ST. LOUIS — As troubling as Sunday's 10-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals was, the really scary thing for the Reds' camp was Scott Sullivan's pitching line.

        The right-hander went 1 1/3 innings and allowed a career-high five runs on three hits. Two of the hits were home runs.

        Sunday's bashing came two days after Sullivan gave up two runs on three hits in the series opener. Suddenly, the Reds' most reliable pitcher isn't reliable at all.

        The Cardinals' win closed the Reds' lead in the National League Central to four games going into tonight's finale of the four-game series at Busch Stadium. But the Reds won't be in the race long if Sullivan isn't back to being Sullivan. He was the Reds' most valuable pitcher last year, and before Friday, was a strong candidate to repeat.

        In his first 24 games this season, Sullivan allowed six earned runs. In his last two games, he has allowed seven, taking his ERA from 2.10 to 4.13.

        There's an explanation for this. On May 13 in Milwaukee, Sullivan was hit on the right elbow by a Richie Sexson comebacker. Soreness and swelling kept Sullivan from throwing for one day and from pitching in a game for three. That's a rarity for Sullivan, who has led the world in relief innings the last four years.

        “His velocity is still there, but he's lost his feel on pitches,” Reds pitching coach Don Gullett said. “He's not getting them to do what they have to do.”

        The cure, Gullett and Reds manager Bob Boone say, is getting Sullivan work.

        “Sully has to pitch a lot to be effective,” Boone said. “But not too much.”

        Sullivan refuses to take the ready excuse. But he is at a loss to explain what has happened over the last two outings.

        “If I knew what it was, I'd correct it,” Sullivan said.

        Sullivan's rough outing didn't cost the Reds the game like it did Friday, when he took his first loss of the year. On Sunday, the game was pretty much lost before Sullivan entered.

        The Reds took an early 1-0 lead on Barry Larkin's second leadoff home of the year.

        Reds starter Jose Acevedo (4-2) was able to hold the lead until the fourth inning, when he gave up a four-spot. The big blow was Eli Marrero's three-run homer.

        “He was trying to pitch and doing a pretty good job of it,” Boone said. “But he was missing his spots. He didn't have enough stuff to make pitches when he had to.”

        The Reds had some early chances against St. Louis starter Garrett Stephenson, but they couldn't come up with a big hit. Aaron Boone and Corky Miller started the second with walks, but were stranded. Adam Dunn led off the third with a double, but advanced no further.

        The Cardinals added a run in the fifth to make it 5-1, and Sullivan came into the game in the sixth. He gave up an infield single to J.D. Drew, then hit Albert Pujols with a pitch. Sullivan got Jim Edmonds to strike out, but Tino Martinez hit a fastball out to right for his fifth homer.

        “He put a good swing on it,” Sullivan said. “I'm just not getting it done.”

        In the eighth, Sullivan walked Marrero, then allowed the first homer Placido Polanco has hit since last July.

        “I'm just getting my rear end handed to me right now,” Sullivan said.

Cardinals 10, Reds 1 Reds Box, Runs Reds need relief, call up Almanzar Reds Notebook: Griffey needs more time Stephenson ends long wait for win Pirates 5, Astros 3

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