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Lohse, Cards shut down Reds

Apr 11, 2012 - 3:41 AM Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Carlos Beltran hit a solo home run in the first and David Freese added a two-run shot in the sixth and the Cardinals beat the Reds, 3-1, in the second test of a three-game set at Great American Ball Park.

Kyle Lohse (2-0), who allowed just two hits and a run in 7 1/3 innings in his first start of the year, was impressive again, yielding one run on four hits and one walk over six innings.

"You're going to win a ton of ballgames if your starters do what they're doing," Freese said. "The bats aren't always going to be there. The arms won't always be there. But when everything is clicking, we're a tough team to beat."

Freese finished with two hits, while Lance Berkman, who left the game in the ninth inning with a left leg strain, added two hits, including a triple, and a run scored. Jason Motte struck out one in a perfect bottom of the ninth to record his second save of the year.

Mike Leake (0-1) was touched for three runs on seven hits and one walk over six innings. Joey Votto knocked in the lone Cincinnati run and Jay Bruce tallied two hits in defeat.

"We just have to do the little things, especially when you're struggling to score runs," said Reds manager Dusty Baker. "You have to scratch, claw and scrape any way you can to get runs in. Then you start rolling from there."

After Jon Jay grounded out to start the game, Beltran lifted Leake's third offering into the seats in left-center field to give St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.

The Cardinals struck again in the sixth as Berkman laced a one-out triple to the right-field corner and touched home plate two pitches later when Freese launched an 0-1 curveball over the wall in right-center field, providing Lohse with a 3-0 lead.

The Reds answered in the bottom half as Zack Cozart smoked a leadoff triple and scored two pitches later on Votto's sacrifice fly to center field to trim the deficit to 3-1.

But the Reds wouldn't register a hit over the next three innings as Mitchell Boggs and Motte combined to retire the next nine batters in order to keep the Cardinals on top.

Game Notes

Off the field, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips agreed to a six-year deal worth $72.5 million earlier in the day. Phillips was out of the lineup on Tuesday and is expected to miss the next few games after exiting in the fifth inning of Monday's game with a sore left hamstring...The Cardinals entered the game leading the league in home runs with nine...Lohse made his 300th career start...Cincinnati went 9-6 against St. Louis last season...Freese has 10 RBI in 27 at-bats.