Greene allows one run through seven innings, Candelario homers as Reds beat Cardinals 4-1

CINCINNATI (AP) — Hunter Greene allowed one run through seven innings, Jeimer Candelario hit a two-run homer and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 on Tuesday night to secure a win of the series between the NL Central rivals.

The hard-throwing Greene (9-4) allowed four hits while striking out eight and walking one in notching his third straight win in a game played in one hour and 59 minutes.

“My body felt really good,” the All-Star pitcher said. “(I was) able to get to all of my pitches. My release point felt great. Just felt super athletic and loose.”

Greene was asked if he has staked his claim of being considered the Reds' ace.

“That's for the people to decide,” he said. “I've already made up my mind of being one. I feel like my process has been solid. I've been as consistent as I could be. But there's still a lot of work to put in, and the season's not over yet.”

Reds manager David Bell likes Greene's confidence and aggressiveness. Greene was still hitting 99 mph in his last inning of work.

“He's pitching great,” Bell said. “I thought tonight (was) just another step of attacking, conviction behind his pitches. I know (Reds) hitters pick up on that, and it's just attack, attack, attack. I thought he did it with his best fastball tonight.”

Spencer Steer had a two-out, RBI single in the first inning. Ty France led off the second with a homer off the roof of the Cardinals bullpen in right, his 11th of the season.

Candelario smashed his 19th homer with two outs in the sixth.

“I was just looking for a quality AB,” Candelario said. “I'm just putting myself in a great position to hit the ball hard and see what happens.”

Cardinals starter Erick Fedde (8-6) went six innings, giving up four runs and six hits and striking out two. He allowed both of Cincinnati's home runs.

Nolan Arenado led off the seventh with a 400-foot homer into the left-field seats to cut the Reds lead to three in what would be Greene's last inning.

Tony Santillan retired the Cardinals in order in the eighth, and Alexis Diaz got them in the ninth for his 24th save in 26 tries. He has 17 in a row.

Cincinnati won the series opener on Monday night 6-1.

“We haven’t come through in certain situations,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "You have to grind out at-bats. Moving forward we have to be better. Greene is not a guy you get right against.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals right-hander Kyle Gibson (7-4, 3.99 ERA) faces Reds right-hander Emilio Pagan (2-3, 4.22) in the finale of the three-game series Wednesday night.

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St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras smiles toward the dugout after hitting a double during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

St. Louis Cardinals' Erick Fedde delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz fields a ground ball against St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn during the third inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol watches play during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Reds Ty France rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn catches a line drive during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Reds' TJ Friedl is picked off first as St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt makes the tag during the third inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Reds' TJ Friedl hits a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is quieter on Friday, and U.S. stocks are drifting after they leaped to records the day before during a worldwide rally.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in early trading but still on track for its fifth winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66 points, or 0.2%, after it likewise set an all-time high the day before. The Nasdaq composite was virtually flat, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

FedEx dragged on the market with a drop of 14% after its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. It said U.S. customers sent fewer packages through priority services, while it had to contend with higher wages for workers and other costs. FedEx also cut its forecast for revenue growth for its fiscal year.

Helping to offset that was Nike, which ran 7.5% higher after it named Elliott Hill as its chief executive. Hill, 60, had spent more than three decades at Nike in various leadership positions before retiring in 2020. He replaces the retiring John Donahoe.

Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group slumped another 6% as its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, won the freedom to sell his shares if he wants.

Trump owns more than half of the $3 billion company behind the Truth Social platform. But Trump and other insiders in the company had been unable to cash in because a “lock-up agreement” prevented them from selling any of their shares. Trump has said he’s in no rush to sell.

TMTG’s drop on Friday was in line with its volatile history. Over the last six months, it’s often swung by at least 5% in a day, up or down.

Homebuilder Lennar fell 4.2% after delivering a mixed earnings report. Its profit for the latest quarter topped expectations. But it also said it made less in profit on each $100 of home sales, and it expects that margin to stay flat in the current quarter.

Conditions may be set to improve for homebuilders, though. The Federal Reserve earlier this week cut its main interest for the first time in more than four years, a move that could make mortgages more affordable for home buyers.

The momentous move closed the door on a run where the Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stamp out high inflation. Now that inflation has fallen from its peak two summers ago, Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed can focus more on keeping the job market solid and the economy out of a recession.

The Fed is still under pressure because the job market and hiring have begun to slow under the weight of higher interest rates. Some critics say the central bank waited too long to cut rates and may have damaged the economy.

Critics also say the U.S. stock market may be running too hot on hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to pull off what seemed nearly impossible a couple years ago: getting inflation down to 2% without creating a recession.

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, is still calling for a sharp drop for the S&P 500 by the end of the year. He points to how much faster stock prices have climbed than profits at companies. When stocks have looked this expensive on such measures in the past, he said a recession and sharp downturn for stocks has followed.

He also warned in a report that slowing hiring “is now symbolic of recession risk.”

No economic releases are on the calendar for Friday to show where the economy may be heading. Next week will have preliminary reports on U.S. business activity, the final revision for how quickly the economy grew during the summer and the latest update on spending by U.S. consumers.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.75% from 3.72% late Thursday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe after rising in Asia. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% after the Bank of Japan left interest rates steady, as was expected.

In China, the central bank left key lending rates unchanged on Friday. Indexes rose by 1.4% in Hong Kong and less than 0.1% in Shanghai.

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AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

A bus passes the Wall St. subway station on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Trader Michale Conlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's news conference appears on a television screen behind him, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index and Japanese Yen exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People ride bicycles in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)