ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Shildt wasn’t sure what to expect in his first day as interim manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.

He certainly didn’t foresee the treatment he received in a wild post-game celebration that occurred following the Cardinals’ 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

“They got me in a laundry basket and they spin you around and then they go at you with a bunch of cold water to the point where I was hyperventilating,” Shildt said.

Veteran Dexter Fowler, who homered in the win, was happy to lead the joyful water attack.

“That guy knows his stuff, and you’re happy to put a smile on his face and get the (first) win for him,” Fowler said.

The frivolity came at a perfect time for the Cardinals, who broke a six-game home losing streak.

Rumors of discontent in the locker room, along with inconsistent play, spelled the end for manager Mike Matheny, who was fired after Saturday’s 8-2 loss after six-plus seasons. The Cardinals were 591-474 during Mathey’s tenure and made the playoffs in each of his first four years. But St. Louis failed to reach the postseason the last two years.

Matheny was a gold glove catcher for St. Louis from 2000-04 and used those leadership qualities as a manager.

Veteran catcher Yadier Molina said the firing of Matheny reflects on the entire team.

“When you see that happen, it’s because us, as players, we’re not doing our job,” Molina said. “I hate to say it, but that’s what it is. The blame is on us.”

Matt Carpenter and Fowler homered to lead an opportunistic seven-hit attack Tommy Pham broke out of a 0-for-20 slump with a two-run, go-ahead single for the Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Cincinnati, which had won four of five, is 35-26 since beginning the season 8-27.

John Gant (3-3) picked up the win with four hitless innings of relief. He struck out four and walked two.

Carpenter began the game with a first-pitch homer, his fifth leadoff home run of the season and 20th of his career. He leads the team with 19 round-trippers.

Fowler added a solo shot in the second off Anthony DeSclafani (4-2) for a 2-0 lead.

Pham erased a 3-2 deficit with a two-run single that highlighted a four-run outburst in the fourth. It was Pham’s first hit since July 5. He entered the game in the second inning after starter Harrison Bader left with a knee injury.

Both Pham, who is hitting .243 and Fowler (.176), have struggled at times this season.

“Those are guys that have proven success in this league,” Shildt said. “It’s definitely good for their confidence.”

Shildt said he was still in awe of his new situation after the contest.

“I’m still not believing it to some degree,” Shildt said. “But it’s a real moment. (I) just got through managing a game for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Adam Duvall tied the game for the Reds with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fourth. Jose Peraza then put his team in front with a single off the leg of starter Miles Mikolas.

DeSclafani allowed six earned run on five hits over 3 1-3 innings.

“I just wasn’t good,” DeSclafani said. “I was terrible.”

Mikolas, who is headed to the All-Star Game, surrendered three runs on six hits over four innings in his shortest outing of the season.

Reds outfielder Jesse Winker extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games with a third-inning single.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Reds: RHP Homer Bailey allowed four earned runs in six innings of a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Friday. Bailey is 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA in six minor league appearances. He was put on the disabled list June 2 with right knee inflammation.

Cardinals: Bader suffered his knee injury while running out a hit to right field.

UP NEXT

Reds: Cincinnati begins the second half on Friday against Pittsburgh. Right-hander Tyler Mahle (7-7, 4.02) will get the start.

Cardinals: St. Louis travels to Chicago for a four-game series against the Cubs after the break.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Michael Kim shot a final-round 66 to win the John Deere Classic by a record-setting eight strokes and pick up his first victory on the PGA Tour. Kim, who turned 25 on Saturday, finished at 27-under 257 _ breaking Steve Stricker’s tournament record from 2010 by one shot. He also qualified for next week’s British Open at Carnoustie.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler each homered to give interim manager Mike Shildt a win in his debut as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 on Sunday. The Cardinals fired manager Mike Matheny late Saturday after an 8-2 loss.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Some St. Louis Cardinals players say they bear some responsibility for the sudden firing of manager Mike Matheny. The Cardinals are one game over .500 and in danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight season, an unusual trend for a franchise that’s accustomed to winning. Veteran infielder Jedd Gyorko says the team simply hasn’t performed well enough and the responsibility is on the players to turn things around.

CHICAGO (AP) — Daniel Palka and Yoan Moncada each homered and Lucas Giolito tossed two-hit ball into the seventh inning, lifting the Chicago White Sox to a 10-1 victory over the struggling Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Moncada was 3 for 3 with a walk and three runs scored a day after leaving a game with a bruised right knee.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Oklahoma is going into the Big 12 Conference’s football media days favored to win another title even without quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Sooners won the title and went to the College Football Playoff again last year in its first season without coach Bob Stoops. Now they won’t have the Heisman Trophy winner who led them to three Big 12 titles in a row. This will be coach Lincoln Riley’s first time without Mayfield. Riley was Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator two years before succeeding Stoops.

Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler each homered to give interim manager Mike Shildt a win in his debut as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 on Sunday. The Cardinals fired manager Mike Matheny late Saturday after an 8-2 loss.

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Michael Kim didn’t just win his first PGA Tour event on Sunday. He dominated in a fashion never seen at TPC Deere Run. Kim’s prizes? A little over a million bucks, a two-year exemption on tour and a trip to the British Open.

Kim shot a final-round 66 on Sunday to win the John Deere Classic by a record-setting eight strokes. Kim, who turned 25 on Saturday, finished at 27-under 257 to break Steve Stricker’s tournament record from 2010 by one shot.

Kim also qualified for next week’s Open at Carnoustie — an unexpected bonus for a player who had missed five of his last six cuts before his breakthrough in the Quad Cities. Bronson Burgoon, Francesco Molinari, Joel Dahmen and Sam Ryder all finished at 19 under.

