CINCINNATI • The Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter and Cincinnati rookie Aristides Aquino each hit his 11th homer of the season Saturday night. The difference was that Carpenter’s season has lasted nearly five months. Aquino’s season has lasted just more than two weeks.
Another important difference was that Carpenter’s homer in the second inning came with the bases empty. Aquino’s 11th in 16 games since he was brought up from Louisville, came with runners on first and second in the fifth. That three-run, two-out blast to the center-field greenery off Miles Mikolas blew open a 2-1 game into a 5-1 Cincinnati lead.