Cardinals 6, Reds 1
Joe Kelly worked six strong innings and Matt Holliday had two hits and an RBI as host St. Louis defeated Cincinnati for the second straight night.
Allen Craig and David Freese also had run-scoring hits as the Cardinals won for the 12th time in 16 games. The victory moved first-place St. Louis 1 1/2 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central and pushed the Reds 4 1/2 back.
Kelly (6-3) gave up one run and eight hits while winning his sixth consecutive decision. Kevin Siegrist struck out the side in the seventh, Trevor Rosenthal pitched a perfect eighth and Seth Maness worked a flawless ninth to seal the win.
Holliday delivered a run-scoring single in the first inning off Mat Latos (13-5) and another run crossed the plate when Craig hit into a double play. Cincinnati halved the deficit when Shin-Soo Choo led off the fifth with a homer to center.
Craig’s one-out RBI double in the sixth increased the lead to 3-1 and Matt Carpenter added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Freese ripped a run-scoring single in the eighth and Yadier Molina scored on Daniel Descalso’s fielder’s choice, increasing the lead to five runs.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cardinals are 10-4 this season against Cincinnati, which has a five-game lead over Arizona for the NL’s second wild card. … Latos was charged with four runs and nine hits in six-plus innings. … The Cardinals recalled RHP Fernando Salas from Triple-A Memphis and optioned LHP Tyler Lyons to the same club.