Walker's homers provided the run support for the scoreless 3 2/3 innings Gordon Graceffo (1 2/3 innings), Ryne Stanek (one inning) and George Soriano completed as the Cardinals chased.

Missed chance after moving parts

Down a run after Walker’s solo homer in the fifth, the Cardinals received a leadoff single from Jose Fermin and had Bryan Torres reach base on an error to open the sixth. The two Cardinals on base led to Reds starter Nick Lodolo’s exit and put the wheels in motion for Cardinals manager Oli Marmol to turn to his bench to play a matchup against the right-handed reliever Reds manager Terry Francona turned to.

With Francona turning to Tejay Antone, Marmol elected to allow catcher Pedro Pages to hit with two runners on and no outs rather than turning a left-handed bat on his bench. That was until a successful double steal by Fermin and Torres moved both into scoring position, which then prompted Marmol to make a move to the bench.

Marmol called on Nootbaar to pinch-hit for Pages with Antone already behind in the count. Nootbaar did not get the chance to hit as Francona chose to intentionally walk Nootbaar with first base open.

The decision to prevent Nootbaar from hitting paid off for Francona.

The potential force play at home allowed the Reds to turn a double play on pinch-hitter Crooks’ ground ball to first that resulted in outs at the plate and at first. The chance to leap tie the game and break open a big inning ended with Masyn Winn grounding into a double play.

Walker's patience pays off

For Walker to connect on his 16th homer of the season, he had to show some restraint on pitches Lodolo used to try and get a chase out of the strike zone to end the at-bat.

Walker fell behind Lodolo by taking a curveball for a strike and by fouling off a slider Lodolo located at the top of the strike zone. Down 0-2 in the count, Walker took three consecutive curveballs. Walker laid off each one to make the count full and get him to a sixth pitch in his third at-bat vs. the Reds’ lefty.

Having taken four curveballs and offered at one sinker in the at-bat, Walker received a 94.3 mph sinker left over the middle of the plate and sent it 401 feet to center field for a home run that just cleared the outfield wall for a solo homer.

Breezy start complicated by walks, error

An outing that began with two scoreless innings completed on 20 pitches began to spin away from Liberatore in the third inning, when command slipped away from the lefty.

Liberatore’s troubling second inning started to complicate with walks to the first two batters he faced, the second of which came on four pitches to Matt McLain that were well out of the strike zone. After a pop out from P.J. Higgins and a bunt attempt from Dane Myers was placed well enough to allow him to reach with a single that loaded the bases, Liberatore got the contact he needed that would help him escape the inning.

Liberatore got JJ Bleday to hammer a grounder to first base for a potential double play ball. The chopping ground ball could not be handled by Burleson. Burleson attempted to field the ball to his backhand but had it skip under his glove and into right field for an error that allowed two runs to score.

The fielding error also moved Myers to third base, which set him up to score in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly from Spencer Steer to erase the 3-0 lead the Cardinals built in the second inning.

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