If ever there was a gritty, desirable split in a four-game series, the Cincinnati Reds achieved just that against the St. Louis Cardinals.

A 97-minute delay abbreviated Matthew Liberatore's start and pushed the Cardinals into bullpen choices to preserve arms, not chase, in a 9-1 loss to Cincinnati.

Ashcraft struck out four Cardinals hitters on Thursday, throwing an emphatic 26 of his 31 pitches for strikes. Having now appeared in 12 games on the season, Ashcraft's ERA is down to 0.57. He also has 17 strikeouts against just seven walks in 15 2/3 innings pitched.