CINCINNATI (AP) — St. Louis kept Scooter Gennett in check a day after his four-homer game, but Patrick Kivlehan had a pinch three-run shot that sparked the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 victory on Wednesday night, extending the Cardinals’ longest losing streak in four years.

The Cardinals have dropped six in a row. They let a 4-1 lead slip away when Kivlehan — another utility player like Gennett — and Joey Votto homered during a five-run seventh inning.

Gennett became the first Reds player to homer four times in a game during the 13-1 win a night earlier. He connected in his last four at-bats and had a chance for more history on Wednesday — nobody has homered in five straight plate appearances.

Using the same tan bat that produced five hits overall the previous night, Gennett grounded into a double play his first time up against Lance Lynn, ending his homer streak. He also struck out, hit into another double play and singled as part of the Reds’ go-ahead rally.

Kivlehan’s first career pinch-hit homer off Brett Cecil (0-2) tied it 4-4. Votto’s two-run homer off Trevor Rosenthal finished the eight-batter rally.

Scott Schebler had a homer among his three hits for the Reds, who have won all three games in a series that ends on Thursday. They have taken back-to-back series against St. Louis for the first time since 2011, and have won 10 of their last 15 games overall against the NL Central rival.

Wandy Peralta (3-1) got the win in relief of Bronson Arroyo. Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth, staying perfect in 11 save chances.

The Cardinals built their early lead with the help of Matt Carpenter’s solo homer off Arroyo, who has given up a major league-leading 20 this season. Sixteen of them have been solo shots.

CARDINALS MOVES

The Cardinals called up utility player Chad Huffman and optioned RHP John Gant to Triple-A Memphis. Gant gave up two of Gennett’s four homers on Tuesday night.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: CF Dexter Fowler, who is 3 for 16 on the trip, got a day out of the starting lineup but had a pinch RBI double. Carpenter batted leadoff for the first time this season.

Reds: RHP Homer Bailey will make a rehab appearance Friday for Double-A Pensacola. He had spurs removed from his pitching elbow before the start of spring training. He’s not expected back until late June at the earliest.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (5-4) has yet to beat his former team. He’s 0-3 in six career starts against the Reds with a 4.95 ERA. St. Louis has lost all six games.

Reds: RHP Scott Feldman (4-4) lasted only 4 1/3 innings in a 6-5 loss to Atlanta on Saturday, giving up five runs and seven hits.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Scooter Gennett hit four home runs , matching the major league record, and finished with 10 RBI as the Cincinnati Reds routed the slumping St. Louis Cardinals 13-1 on Tuesday night.

Gennett became the 17th player to homer four times in one game — and perhaps the least likely. A scrappy second baseman who was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee in late March, he began the night with 38 career home runs in five seasons, including three this year.

Josh Hamilton was the previous player to hit four home runs in one game, for Texas against Baltimore in May 2012.

The 27-year-old Gennett singled his first time up and then homered in four straight at-bats , including a grand slam . His 10 RBI tied Cincinnati’s club record.

Gennett snapped an 0-for-19 slump during the Reds’ 4-2 win over the Cardinals on Monday. He went 5 for 5 on Tuesday and raised his batting average 32 points to .302.

Since being picked up by the Reds late in spring training, Gennett has played a utility role for Cincinnati. He started in left field Tuesday night.

The last National League player to hit four home runs in one game was Shawn Green for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Milwaukee in May 2002.

Gennett hit an RBI single and his second career slam off St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright (6-4), who brought a long scoreless streak into the game but couldn’t handle a team that has hit him like no other. He lasted only 3 2/3 innings and gave up nine runs for just the third time in his career.

The last time? Also against Cincinnati in 2013.

Gennett’s grand slam was the first Wainwright had allowed since 2012.

Eugenio Suarez’s bases-loaded triple in the fourth ended Wainwright’s outing. Gennett followed with his fifth homer of the season off John Gant, and then hit a solo shot off the right-hander.

Gennett got his second curtain call of the game after his two-run shot off John Brebbia in the eighth.

Tim Adleman (4-2) gave up one run — on Stephen Piscotty’s homer — in seven innings.

The Cardinals have dropped a season-high five straight and eight of their last 10.

The Reds have won three in a row against the Cardinals for the first time since 2015. They’ve taken nine of their last 14 against St. Louis.

Wainwright’s streak of scoreless innings ended at 17 in the first. Billy Hamilton tapped a grounder that the Cardinals let roll, and it stopped on the first base line. He advanced on a groundout and scored on Gennett’s single that got the Reds rolling.

Wainwright fell to 9-11 career against Cincinnati with a 5.01 ERA.

