• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Holliday, Craig lead Cards past Reds

Aug 27, 2012 - 5:07 AM Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Matt Holliday and Allen Craig combined for seven RBI on Sunday, helping the St. Louis Cardinals cruise to an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Holliday finished a home run shy of the cycle, drove in four and scored twice, while Craig belted a two-run blast and added an RBI single.

"He's got that knack of getting the big hit," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Craig.

Jon Jay added a run-scoring single and Matt Carpenter finished with three hits for the Cardinals, who pulled within six games of the NL Central-leading Reds.

"When they start rolling, they really roll," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said of St. Louis. "It was a situation where they came in swinging the bats."

Adam Wainwright (13-10) gave up two runs over 5 2/3 innings and won his fifth straight start. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.

The Reds, who lost just their second series since the All-Star break (9-2-2), got sixth-inning RBI singles from Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick.

Homer Bailey (10-9) was charged with five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts over six innings in the loss. He did not issue a walk.

Wainwright, who dropped his two previous starts against Cincinnati this season, faced the minimum through the first four innings despite giving up a pair of hits.

In the first inning, Brandon Phillips singled with two down but was thrown out by right fielder Carlos Beltran when he tried to reach second base on the play.

In the second, Todd Frazier grounded into an inning-ending doubleplay after Jay Bruce singled.

The Cardinals, winners of four of their last five games, went ahead with a three-run third.

Skip Schumaker led off with a double and Wainwright's one-out single placed runners on the corners before Jay ripped a base hit up the middle.

Carpenter then singled to load the bases and Holliday placed a grounder through the left side of the infield for a 3-0 lead.

In the sixth, Holliday led off with his second triple of the season and Craig followed with an upper-decker shot down the left field line -- his 20th homer of the year.

An inning later, pinch-hitter Shane Robinson singled, moved up on a groundout, and scored on Holliday's two-out double to left.

Craig followed with an RBI single and Holliday capped the scoring in the ninth when he singled on the heels of Carpenter's leadoff double.

Game Notes

Wainwright hasn't given up more than two earned runs in a start since July 13 -- a span of eight starts ... The teams have split 12 games this season ... Baker said that former NL MVP Joey Votto will begin a rehab assignment later in the week. Votto has been on the disabled list since July 17 with a left knee injury.