CINCINNATI -- Asher Wojciechowski frustrated St. Louis for five innings, and that was enough.
The right-hander gave one of his best performances in his return to the rotation, and Joey Votto drove home a pair of runs with a double and a single on Friday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals.
The Reds have won all five games against St. Louis at Great American Ball Park this season. They lead 8-3 in their season series.
Wojciechowski (2-1) started after making six relief appearances in July, taking the place of the injured Scott Feldman. Wojciechowski allowed only three hits, including Mike Leake's run-scoring infield single, and left after throwing 78 pitches.
"He's a mature kid," manager Bryan Price said of the rookie. "He's not going to get his feelings hurt if he has to leave. It's been a while since he went that long."
Wojciechowski felt strong on a cool night but didn't object to leaving after five innings.
"It feels great," he said. "I was out there trying to do what I had been doing in the long relief role."
Votto had a pair of RBI hits off Mike Leake (7-10), who fell to 0-5 in eight career starts against his former team. Billy Hamilton added a run-scoring single off Leake, who allowed eight hits in six innings.
"It's part of the game," Leake said. "Something's telling me I'm not supposed to beat them yet."
Votto played in his fifth All-Star game and then went into a 5-for-39 slump that dropped his average to .295. He has hit safely in his last nine games, the longest active streak on the team.
Michael Lorenzen gave up Carson Kelly's RBI single in the eighth, and the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs. Randal Grichuk took a called third strike to end the threat.
Raisel Iglesias gave up a single and a walk in the ninth before finishing his 19th save in 20 chances. Cincinnati is only 6-15 since the All-Star break.
The Cardinals are 1/3 on the start of a three-city trip to Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Kansas City. They've lost their last two games by a run, slipping to 17-22 in such close finishes. Only Philadelphia has lost more one-run games in the majors.
St. Louis stranded seven runners in the last three innings, setting up another close loss.
"We put together some good at-bats at times, but we just can't get the big hit," manager Mike Matheny said. "That's how these games are decided. You need that big hit."
BIG BOPPER
The Reds played a tribute on the videoboard and held a few moments of remembrance for Lee May, who died last weekend. May is in the team's Hall of Fame.
KEEP GOING
Rookie Jesse Winker scored from first base on Votto's double in the first inning, running through an emphatic stop sign by third base coach Billy Hatcher. The throw was up the line, allowing Winker to score.
NOT YET
Some of the Reds lost track of outs in the third and started off the field after a double play resulted in two gone.
Y'ER OUT
Tucker Barnhart was called out at the plate as he also tried to score from second base on Hamilton's single in the fifth inning. The Reds challenged and umpire Brian Knight's call was upheld on review.
STATS
St. Louis rookie Paul DeJong broke an 0-for-16 slump. ... Greg Garcia had his first career triple and scored on Leake's single. ... The Reds haven't allowed a homer in their last four games, their longest such streak since 2015. They lead the majors with 197 allowed, putting them on pace to break their record of 258 given up last season.
SWAP
The Reds acquired minor league outfielder Randy Ventura from the Braves in exchange for international bonus pool space.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: C Yadier Molina was out of the lineup a day after getting hit in the head by a bat and in the shoulder by a foul tip. Manager Mike Matheny said he was OK, just getting a day of rest. Molina pinch-hit in the ninth and grounded out.
Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani had an MRI that detected tendinitis in his pitching elbow, another setback in his long rehabilitation. DeSclafani developed a sore elbow during spring training and hasn't pitched in a game.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: Lance Lynn (9-6) has won his last three starts. He went 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA in six July starts. He's 9-4 career against the Reds.
Reds: Luis Castillo (2-4) is 1/3 in his last four starts. The rookie hasn't faced the Cardinals.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball



Final
Series: Game 1 of 3

Cardinals 2

(53-56, 22-30 away)

Reds 3

(45-64, 26-28 home)











6:40PM,EDT,August 4,2017
Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati,Ohio 

123456789 R H E
STL 001000010 2 9 0
CIN 10002000 - 3 9 0
W: A. Wojciechowski (2-1)
L: M. Leake (7-10)
S: R. Iglesias (19)




