Reds down Cards, avoid sweep

St. Louis, MO – Brandon Phillips, Ryan Ludwick and Drew Stubbs each homered in support of a strong outing from Bronson Arroyo, and the Cincinnati Reds averted a three-game sweep by doubling up the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3, at Busch Stadium.

Arroyo (1-0) scattered five hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter over eight innings. The right-hander's lone mistake was a three-run homer by Matt Holliday.

Phillips and Joey Votto added RBI singles for the Reds, who notched their 9,999 win in franchise history.

Adam Wainwright (0-3) gave up four runs on seven hits in five frames for St. Louis, which had its winning streak snapped at four games.