ST. LOUIS _ Behind another strong outing from pitcher Jaime Garcia, the Cardinals topped Cincinnati, 3-2, on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.
The win closed the Cards' six-game homestand with a record of 3-3 against Atlanta and Cincinnati. They will begin a nine-game road trip Thursday in Chicago and then in Miami, who the Cardinals are tied with for the second wild-card spot in the National League.
Garcia made it through eight innings for the second straight start. In his last appearance, a 1-0 win over the Braves, he didn't get a chance to close out the ninth. This time, the lefty was sent back out, but after a double by Joey Votto and a single by Adam Duvall, he was pulled in favor of Seung Hwan Oh.
On his first pitch, Oh got Cincinnati's Eugenio Suarez to bounce into a double play. That scored Votto from third for a 3-2 game, but after picking up two quick outs, Oh struck out Reds second baseman Tony Renda for the save.
Garcia's line included two earned runs and six hits in eight innings. He struck out four and issued one walk.
He was helped with a pair of home runs from Jhonny Peralta and Matt Carpenter, who also tripled as he continues to bounce back from his injury.
Peralta's homer gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning. Carpenter scored on a double by Brandon Moss for a 2-0 lead in the third inning, after Carpenter led off the Cards' half of the first with a home run. The Reds got their run in the fourth inning on Suarez's home run.