View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-PitchInning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
St. Louis - Top of 1stSCORE
Asher Wojciechowski pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Carpenter popped out to shortstop.00
Pham hit by pitch.00
DeJong struck out swinging.00
Piscotty grounded into fielder's choice to third, Pham out at second.00
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 1stSCORE
Mike Leake pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Hamilton grounded out to shortstop.00
Winker singled to center.00
Votto doubled to right, Winker scored.01
Duvall singled to right.01
Gennett grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Duvall out at second, Votto to third.01
Suárez flied out to right.01
1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 2ndSCORE
Asher Wojciechowski pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Kelly popped out to first.01
Wong flied out to left.01
Grichuk struck out swinging.01
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 2ndSCORE
Mike Leake pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Peraza grounded out to second.01
Barnhart grounded out to first.01
Wojciechowski struck out looking.01
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 3rdSCORE
Asher Wojciechowski pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Garcia tripled to deep right.01
Leake reached on infield single to shortstop, Garcia scored.11
Carpenter flied out to center, Leake out at second.11
Pham singled to left.11
DeJong popped out to shortstop.11
1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 3rdSCORE
Mike Leake pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Hamilton grounded out to first.11
Winker grounded out to second.11
Votto lined out to center.11
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 4thSCORE
Asher Wojciechowski pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Piscotty popped out to second.11
Kelly flied out to center.11
Wong struck out swinging.11
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 4thSCORE
Mike Leake pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Duvall flied out to right.11
Gennett struck out swinging.11
Suárez struck out swinging.11
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 5thSCORE
Asher Wojciechowski pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Grichuk walked.11
Garcia struck out swinging.11
Leake bunt popped out foul to catcher.11
Carpenter struck out swinging.11
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 5thSCORE
Mike Leake pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Peraza singled to center.11
Barnhart singled to right, Peraza to second.11
Alcántara hit for Wojciechowski.11
Alcántara sacrificed to pitcher, Peraza to third, Barnhart to second.11
Hamilton singled to right, Peraza scored, Barnhart thrown out at home.12
Winker singled to center, Hamilton to third.12
Votto singled to right, Hamilton scored, Winker to third.13
Duvall flied out to left.13
2 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 6thSCORE
Drew Storen pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Storen relieved Wojciechowski.13
Pham struck out swinging.13
DeJong singled to left.13
Piscotty grounded into double play, third to second to first, DeJong out at second.13
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 6thSCORE
Mike Leake pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Gennett grounded out to first.13
Suárez grounded out to third.13
Peraza flied out to right.13
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 7thSCORE
Drew Storen pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Kelly grounded out to third.13
Peralta relieved Storen.13
Wong singled to center.13
Grichuk flied out to left.13
J. Martínez hit for Garcia.13
J. Martínez walked, Wong to second.13
Gyorko hit for Leake.13
Lorenzen relieved Peralta.13
Gyorko struck out swinging.13
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 7thSCORE
Zach Duke pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Gyorko at third base.13
Duke relieved Leake.13
Barnhart lined out to shortstop.13
Lorenzen grounded out to second.13
Hamilton singled to center.13
Hamilton caught stealing second, pitcher to first to shortstop.13
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 8thSCORE
Michael Lorenzen pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Carpenter grounded out to first.13
Pham singled to shallow right.13
DeJong reached on infield single to shortstop, Pham to second.13
Piscotty flied out to left.13
Pham stole third.13
Kelly singled to left, Pham scored, DeJong to second.23
Wong walked, DeJong to third, Kelly to second.23
Grichuk struck out looking.23
1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors
Cincinnati - Bottom of 8thSCORE
Zach Duke pitching for St. LouisSTLCIN
Winker lined out to center.23
Votto struck out looking.23
Tuivailala relieved Duke.23
Duvall lined out to third.23
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
St. Louis - Top of 9thSCORE
Raisel Iglesias pitching for CincinnatiSTLCIN
Iglesias relieved Lorenzen.23
Molina hit for Tuivailala.23
Molina grounded out to shortstop.23
Gyorko singled to right.23
C. Martínez ran for Gyorko.23
Carpenter walked, C. Martínez to second.23
Pham flied out to right, C. Martínez to third.23
DeJong struck out swinging.23
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors




St. Louis Cardinals
HittersABRHRBIBBSO#PAVGOBPSLG
Carpenter 1B40001125.246.374.440
Pham CF41200117.317.402.516
DeJong SS50200218.278.303.541
Piscotty RF40000014.228.339.357
Kelly C40110014.143.200.214
Wong 2B30101120.292.379.407
Grichuk LF30001217.228.280.438
Garcia 3B21100113.234.348.318
0000106.288.357.496
Duke P
0000000.000.000.000
0000000.000.000.000
c-Molina PH
1000002.277.309.427
Leake P2011005.182.234.205
b-Gyorko PH-3B
2010016.276.341.465
0000000.171.190.220
Totals3429249157   
a-walked for G Garcia in the 7th
b-struck out swinging for M Leake in the 7th
c-grounded to shortstop for S Tuivailala in the 9th
BATTING
3B: Garcia (1, Wojciechowski)
RBI: Leake (3), Kelly (3)
2-out RBI: Kelly
GIDP: Piscotty
Cardinals RISP: 2-7 (Kelly 1-1, DeJong 0-1, Grichuk 0-1, Pham 0-1, Leake 1-1, Piscotty 0-1, Gyorko 0-1)
Team LOB: 10
BASERUNNING
SB: Pham (15, 3rd base off Lorenzen/Barnhart)
FIELDING
Outfield Assist: Piscotty (Barnhart at Home).

Game Information

StadiumGreat American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance36,443 (86.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity
Game Time2:48
Weather77 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind13 mph
UmpiresHome Plate - Brian Knight, First Base - Lance Barrett, Second Base - Ryan Additon, Third Base - Jim Reynolds