MLB: Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 1

CINCINNATI, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Laynce Nix hit the first grand slam of his career Wednesday, pacing Cincinnati to a 6-1 victory over St. Louis.

The Cardinals lost their third in a row and fell two games behind Philadelphia in the race for the second-best record in the National League. The top two division winners will have home-field advantage when the first round of the playoffs begin next week.

Bronson Arroyo came within two outs of picking up his fourth complete game of the year.

Arroyo (15-13) allowed a run on four hits and struck out six. The 15 wins equaled a career high.

St. Louis had a runner on and one away in the ninth and Albert Pujols coming to the plate when Arroyo was replaced by Nick Masset. The Cincinnati reliever eventually loaded the bases with two out, but struck out Ryan Ludwick to end the game.

Nix hit his grand slam in the third off John Smoltz (3-8) to give the Reds a 6-0 lead.