Rick Ankiel blasted a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 6 th inning to complete a St. Louis Cardinal comeback as the Redbirds downed the Cincinnati Reds 8-5 Friday night at Busch Stadium.

The Reds jumped all over St. Louis starter Anthony Reyes, who was chased from the game after only 1 plus inning of work.  Reyes gave up 4 earned runs in his short time on the mound.

But the Cards weren’t about to roll over and play dead. They scored 1 run in the bottom of the 1 st , then 2 in the 2 nd on a two-run homer Yadier Molina, his 6 th roundtripper of the season.

That set the stage for Ankiel’s 6 th inning heroics. His bases loaded blast was his 5 th home run in 17 games since he was called up to the Cardinals from Triple-A Memphis.

Randy Flores (2-0) pitches 2 scoreless innings for the win. Losing pitcher Gary Majewski (0-2), who came in in relief in the 6 th inning, gave up 3 earned runs on 2 hits without getting an out.

The Cardinals pick up a game on the National League Central Division leading Chicago Cubs, who lost to the Houston Astros Friday. The Redbirds trail the Cubs by 2 games and the Milwaukee Brewers by 1 ½ games.

The Cards (65-66) and the Reds (62-73) play Saturday night at Busch Stadium. Adam Wainwright (12-9) goes to the mound for St. Louis against Cincinnati’s Phil Dumatrait (0-2).