The St. Louis Cardinals improved to 4-1 on the season by defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Monday night. Starter Jake Westbrook keyed the victory, going seven innings and allowing three hits and no earned runs while striking out two.
St. Louis scored four runs in the top of the first inning to get off to a strong start. Matt Holliday, David Freese and Yadier Molina each hit homers in the first inning. Molina would drive in two more runs in the eighth inning with a double. Molina would later score in the inning when Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly to center field.
For Cincinnati, second baseman Brandon Phillips exited the game in the top of the six inning with cramping in his left hamstring. The loss drops the Reds to 2-2.
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