Reds 1 - 2 Cardinals
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Cardinals, Reds square off for second time

Apr 17, 2012 - 2:52 PM

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(Sports Network) - St. Louis righty Kyle Lohse starts for the second time this season and 10th time in his career against one of his former teams - the Cincinnati Reds - when the Cardinals open a three-game series tonight at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals took two of three from the Reds in a series earlier this month, including an April 10 game in Cincinnati in which Lohse allowed a run on four hits in six innings of a 3-1 triumph.

Six days earlier in Miami, the 33-year-old had surrendered just two hits and a run in 7 1/3 innings in a 4-1 defeat of the Marlins.

He's 3-3 in nine career starts against the Reds, with whom he appeared in 34 games - going 9-17 - in 2006-07.

Cincinnati counters with Dominican righty Johnny Cueto, who makes his second start of the season against the Cardinals and the 15th of his career.

Cueto tossed five innings and allowed seven hits and three runs while getting a no-decision in a 4-3 Reds win over St. Louis on April 11.

Six days earlier, he'd won a 4-0 decision over Miami after allowing three hits in seven scoreless innings.

In the previous 14 meetings against the Cardinals, he was 4-4 with a 4.97 earned run average in 76 innings.

On Sunday in Washington, Joey Votto crushed the go-ahead two-run double in the top of the 11th inning, and the Reds picked up their first road win of the season and avoided a series sweep with an 8-5 win over the Nationals.

Ryan Ludwick went 2-for-6 with a grand slam and two runs scored, while Ryan Hanigan and Scott Rolen each knocked in a run for the Reds, who had lost five of seven coming in.

Zack Cozart added three hits and two runs scored for Cincinnati.

Jose Arredondo (1-0) tossed a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win and Sean Marshall finished off the Nats in the 11th to nail down his first save of the season.

In St. Louis, Matt Carpenter finished 4-for-4 with five runs batted in and a run scored to lift the Cardinals to a 10-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the finale of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.

Carpenter hit his first home run in the fifth inning and finished a double shy of the cycle, while Yadier Molina added a three-run home run for the Cardinals.

Starter Jake Westbrook (2-0) was impressive, tossing seven innings of four-hit ball and allowing just two runs - one earned - while striking out two.

The Cardinals dropped the first game of the series, but took the final two.






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