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April 26 (UPI) -- Ace pitcher Jack Flaherty earned his league-leading fourth win this season and Tyler O'Neill homered twice to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a win and series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday night. Flaherty allowed three hits and one run in seven innings in the Cards' 5-2 win at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
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The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead when Paul Goldschmidt grounded into a force out in the bottom of the first and O'Neill doubled the lead with his first home run of the day in the bottom of the second.
Facing Reds starter Luis Castillo with two outs, O'Neill took a slider for a ball on the first offering of the exchange before squaring up for a 1-1 sinker and sending the pitch to right center field for a 419-foot solo shot.
O'Neill returned for his second home run in the bottom of the fifth frame, again off Castillo.
Castillo earned a 1-2 lead in the count before O'Neill smacked a 2-2 slider for a 423-foot bomb to center field to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead. Dylan Carlson added to the Cardinals advantage with an RBI single that inning.
Reds left fielder Jesse Winker hit a 381-foot solo shot off Flaherty in the top of the seventh inning and Tyler Naquin brought in another run with an RBI si
ngle in the top of the eighth. Goldschmidt plated the final run of the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning.
O'Neill went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the win. Carlson went 3 for 4 for the Cardinals. Winker and Nick Castellanos each went 2 for 4 for the Reds.
Castillo allowed six hits and four runs in five innings to fall to 1-2 this season.
The Reds (9-12) next face the Los Angeles Dodgers at 7:10 p.m. PDT Monday in Los Angeles and the Cards (11-10) host the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:45 p.m.
