Bronson Arroyo continued his dominance this season by tossing a four-hitter for the Reds in a 6-1 win over the Cardinals in Cincinnati Monday. Arroyo (5-0) walked four batters, but was able to stay out of trouble most of the night to get the win. Juan Encarnacion was the only one who gave Arroyo any trouble. His solo home run in the second inning off-set a first inning home run by Rich Aurilia, to tie the game 1-1.
Cardinals starter Mark Mulder, who was going for his 100th career win, allowed an RBI single to Felipe Lopez in the bottom of the fifth inning to break the tie. That’s all the Reds needed. They added four more runs in the sixth inning to knock Mulder out of the game. He was on the mound for three of them, but was charged with all four.
St. Louis had base hits in each of the first three innings, but had just one hit the rest of the way. The loss put the Cardinals a game behind the Reds for first place in the National League Central.