Jay Bruce homered and had five RBIs and the Cincinnati Reds got a dominant effort from Homer Bailey to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 on Wednesday night and avoid a three-game sweep.

The Reds came out swinging a few hours after Brandon Phillips’ expletive-filled tirade at a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter sparked by scrutiny of his .310 on-base percentage, and after manager Dusty Baker criticized his team for falling short while dropping four of five.

The Cardinals lead the NL Central by a half-game over Pittsburgh after losing for the third time in 12 games, and the Reds are 3 1/2 games back.

Bailey (9-10) capped a six-run first against Adam Wainwright (15-8) with the Reds’ sixth hit and his first RBI of the season. He allowed five hits in 7 1-3 innings with seven strikeouts and is 4-0 in his past six starts.

— Associated Press —