REDS MOVES

The Reds reinstated left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani from the disabled list and optioned right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla to Triple-A Louisville. Cingrani had been sidelined April 21 with a strained right oblique. Bonilla was 1/3 with a 7.43 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Rookie INF Paul DeJong made his first start at shortstop in place of Aledmys Diaz, who got a day off. DeJong has started eight games at second base, but played both positions in the minors.

Reds: RF Scott Schebler was out of the lineup for the third straight game with a sore left shoulder, but came in on defense after the Reds built their big lead.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (4-3) gave up only one run in six innings of a 7-5 win over the Reds at Busch Stadium on April 28. He is 9-4 career against Cincinnati.

Reds: RHP Bronson Arroyo (3-4) is coming off one of the best outings of his comeback season. He allowed only two runs in six innings of a 3-2 victory over Atlanta on Friday.

— Associated Press —

CINCINNATI (AP) — Carlos Martinez dominated the Cincinnati Reds for six innings, and the slumping St. Louis Cardinals still found a way to give up the lead on the way to another loss.

Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett hit consecutive two-run doubles in the seventh inning, and Cincinnati came from behind to beat St. Louis 4-2 on Monday night.

Martinez (4-5) was almost perfect through six innings before wilting in the seventh as the Cardinals dropped their fourth straight and eighth in 11 games.

“It’s been frustrating, but I think our team will remain united and get through this negative period,” Martinez said through a translator. “You’ve got to keep your mind positive.”

The Reds had lost two in a row and five of six going into the opener of this four-game series.

Martinez, who was 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his previous six starts, faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings with the help of catcher Yadier Molina, who threw out major league stolen base leader Billy Hamilton trying to swipe third in the first inning and Adam Duvall attempting to steal second in the second.

“He was as dominant as you can be,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said about Martinez. “It snowballed in a hurry. You’ve got to make plays to get outs. The next thing you know, your back’s up against the wall.”

Martinez retired 14 straight batters after Duvall’s leadoff single before the Reds got to him in the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out. Suarez sent a line drive to center field that Dexter Fowler dropped while sprinting toward the wall.

“We were facing an ace,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “It looked like he was on. He didn’t give us much to be excited about. Then we get a bunt hit.�It’s the things you have to do.”

Left-hander Kevin Siegrist was brought in to face the left-handed-hitting Gennett, who snapped an 0-for-19 slump with a double down the right-field line.

“This is a crazy game,” Gennett said. “You can do everything right. You can hit the ball hard and get nothing or you can make soft contact like I did�tonight�and get a double. The more you play the game, you understand that hitless streaks are going to happen. You just embrace it and do the best you can.”

Lisalverto Bonilla (1-3) pitched a perfect inning and Raisel Iglesias struck out three in a hitless ninth to remain perfect in 10 save chances.

Asher Wojciechowski tossed six effective innings in his second major league start for the Reds. Wojciechowski allowed eight hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings against St. Louis after giving up four hits, including three homers, and four runs over four innings last Tuesday at Toronto.

“I was focusing on fastball location,” Wojciechowski said. “They made good plays behind me — two double plays.”

Wojciechowski faced the minimum nine batters through three innings and didn’t permit a hit until Matt Carpenter’s one-out single in the fourth. But the Cardinals bunched together five hits in a two-run fifth, including Tommy Pham’s RBI double and Martinez’s safety squeeze that scored Pham from third.

Martinez’s bunt pushed Paul DeJong to second base, but he was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Fowler’s single to left field — the first of Duvall’s two assists in the game.

“Those throws by Duvall were huge,” Wojciechowski said. “It gives you confidence and you know you only have to get one more out.”

Matheny had no problem with either runner trying to advance.

“You’ve got to let guys use their heads,” he said. “Sometimes, they get it right. Sometimes, they don’t. It would’ve been nice to get a little more there. We had some momentum going.”

MR. CONSISTENT

Reds SS Zack Cozart singled twice and has reached base in 27 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors.

MOWED DOWN

Duvall, who entered with one outfield assist in 53 games, got two in two innings against the Cardinals. In addition to cutting down DeJong at the plate in the fifth, Duvall threw out Stephen Piscotty at third base in the sixth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Hamilton returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a strained left shoulder sustained while trying to make a diving catch Saturday. … RF Scott Schebler, who left Saturday’s game with the same injury after making a diving catch, missed his second straight start.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Veteran RHP Adam Wainwright (6-3) takes a streak of 16 1/3 scoreless innings into Tuesday’s start against the Reds. Wainwright has allowed one run in his last four starts.

Reds: RHP Tim Adleman (3-2), who is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his last two starts, set career highs by allowing eight hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings during his April 28 start at St. Louis.

— Associated Press —