Cards dodge the rain, Reds in 5-1 victory

ST. LOUIS -- It was a toss-up whether Jason Marquis hurt the Cincinnati Reds more with his bat or his arm.

Marquis hit a bases-loaded triple and pitched into the seventh inning, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.

"He can swing the bat, everyone knows that," Reds first baseman Sean Casey said. "I thought maybe he was a position player at first in the minors before he became a pitcher, the way he swings it."

Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning for the Cardinals, who rebounded after a day off from a pair of blowout losses to the Phillies in which they gave up 23 runs. Edmonds' second homer of the season was the 1,500th hit of his career.

"I never thought I'd be in this situation ever in my life," Edmonds said. "Every hit is a bonus for me right now, and to get a miniature milestone like that is nice."

Aside from the second inning when the Reds scored on Austin Kearns' RBI single and left the bases loaded, Marquis (1-0) was in control on the mound. He retired the side in order in the first, third, fourth and fifth and struck out six with two walks before tiring in the seventh.

He was responsible for the Cardinals' early offense, too.

Marquis batted .292 last year, leading NL pitchers in hits (21) and finishing second with nine RBIs. After falling behind 0-2, he worked the count to 3-2 before hitting a fastball from Aaron Harang just inside the first-base line to clear the bases and give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead in the second.

"I know as a pitcher that if I've got a 3-2 count with the bases loaded, I don't want to walk him," Marquis said. "I was just looking for a pitch out over the plate to put in play, and I happened to get good wood on it."

Edmonds homered to straightaway center with two outs in the sixth, and two pitches later Sanders hit his third over the left-field wall for a 5-1 lead.

Harang (1-1) lasted six innings, giving up five runs on five hits. Four of the hits were for extra bases and two of his three walks came at the start of the second, setting the table for Marquis.

"I just made more mistakes than Marquis did," Harang said. "They're a veteran club and they're going to take advantage of those mistakes. I just couldn't get into a rhythm, couldn't find that comfort zone, and I just had to battle the whole game."

Joe Randa had two hits and Felipe Lopez three for the Reds, who have lost four straight on the road after a 3-0 start at home. Randa, who doubled and scored the Reds' lone run in the second, is batting .417. Cincinnati had the bases loaded with one out before Harang kicked his bunt and D'Angelo Jimenez struck out.

The Reds have totaled eight runs in their road losses.

"It means nothing to us," Casey said. "We've got a long season to go and we've just got to get things going."

The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes by rain.

Notes: The Cardinals' David Eckstein reached base on an unusual play in the second. He struck out on a pitch in the dirt and Reds catcher Jason LaRue tried to make a diving tag but then slipped and belly flopped in front of the plate. ... Sanders is 4-for-12 against Harang with three homers. ... The Reds are the only team in the major leagues without an error. ... Albert Pujols, who doubled off the wall in the first, has not struck out since the beginning of spring training. That's a stretch of 101 plate appearances. ... The last three triples by St. Louis pitchers have come with the bases loaded. Jason Isringhausen and Woody Williams both tripled in 2003.