Cincinnati 11, St. Louis 8

Yonder Alonso hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning and Juan Francisco belted a three-run shot in the ninth as the Cincinnati Reds squandered an early five-run lead before pulling out an 11-8 victory over the host St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Pinch-hitter Todd Frazier also went deep and Francisco added a two-run double for Cincinnati, which scored a total of six runs as it was swept in a four-game series by Philadelphia earlier this week.

Rafael Furcal and David Freese each homered and drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who fell 8 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central.

After Francisco highlighted a five-run second with his double, St. Louis battled back to forge a 5-5 tie. Frazier hit a two-out solo shot in the sixth to put Cincinnati back in front, but Freese led off the bottom half against Jose Arredondo (4-4) with his ninth of the year to tie it again.

Jay Bruce hit a one-out single off Marc Rzepczynski (2-4) and Alonso followed with his fourth blast for an 8-6 lead.

Francisco's homer in the ninth, which gave him a career-high five RBIs, proved crucial as Matt Holliday launched a solo shot for St. Louis in the bottom half.

• St. Louis will play their next game at home against Cincinnati. The Cardinals have a W/L % of .521 after a win and .538 after a loss.
• Cincinnati will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Reds have a W/L % of .412 after a win and .571 after a loss.