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Volquez sharp as Reds down Cardinals

Aug 17, 2008 - 9:58 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Edinson Volquez pitched seven scoreless innings and Brandon Phillips homered to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Rookies Jay Bruce and Joey Votto each drove in a run for the Reds, who won for just the fourth time in 16 games this month.

Volquez (15-5) allowed three hits and walked four while striking out four to earn his 15th win. The 25-year-old righthander has allowed one run in his last 13 2/3 innings to lower his ERA to 2.73 - the third-best mark in the National League.

"That's exactly what we needed," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. "Anytime you get a good pitched game you got a chance to win. We had some timely hitting, some guys got some big hits for us. That was a big homer that Brandon (Phillips) hit, especially because you knew they were going to threaten again toward the end of the game."

Volquez did not allow a hit until the fifth inning.

"I was just making good pitches," Volquez said. "They were ready to swing. In the first three innings I threw like 20 pitches.

"I was consistent in the first four innings. My fastball, all my pitches were there today, and I'm making good pitches. I got a lot of ground balls. I didn't get a lot of strike outs, but I got a lot of double plays and ground balls."

The Reds jumped on top in the first on Bruce's RBI single and a run-scoring groundout by Javier Valentin.

Jeff Keppinger added an RBI single in the sixth off Kyle Lohse to push Cincinnati's advantage to 3-0.

Lohse (13-6) was charged with three runs and seven hits in six innings while walking three and striking out two. The righthander, who ran off a string of 14 straight starts without a loss earlier in the season, has suffered the defeat in three of his last four outings.

Lohse and Volquez engaged in some gamesmanship in the fifth when the Reds' hurler threw a pitch up and in with Lohse at the plate. The St. Louis starter responded in kind in the bottom of the frame with Volquez batting, and both benches were warned.

"I have no idea what happened with him and that pitch," Volquez said. "I think it was to try to get me out of the game a little bit."

Volquez ran into trouble in the sixth, loading the bases with one out. But he struck out Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus to escape the jam.

"That was as fine of a pitching performance I've seen under press in a long time," Baker said of the sixth.

Phillips put away the game in the seventh with his 20th home run - a three-run blast to left field.