Cards' sweep goes astray

CINCINNATI — Brandon Phillips' day off did him a lot of good.

Phillips hit a three-run triple in Cincinnati's four-run seventh inning and the Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 on Thursday night.

The Reds second baseman was in a 2-for-18 rut after Cincinnati's 7-2 loss Tuesday to St. Louis, prompting manager Dusty Baker to rest him Wednesday.

"I don't like them, but it paid off," Phillips said about days off. "I think it really helped me out. I really didn't do anything yesterday. I felt like I had a lot of energy. It paid off."

Cincinnati put together the winning rally against relievers Mark Worrell (0-1) and Randy Flores. David Ross hit a one-out double and Andy Phillips walked. Flores replaced Worrell and got Corey Patterson to ground into a fielder's choice before issuing walks to rookie Paul Janish and Ken Griffey Jr. to force in the go-ahead run.

"The walks were out of character," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "We weren't aggressive like we usually are."

Brandon Phillips followed with his fifth triple of the year, a drive down the right-field line that got past a lunging Ryan Ludwick and bounced into the corner.

"I was looking for a ball to drive," Phillips said.

Jared Burton (3-1) struck out two in 1 2-3 scoreless innings for the Reds, who ended the Cardinals' four-game winning streak. The Reds had lost seven of their last 10 games.

Joel Pineiro allowed two runs and three hits over five innings in his first start for St. Louis since May 20. Pineiro was activated from the 15-day disabled list before the game after being sidelined with a strained right groin.

"Obviously, you want to put zeros up there, but with not pitching in 21 or 22 days, it was good," Pineiro said.

Pitcher Bronson Arroyo's third-inning single was the Reds' only hit off Pineiro before Edwin Encarnacion led off the fifth with a double off the left-field wall. Encarnacion advanced to third when Pineiro's errant pickoff attempt went into center field and scored on David Ross' suicide squeeze.

"David's a good bunter," Baker said. "He works at it. He got the sign. That's what baseball's all about — getting the sign and executing."

Arroyo followed with a homer into the left-field seats, the first home run by a Reds pitcher this season and the fourth of his career. Two were against Baker's Cubs team in 2006, Arroyo's first season with the Reds.

"Once a year, I get lucky," Arroyo said. "I hope I'm able to say that for the next 10 years. I remember looking over at Dusty after that second one (in 2006) and seeing him shaking his head."

Arroyo allowed just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings before his forearm started cramping up after the sixth inning. The gametime temperature was 85 degrees, and it never dropped below 80.

"I haven't had that before," Arroyo said of the cramps. "I was depleted. I was sweating more than I had all year. I felt like I'd given Dusty all I had to give."

The Cardinals tied it in the seventh, taking advantage of Encarnacion's throwing error on Rick Ankiel's grounder to third. Troy Glaus followed with his eighth home run of the season.

Notes: Reds OF Jay Bruce didn't start but hit for Burton in the

eighth and doubled to right. He stayed in to play left field in the ninth. Bruce started each of his first 16 games with Cincinnati. ... The Cardinals made room for Pineiro on the active roster by placing 1B Albert Pujols on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Wednesday, with a strained left calf. ... The Reds announced that former major league pitcher Jerry Walker had been hired as a special assistant for player personnel for general manager Walt Jocketty. Walker, who pitched for three teams in eight years from 1957 through 1963, spent 13 years working for St. Louis when Jocketty was the Cardinals general manager.