Juan Encarnacion was called out at home in the fifth inning though replays showed he was safe. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        ST. LOUIS — The Reds have been knocked down before. So far, they've gotten up, dusted themselves off and kept swinging. They'll get another chance to prove that resiliency tonight when they return to Cinergy Field. That's because they got knocked around pretty good by the St. Louis Cardinals in the four-game series here.

        Monday's 7-3 TKO by the Cardinals before a crowd of 35,560 at Busch Stadium meant a two-game swing in the National League Central standings. The loss meant the Reds headed home three games ahead of St. Louis. A win would have put them five up.

        But, figuratively, despite losing three of four they weren't down at all Monday.

        “It would have been nice to split with these guys,” third baseman Aaron Boone said. “They beat us up a bit the last two days. But I think we'll bounce right back. This team has been good about once the game is over starting to focus on (the next one).”

Tino Martinez reaches back to touch home plate in front of Reds catcher Jason LaRue in the sixth inning. | ZOOM |

        That was the case when this eight-game trip began on the May 13. May 12 was the day of the infamous fold job by the Reds when they turned an 8-0 lead into a 10-8 loss to the Cardinals.

        That was in the minds of many the beginning of a long slide. Instead, the Reds went 5-3 on the trip. They left up 2 1/2 games in the Central; they came home up three games. Tonight, they face the Florida Marlins in the first of a three-game mini homestand.

        They'll want to forget all about St. Louis. The Cards beat the Reds by a combined score of 17-4 over the last two games. And they've looked superior in the season series, taking five of seven overall. The teams meet 12 more times.

        So the Reds had better find a cure for the St. Louis blues if they want to compete with them all season.

        “We're going to be going at it with these guys all year,” Barry Larkin said.

Jason LaRue is greeted in the dugout after his eighth-inning three-run homer. | ZOOM |

        The reason most of the experts picked the Cardinals as the NL Central favorite was starting pitching. It was the difference Monday. St. Louis starter Woody Williams was very good. Reds starter Jimmy Haynes was very bad.

        Williams (1-0) went five innings, allowing no runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked one. Haynes (3-5) went five innings, allowing seven runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.

        “A very shaky outing,” Haynes said. “But it's a long season. Hopefully, we can bounce back and get it going again.”

        Haynes put the Reds in a 5-0 hole. That's a lot for the offense to overcome, especially one searching for the big hit in the big situation. Monday, the Reds actually outhit the Cards 10 to six. The Reds left 12 runners on; the Cards three.

        “We had opportunities,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “We didn't get the big hit the last two days.”

        The Reds ended Sunday's game with eight scoreless innings after Larkin led off the game with a home run. They pushed the streak to 15 Monday night before Jason LaRue hit a three-run homer in the eighth.

        Haynes had been on a pretty good roll before Monday. He had a 3.10 ERA in the last five starts. He struggled with his control from the start, continually pitched behind in the count.

        Fernando Vina led off the game with a single off Sean Casey's glove. Vina moved to second on J.D. Drew's groundout. Haynes then walked Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds.

        “I couldn't throw it over the plate,” Haynes said. “My ball was moving too much. It kept tailing off the plate. Then when I did throw a strike it got him in center for two runs.”

        The strike he was referring was to Tino Martinez, who hit the two-run single.

        Haynes worked a 1-2-3 second and struck out Drew to start the third.

        But he hit Pujols with a pitch. He then hung his first pitch to Edmonds. Edmonds took out the opposite way to left for his 10th home run of the year. That made it 4-0.

        “I hung it,” Haynes said. “He did a good job of going with the pitch.”

        When the Reds finally got a hit in with runners in scoring position, it didn't even mean a run.

        Juan Encarnacion and Casey singled with two outs in the fifth. Austin Kearns then singled into center. Center fielder Edmonds made a strong throw and the ball beat Encarnacion. But Encarnacion, replays showed, very clearly got under catcher Eli Marrero's tag.

        But home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether called Encarnacion out. Bob Boone's arguing didn't change his mind.

        So it should have been 4-1, but soon it was 5-0. Pujols hit his seventh home run.

Cardinals 7, Reds 3 Reds Box, Runs Shaw talks get serious Reds Notebook: It's Almanzar by default Reds-Marlins Series Preview Cards' pitching dominates again Angels 6, Royals 3

Reluctant Bengal will attend meetings
Nicklaus pleased with his museum
Voska co-medalist at U.S. Open qualifier
Kings 96, Lakers 90
Avalanche 4, Red Wings 3
Coming up this week
Cincinnati High School Highlights
Cincinnati High School Results
N.Ky. High School Highlights
N.Ky. High School Results
Today's High School Schedule
Lawmaker drops transfer challenge

• Return to Reds front page...