Reds' ace outduels Cardinals' Wainwright

~Cincinnati won the opener of the three-game series, 2-1

ST. LOUIS -- Mat Latos tweaked his right hip on a swing during his first at-bat in the second inning. He never let it show on the mound.

Latos outpitched Adam Wainwright without his typical followthrough, extending his scoreless streak to 17 innings, and the Cincinnati Reds got an RBI apiece from Joey Votto and Xavier Paul in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

"I felt some tightness and it just nagged me throughout the whole game," Latos said. "I really pushed myself that last inning.

"It shows you what you're capable of, going against a guy like that."

Aroldis Chapman worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save in six chances, completing the third road victory in 11 games for the Reds and handing St. Louis its third straight loss.

"We're far from satisfied," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Yadier Molina had three of the Cardinals' seven hits, including an RBI double off Jonathan Broxton that produced their first run in 17 innings. The Cardinals stranded 10 runners and went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position after entering with a major league-leading .355 average.

The Cardinals have lost three in a row for the first time this season.

"I thought we had some decent at-bats. We just couldn't break through in that big spot," said cleanup man Allen Craig, who had two hits but also failed twice with two men on. "I had a couple of opportunities to drive in some runs and just didn't get it done."

Wainwright (4-2) trailed just six pitches in after Shin-Soo Choo doubled on his first offering, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Votto's single. Over his final six innings, the right-hander gave up three hits and one run on Paul's broken-bat grounder in the fourth set up by hits from Brandon Phillips and Todd Frazier.

"I expect most teams to be aggressive against me," Wainwright said. "It feeds into my game plan, and if they're not, they're going to be 0-2, 1-2 real quick.

"They've got some great hitters over there, and we lost a tough game. Not much more to say."

Wainwright walked two, one intentionally, after issuing just one in 37 1/3 innings over his first five starts.

Latos (2-0) allowed five hits and walked three over six innings in his sixth quality start in as many outings this season. The Reds have scored just four runs in his last three appearances.

"Every night he goes out there, he's that guy where we know we have a really good shot of winning as long as we can put up a couple of runs," Paul said. "He's that type of pitcher. That's the type of pitcher you want facing Wainwright."

The Cardinals had two baserunners in an inning four times against Latos. Craig, who came in 7 for 11 with runners in scoring position and two outs, failed twice in that situation with forceouts to end the third and fifth innings.

"It's one of those things where one mistake could cost you the game, especially with the way [Wainwright] has been pitching," Latos said. "I just beared down and attacked as much as possible."

Noteworthy

* Jaime Garcia (2-1, 2.89 ERA) has eight wins over the Reds -- double that of any other opponent -- entering Tuesday's start against Bronson Arroyo (2-2, 4.24). Arroyo is 8-14 against the Cardinals and has lost his last two starts, including a 5-1 loss on April 9 in St. Louis.

* St. Louis slugger Carlos Beltran did not start a day after being taken out of the game with flu-like symptoms, but flied out as a pinch hitter in the eighth and is expected to play Tuesday.

... Molina is 2 for 2 on steals after catching Latos napping and taking third without a play in the fourth and is 6 for 6 stealing third the last two seasons. ... Cardinals slugger David Freese is in an 0-for-16 slump that has dropped his average to .163 after failing to get the ball out of the infield in four at-bats. Daniel Descalso also is hitless in 16 at-bats after a pinch-hit groundout in the seventh. ... Wainwright has 951 strikeouts with St. Louis, tied for seventh on the career list with Steve Carlton.