Lynn strikes out 10 as Cardinals top Reds 5-1

[April 10, 2013]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Lance Lynn struck out 10 in six sharp innings and rookie Matt Adams connected for his first career pinch-hit homer as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (1-1) retired the first 15 batters. The Cardinals broke through in the sixth, with Adams hitting a two-run homer and Allen Craig and Carlos Beltran also driving in runs.

St. Louis bounced back nicely a day after the Reds roughed up the bullpen for nine runs in the ninth inning of a 13-4 rout that made for a sour home opener.

Brandon Phillips had a sacrifice fly and Shin-Soo Choo had two hits for Cincinnati. The Reds were held to five hits, ending a run of four consecutive games with double-figure hit totals. Choo has four straight two-hit games.

Mitchell Boggs, the stand-in closer, worked a perfect ninth a day after allowing six runs in one-third of an inning. The Cardinals announced before the game that Jason Motte may require reconstructive elbow surgery if his strained right elbow isn't significantly improved by the start of May.

Jake Westbrook (0-1) opposes Homer Bailey (1-0) in the finale of the three-game series on Wednesday. The defending NL Central champion Reds are just 3-22-2 in 27 series in St. Louis since the start of the 2003 season and are trying for their first series win since Sept. 2-4, 2011.

Lynn (1-0) retired the first 10 batters with seven strikeouts before the Reds scratched out a run in the fourth on consecutive one-hit singles from Zack Cozart and Joey Votto and Phillips' sacrifice fly. Left fielder Matt Holliday made a sliding catch on the warning track in left-center to limit the damage to a run.

Arroyo needed just 63 pitches through five, keeping the Cardinals guessing with his assortment of off-speed pitches. Right fielder Jay Bruce's sliding catch robbed Yadier Molina of a hit to end the fifth, but Arroyo allowed hits to four of the first five batters in the sixth.

Daniel Descalso doubled on an 0-1 pitch to open the inning, making him 8 for 19 against Arroyo, and advanced on a groundout before Adams' shot over the wall in right-center on a slow curveball. The Cardinals had three more hits and an intentional walk in the inning, getting an RBI groundout from Craig and a run-scoring single from Beltran.

St. Louis might have missed a chance for even more when Matt Carpenter retreated a few steps to third on Beltran's liner to center, causing Holliday to slow trying to score from second, and Choo's strong throw caught Holliday at the plate for the third out.

Arroyo is 8-14 with a 4.60 ERA for his career against the Cardinals and 3-7 with a 5.46 ERA in 15 starts at 8-year-old Busch Stadium.

NOTES: Derrick Robinson made his first career start for the Reds and played LF, going 1 for 3 with two strikeouts.

[Associated Press; By R.B. FALLSTROM]

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