Reds end Cards' three-game streak

~ Cincinnati blasted three home runs in a 5-1 victory over St. Louis.

By R.B. FALLSTROM

The Associated PRess

ST. LOUIS -- After a miserable stretch, Kyle Lohse is dominating hitters.

Lohse came within two outs of his second shutout in three starts and the Cincinnati Reds got home runs from Ken Griffey Jr., Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Dunn in a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

Reds right fielder Ken Griffey Jr. failed to catch a ball hit by the Cardinals' Albert Pujols during the ninth inning Thursday in St. Louis. Pujols, who got a double on the play, later scored St. Louis' lone run in a 5-1 loss. (JEFF ROBERSON ~ Associated Press)

"It's in there," manager Jerry Narron said of Lohse. "Stuff-wise, he's as good as anybody. We really feel like the worst is behind him."

Encarnacion had four hits and three RBIs for the Reds, who ended a four-game losing streak and avoided a three-game sweep. The Reds completed a 4-5 trip with 2004 first-round pick Homer Bailey set to make his major league debut Friday in Cincinnati.

All of the homers came off Adam Wainwright (4-5), who allowed only four in his first 11 career starts. Wainwright lasted six innings and gave up four runs and eight hits.

"It's not like I was getting crushed all night long," Wainwright said. "I let a few hitters get away from me, that's all it is. That's all I'm going to think about."

The Cardinals lost for only the second time in eight games. They're 4-2 against the Reds, with all the games played in St. Louis.

Griffey led off the fourth with his 576th career homer and 13th of the season, all coming in the last 39 games. Brandon Phillips followed with a single and scored on Encarnacion's fourth homer with one out for a 3-0 lead. Dunn added his 15th homer with two outs in the sixth.

Lohse (3-7) breezed through the first four innings, allowing only Adam Kennedy's infield hit in the third. Juan Encarnacion doubled with one out in the fifth but stayed there when Kennedy and Gary Bennett flied out. Pinch hitter Aaron Miles and Albert Pujols singled to start the sixth and seventh, but both were erased in double plays.

His last three starts have been a marked improvement for Lohse, who lost six straight starts and had an 8.59 ERA over his last April start and first five May starts.

The Cardinals finally broke through against Lohse in the ninth. With one out, Pujols doubled off the wall in right and scored on Jim Edmonds' single.

Lohse went 8 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and one run with a walk and two strikeouts. Before the ninth, the Cardinals' 3-4-5 hitters were 1-for-9.