Spencer Steer drove in five runs to power the visiting Cincinnati Reds past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 on Wednesday afternoon.
Steer went 3-for-4 with a homer and Gavin Lux went 3-for-5 with a run for the Reds (76-76), who won two of three games in this series.
Reds starter Brady Singer (14-10) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Graham Ashcraft retired one batter, Chase Burns threw two scoreless innings, then Emilio Pagan closed out the ninth inning for the Reds.
Alec Burleson hit a home run for the Cardinals (74-79), who lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (6-15) allowed four runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked three.
Burleson put the Cardinals up 1-0 with his first-inning homer.
The Reds threatened in the third inning. Jose Trevino hit a single and moved up on Noelvi Marte’s two-out single, but Pallante escaped with Will Benson’s groundout.
Pallante’s wildness cost him in the fourth inning. He walked Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz, then allowed Steer’s homer as Cincinnati moved ahead 3-1.
The Reds increased their lead to 4-1 in the fifth inning. Lux and Marte hit singles, Stewart walked, then Lux scored on a wild pitch.
Cardinals reliever Jorge Alcala escaped trouble in the sixth inning. Steer hit a single and went to third on Lux’s two-out single, but Marte fouled out to end the threat.
St. Louis cut its deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the inning. Lars Nootbaar walked and scored when Ivan Herrera’s potential double-play grounder resulted int De La Cruz’s throwing error.
The Reds pushed their lead to 6-2 in the seventh inning on a single by Austin Hays, Stewart’s double and Steer’s two-run single dumped into right field.
