ST. LOUIS _ Mike Leake's lack of success against his former club since joining the Cardinals rotation continued Friday night.
The right-hander pitched eight innings of one-run ball in a 2-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in front of a Busch Stadium crowd of 44,653.
Leake even added a hit, breaking up Reds starter Amir Garrett's no-hitter with a third-inning single.
The problem was that hit was one of just two the Cardinals had all evening.
Kolten Wong's two-out single in the fifth inning was the Cardinals' second and final hit. Matt Carpenter's two-out walk in the ninth inning was the only thing that stopped a slide of 13 consecutive outs to end the game. Stephen Piscotty's game-ending strikeout followed.
Leake allowed one run on six hits through eight innings. He walked one and struck out six. He faced only three Reds in four of his innings, and fired only 92 pitches (65 strikes). He was lifted for a pinch-hitter (Matt Adams) with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Adams struck out.
The Reds secured their lead in the sixth inning, when Joey Votto doubled home speedster Billy Hamilton, who had singled then swiped second, improving to 24-for-26 in steal attempts against catcher Yadier Molina.
Scott Schebler added insurance in the ninth with a solo homer off reliever Kevin Siegrist. The 388-foot blast to center on a 1-1 pitch sucked the life out of an already quiet Busch Stadium, finishing the job Garrett started.
Garrett, the Reds' rookie starter, baffled the Cardinals in his major league debut. The Reds' minor league pitcher of the year the past two years allowed just two hits _ both were singles _ through six scoreless frames. The 24-year-old walked two and struck out four. A Cardinal never reached second base against him, the closest being Piscotty, who was thrown out on a steal attempt.
The Reds bullpen picked up where Garrett left off. Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias kept the outs coming in relief.
The Reds, currently in first place in the National League Central, have now won five of the last eight games and eight of the last 14 games against St. Louis.
Leake, who pitched for the Reds from 2010 until he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2015, struggled against his former team last season. In four starts against them, he went 0-2 with a 7.25 ERA, giving up 18 earned runs and 29 hits in 221/3 innings.
The Cardinals (1-3) and Reds (3-1) resume the series on Saturday.
