CINCINNATI _ The Cardinals did what they had to do for the standings and most of all for this ballpark.
With runs in two of the three final innings of the game, the Cardinals completed a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with an 8-5 victory Thursday night at Great American Ball Park. A day after they had one of their sharpest games of the season, the Cardinals just got by with persistence.
Two home runs by Reds outfielder Scott Schebler reminded them that the score was really never safe at GABP, so the more runs the better.
The Cardinals got an RBI single by Alex Mejia and a pull-away double by Greg Garcia to produce two runs at the top of the ninth inning. That buttressed them against Schebler's homer off Zach Duke to lead off the ninth.
Four of the Cardinals eight runs came from the top three spots in the order. In the seventh, the middle of the order provided two runs that kept extending the lead.
The Cardinals had 10 extra-base hits in the game _ a season high. Tommy Pham did not have one of them but he reached base four times, twice via walks. And he scored one of the Cardinals' runs.
