CINCINNATI _ The streaks keep mounting. Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha extended his winning streak to eight games and hiked his career record against the Cincinnati Reds to 11-1 in a 6-4 victory on a sweltering Saturday at Great American Ball Park.
The Cardinals won their 13th straight against the Reds, ninth in a row this year, and they have won their last 11 meetings at Great American Ballpark.
Wacha (8-1), coming off his no-hit flirtation last Sunday, held the Reds to four hits, one of them Eugenio Suarez's two-run homer, in 5 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals' support came from four sources, or actually five. Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna bashed back-to-back homers in the first inning. Matt Carpenter homered in the seventh. And Yadier Molina hit a bases-clearing double in the third. One of the runners chased home on that hit was Wacha, who had started the inning by drawing his first walk of the season.
With Bud Norris having a day off in the bullpen, Mike Mayers, Austin Gomber, Sam Tuivailala and Jordan Hicks combined for the last 10 outs although Mayers and Tuivailala each was touched for a run.
Hicks, pitching in his third straight game, gained his first major league save, striking out three hitters in the ninth.
