CINCINNATI, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Rick Ankiel and Jason LaRue had two RBI each Friday to key the St. Louis' 5-3 win against Cincinnati, the Cardinals' third win in a row.
Ankiel hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning, while LaRue hit an RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly.
Skip Schumaker knocked in one run. The Cardinals' Albert Pujols had three hits and Felipe Lopez added two hits.
Winner Brad Thompson (5-2) yielded three earned runs and three hits in five innings.
Chris Perez followed three other relievers to earn his fourth save this season.
Three Cincinnati players had one RBI, including Chris Dickerson, who hit a solo first-inning homer. He had two of the five hits for the Reds, who have dropped eight of 10 and 16 of their last 20 contests.
Losing pitcher Bronson Arroyo (10-10) was charged with five earned runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
