Cardinals 11, Reds 1: Offseason acquisition Carlos Beltran lined his fifth homer, a two-run shot, and David Freese doubled in two runs as host St. Louis won its fourth straight.

Jaime Garcia (2-0) improved to 7-1 lifetime against the Reds, overcoming a dropped popup by Lance Berkman and a misplay by Beltran in his seven innings of work. Garcia induced four double plays and helped his cause with a two-run triple in the sixth. Tyler Greene added a two-run homer in the eighth, and Rafael Furcal finished with four hits.

Mat Latos (0-2) was pounded for eight runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Cincinnati has dropped five of six on its 10-game road trip, and has lost four of the first five meetings with NL Central-leading St. Louis.

The offensively challenged Reds tried batting Brandon Phillips at cleanup instead of leadoff. Phillips went 1 for 4 to raise his average to .207.

Game Notebook: World series hero Freese raised his average to .385 with a two-hit night. … All seven of Beltran’s RBIs have come on homers. … Garcia has won four straight home starts. ... Berkman left the game in the fifth with a calf injury.