Cardinals 4, Reds 2
ST. LOUIS -- For the second straight year, Lance Lynn has opened by winning five straight games.
The St. Louis right-hander extended his winning streak to 10 games, dating to September, after working seven solid innings Wednesday in the Cardinals' 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium.
Lynn (5-0) won his fifth straight start, scattering five hits in a 110-pitch outing. He walked two, hit one and struck out five batters, including three whiffs of leadoff man Shin-soo Choo. Lynn and Trevor Rosenthal, who induced a popout from Choo to start the eighth, kept him off the bases for just the second time in 28 games.
Offensively, Matt Carpenter went 3 for 4 with two doubles for St. Louis, snapping a 1-1 tie in the sixth with an RBI single off Homer Bailey (1-3). Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso followed with run-producing singles as the Cardinals (16-11) stayed in first place in the National League Central.
The Reds (15-14), which fell to an absymal 3-10 this year on the road, got all of their meaningful offense from second baseman Brandon Phillips. He tied the score in the sixth with a double to the wall in right-center field, then led off the ninth with a homer into the Cincinnati bullpen.
But St. Louis closer Edward Mujica shrugged that off and retired the side for his sixth save in as many chances as the Cardinals closed out their homestand at 3-3.
St. Louis grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Carlos Beltran lined a homer into the right-field seats on a meaty 1-1 fastball from Bailey.
NOTES: St. Louis first baseman Matt Adams will start a rehabilitation assignment Friday with Class AA Springfield of the Texas League and could be activated as soon as Tuesday, when the Cardinals open a two-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Adams was hitting .542 with three homers in 24 at-bats when he went on the disabled list April 22 with a strained right oblique. ... Cardinals closer Jason Motte made 25 throws from 60 feet and 10 throws from 90 feet on Tuesday as he ramps up a rehab program with his injured right elbow. He reported no discomfort after the workout. ... Phillips finished April with 24 RBIs, tied for third in club history. Only Tony Perez (26 in 1970) and Vada Pinson (25 in 1962) had more.