Kim, who had previously had just one top-10 finish in 84 career starts — a third at the Safeway Open two years ago — entered play with a five-shot lead. It was the biggest edge for a third-round leader at the John Deere Classic since Stricker’s six-stroke advantage eight years ago.

Kim’s day ended on No. 18 in emotional fashion when he saw his brother, father and mother — all of whom had made a surprise trip in hopes of seeing him get his first win — on a video screen.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – July 14, 2018 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced following today’s game that they have dismissed Manager Mike Matheny and named Bench Coach Mike Shildt as the team’s interim manager.  The team also announced that Hitting Coach John Mabry and Assistant Hitting Coach Bill Mueller have been relieved of their duties.

“Mike Matheny has served the St. Louis Cardinals organization with tremendous dedication and pride and I am thankful for his service to the Cardinals over the past six and a half seasons,” stated Cardinals’ Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr. “On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, I would like to wish Mike the very best.”

Matheny, 47, was named the Cardinals 49th manager on November 14, 2011 and compiled a 591-473 won-loss mark, ranking 5th all-time amongst Cardinals managers in wins.  He helped lead the team to the postseason in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, including a National League Championship in 2013.

“These decisions are never easy, but we felt that a change in leadership was necessary as the team prepares to enter into the second half of the season,” said President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.  “I would like to thank Mike for his exceptional commitment and devotion to the Cardinals organization, including many fond memories of our years working together.”

Shildt, 49, has been a member of the Cardinals organization since 2004 and has served on the team’s Major League coaching staff the past two (2017-18) seasons.  The North Carolina native managed for eight seasons in the Cardinals farm system where his clubs won league championships in 2010 and 2011 with Johnson City of the rookie Appalachian League and in 2012 with Springfield of the Texas League (AA).  He most recently managed in 2016 with Memphis of the Pacific Coast League (AAA).

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston 6, Toronto 2, 10 innings
Kansas City 5, Chicago White Sox 0
Tampa Bay 19, Minnesota 6
Houston 9, Detroit 1
Baltimore 1, Texas 0
L.A. Angels 5, L.A. Dodgers 4, 10 innings
N.Y. Yankees 5, Cleveland 4
Colorado 4, Seattle 1
Oakland 4, San Francisco 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 2, Milwaukee 1, 1st game
Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 2, 2nd game
Arizona 3, Atlanta 0
Cincinnati 8, St. Louis 2
Miami 2, Philadelphia 0
N.Y. Mets 7, Washington 4
L.A. Angels 5, L.A. Dodgers 4, 10 innings
Colorado 4, Seattle 1
Oakland 4, San Francisco 3
Chicago Cubs 11, San Diego 6

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have stunningly fired manager Mike Matheny during his seventh season with the team hovering around .500. The Cardinals announced Matheny’s firing after an 8-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, a defeat that dropped St. Louis to 47-46 and 7 1/2 games back of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. Matheny went 591-473 as manager, and his tenure included a loss to the Boston Red Sox in the 2013 World Series.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jose Peraza had a career-best five hits, Scooter Gennett drove in two runs and the Cincinnati Reds waited out a pair of rain delays before beating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2. Following the two days that totaled 2 hours, 43 minutes, Cincinnati trailed 2-0 after five innings before rallying for eight runs in its final four at-bats. St. Louis fired manager Mike Matheny after the game.

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Michael Kim took a five-shot lead at the John Deere Classic in a third round delayed twice for a total of roughly four hours because of bad weather and concerns over lightning. Kim closed with four straight birdies and shot a 7-under 64 for a three-day total of 22 under. Bronson Burgoon is 17 under and Australian Matt Jones is another shot back.

Class 3A
District 15 Semi-finals
Harlan 11, Carroll 1 (in 5 innings)
Denison-Schleswig 15, Atlantic 2 (in 5 innings)
*Harlan faces Denison-Scheswig in the District finals 7-p.m. Mon., @ Harlan.

*Winterset plays Glenwood in the other 3A final, 7-p.m. Mon. @ Winterset

Class 2A Finals
District 16
Kuemper Catholic 5, MVAOCOU 4 (Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto-Charter Oak-Ute)
District 15
Treynor 12, Underwood 8

Class 1A Finals
District 13
Nodaway Valley 6, Lenox 1
District 14
St. Albert 14, Essex 4 (6 innings)
District 15
CAM 7, Audubon 6
District 16
Tri-Center 11, Ar-We-Va 1 (6 innings)

Atlantic got behind early and Denison continued to put runners on to beat the Trojans 15-2 in five innings in the Class 3-A District 15 semi-finals Saturday.

After rain moved the game back to Saturday, Denison looked ready and was aggressive early.  Swinging at several first pitches, the Monarchs put up three runs in the top of the first inning, with Jade Magnussen providing the first of his big hits with a two run triple.  Atlantic answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first, as Mason Goergen singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch and Chase Mullenix hit an RBI single.

But that was as close as the Trojans would get, as Denison scored one in the second, three more in the third and blew the game wide open in the fourth, sending 14 men to the plate and scoring eight runs.  Magnussen’s three run homer was the big blow.

Mullenix was the starter and loser for Atlantic, throwing 2 2/3 inning giving up seven runs, four earned, six hits, striking out two and walking three.  Coach Gaylord Schelling said his pitcher was constantly in the zone and Denison was ready.

The Monarchs scored their 15 runs on 11 hits , 5 walks and three batters were hit by pitches.

Dawson Dorhout pitched all five innings for Denison to get the win.  Dorhout gave up just two runs and four hits, struck out four and walked two.

Atlantic finishes the year 15-13.

Denison advances to the district final Monday night with a mark of 17-18.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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