Cardinals reliever Steve Kline reacts after striking out Aaron Boone with the bases loaded to end the Reds' eighth inning. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        ST. LOUIS - It was never clearer why the St. Louis Cardinals and not the Reds are sitting atop the National League Central than in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game. It came down to basic execution. The Cards were perfect; the Reds were perfectly awful.

        The result? The Reds lost to the Cardinals 3-1 before 26,641 fans at Busch Stadium.

        The clinic started when the first two Reds reached base - Jason LaRue on a single and pinch-hitter Brandon Larson on a Tino Martinez error.

        With Todd Walker due up, Reds manager Bob Boone sent up pinch-hitter Juan Castro. The fact that Castro is hitting .183 and Walker .285 was negated because Walker has struggled bunting, although he does have five sacrifices to Castro's one.

        “We decided last week if we ever got that situation again, we were sending Castro up there,” Boone said, referring to Walker's failure to get a bunt down against Houston's Roy Oswalt on Aug.17.

        Walker might get another try someday because Castro popped up a bunt on the first pitch from Steve Kline.

        “He threw me a slider,” Castro said. “But no excuses. You got to get a bunt down there.”

Tino Martinez upends Todd Walker as Martinez breaks up a double play attempt in the fourth inning. | ZOOM |

        The rest of the inning didn't go any better. The next hitter, Barry Larkin, took a called third strike. Adam Dunn walked, then Aaron Boone also looked at strike three to end the inning.

        “(The bunt) might not have mattered,” Bob Boone said.

        Now, compare the Reds' eighth with the Cardinals' eighth. Fernando Vina led off with a single and went to second on Scott Williamson's errant pick-off throw. J.D. Drew got Vina over with a perfect bunt, then Jim Edmonds hit a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1.

        The Reds wasted a good start by right-hander Jimmy Haynes, who went seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits.

        Haynes was coming off his best outing of year. He pitched eight innings of shutout ball against the Cardinals five days ago in the Reds' 7-0 win.

        He wasn't as overpowering Tuesday. He stuck out seven in his last start; he struck out just two Tuesday.

Jimmy Haynes shakes out his arm as Jim Edmonds circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning. | ZOOM |

        But the big difference between Thursday and Tuesday was St. Louis starter Woody Williams, who was much improved. He allowed one run on four hits over six innings.

        The Reds lit him up for five runs on eight hits in four innings on Thursday.

        Boone was counting on that kind of offense Tuesday.

        “We're supposed to score more than one run,” he said.

        The Reds took a first-inning lead for the second straight game. Larkin doubled to right with one out for his 10th hit in his last 22 at-bats. An out later, Boone hit a line-drive double down the left-field line to score Larkin.

        The Reds' offense shut down after that. Williams didn't allow another hit until LaRue's two-out bloop double in the fifth. By then, the Cardinals had a 2-1 lead.

        Haynes danced with danger in the first inning but escaped. He worked a 1-2-3 second, then got in trouble with two outs in the third.

        Drew doubled, and Edmonds followed with his 26th home run - an opposite-field shot to left-center that Reds center fielder Reggie Taylor nearly nabbed with a leap at the wall.

        “That was a mistake on my part,” Haynes said. “I was trying to go in on him and it ran out over the plate. That's a tough way to lose a ballgame - on one mistake.”

        One mistake and one very bad eighth inning.

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