St. Louis 2, Cincinnati 1

Cardinals 2, Reds 1 (10): Pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 10th inning lifted host St. Louis to its third straight win.

Carpenter, the 26-year-old super sub, has 11 RBIs in just 23 at-bats. World Series hero David Freese started the game-winning rally by drawing a walk.

Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart tied the game 1-1 with an eighth-inning RBI single off Mitchell Boggs, after two Reds reached on errors. Cincinnati's Logan Ondrusek worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth.

St. Louis’ Kyle Lohse pitched seven scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.89. Johnny Cueto gave up a first-inning solo homer to Carlos Beltran before shutting down the Cards the next six innings.

It was the fourth homer this season for Beltran, St. Louis’ big offseason acquisition.

The Cardinals could not extend the lead, however, as they went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the first four innings.

Cueto, who hit Rafael Furcal in the back with a pitch last week in Cincinnati, plunked Yadier Molina in the upper back in the second inning. That prompted home plate ump Tony Randazzo to issue a warning to both dugouts.

Game Notebook: Cards 1B Lance Berkman (calf) and 3B David Freese (finger) returned to the lineup as Carpenter started the game on the bench. … Cards CF Jon Jay is 10-for-21 in his career against Cueto after going 1-for-3 against him Tuesday. … The Reds placed infielder Miguel Cairo (hamstring) on the DL and called up Todd Frazier, who led the team with five homers and 15 RBIs in spring training.

• St. Louis will play their next game at home against Cincinnati. The Cardinals have a W/L % of .714 after a win and .750 after a loss.
• Cincinnati will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Reds have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .500 after a loss.