Cardinals beat Reds, 3-1

ST. LOUIS The Cincinnati Reds tried, but failed, to spoil Mike Matheny’s birthday.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ skipper turned 45 on Tuesday, and his team scrounged up just enough offense to beat the Reds 3-1 in front of Busch Stadium’s announced crowd of 43,981.

The Cardinals magic number for clinching the National League Central Division remains at eight.

Kolten Wong’s eighth-inning sacrifice fly off Pedro Villarreal scored Jhonny Peralta and added a bit of breathing room.

Steve Cishek notched his first save as a Cardinal. His previous three this season came with Miami.

Tommy Pham’s sacrifice fly in the seventh snapped the 1-1 tie that had lingered since Pham knotted the score with a third-inning double off losing pitcher (and Missouri native) Sam LeCure.

Before that, it seemed Cardinals starter John Lackey would go without a win against the Reds this season. For the second time in as many tries against the opponent, he exited during a tie. But Pham’s sacrifice improved Lackey’s record to 13-9.

Lackey settled in nicely after surrendering a record-breaking solo home run to Jay Bruce in the first inning. It was the only run he surrendered on nine hits through seven innings. He struck out seven and didn’t walk one.

Lackey has now set a new personal best of 19 straight starts of six-plus innings. His previous best was 18 straight from 2007-08.

The Cardinals (95-56) and Reds (63-87) conclude this three-game series at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday at Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals are now 52-24.

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