Jose Acevedo's mistake was a gopher ball to Jim Edmonds. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        ST. LOUIS — Someone mentioned to Reds manager Bob Boone that St. Louis starter Dustin Hermanson was 0-8 against the Reds before Thursday night's game.

        “I don't know if that's good or real bad,” Boone said. “The law of averages is going to catch up with you.”

        This season, the Reds have to be more concerned with Murphy's Law, which, when applied to baseball is: If something can go wrong to cost the Reds a game, it will go wrong.

        Thursday, a lot went wrong for the Reds in an 8-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals before a crowd of 32,431 at Busch Stadium. The four-game sweep was the first by the Cardinals of the Reds since July 1962. And Hermanson (11-9) is now 1-8 versus the Reds.

        “You never think you're going to get swept in four games,” Sean Casey said. “You always think you'll win at least one.”

Fernando Vina forces Sean Casey at second. | ZOOM |

        But the Reds and Cards are two teams going in opposite directions. The Cards have won eight straight; the Reds have lost five straight and nine of 12.

        This one, like so many of the Reds' 72 losses, turned on a mistake by one of the Reds' young pitchers. Jose Acevedo (3-4) hung a pitch to Jim Edmonds in the sixth inning. Edmonds hit it out for a three-run homer.

        “I know I'm better than this,” Acevedo said. “One mistake. You can't do that to a good hitter.”

        Acevedo went six innings, allowing four runs on five hits. He had allowed only two hits before the sixth.

        “Acevedo pitched a fine game,” Boone said. “Edmonds had to be working pretty good. He hurt us bad this series.”

        The other thing that hurt the Reds was lack of hits in the clutch. They were 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position in the series. The Cardinals scored 19 of their 26 runners in the series with two outs.

        “That's the difference in the series,” Boone said. “They got the big hit when they needed it. We didn't.”

        The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the first. Todd Walker started the game with a walk. Hermanson fell behind Dunn 3-1, then grooved a 92 mph fastball. Dunn has shown in his short time in the majors that this is not a good idea.

        He launched it high and long to right, and it landed about halfway up the seats in the second deck — a shot of 421 feet. It gave Dunn 822 feet of home runs in two nights. He hit a 401-foot homer Wednesday.

        The home run was Dunn's seventh for the Reds. Over his last 10 games, he has hit six homers and driven in 11 runs.

        Acevedo allowed the Cards to halve the lead in the second, but it easily could have been a tie score. Left fielder Brady Clark robbed Edmonds of extra bases by catching a shot just as Clark banged into the wall.

        The next batter, Craig Paquette, hit a 2-0 pitch from Acevedo out to right for his 12th home run of the year and second in three nights versus the Reds.

        Mark McGwire, 1-for-10 in the series and 1-for-23 against the Reds this season, was ejected in the fourth. He dropped his bat in disgust after taking a third strike. Home plate umpire Tim Timmons tossed McGwire as he was walking toward the dugout.

        Acevedo made the 2-1 lead hold up until the sixth. Placido Polanco started the rally with a one-out single. An out later, Albert Pujols extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a single.

        Edmonds followed with a home run the opposite way to left-center. The homer, Edmonds' 18th, gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

        Dmitri Young got the Reds within one by leading off the seventh with his 15th home run of the year.

        The Reds scored seven runs Wednesday and Thursday. Six came on home runs.

        “That's not us,” Casey said. “We've got to get more hits, manufacture more runs.

        Clark followed Young's homer with a double to put the tying run at second with no outs. That ended Hermanson's night. Reliever Luther Hackman took over, and Clark never moved beyond second.

        Jason LaRue grounded out, Pokey Reese popped out on the first pitch, and pinch hitter Wilton Guerrero grounded out.

        The Cardinals added four runs off Scott Sullivan in the eighth.

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