Luis Castillo earned his first victory since early April, rookies Tyler Stephenson and Jonathan India homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Friday night.
On Friday night, Castillo held the Cardinals in check, allowing one run and three hits with five strikeouts over six innings.
Cincinnati struck for three runs in the second inning. Stephenson hit the first pitch into left field. With one out, Kyle Farmer was hit by a pitch. India then homered to left field, giving the Reds a 3-0 advantage.
St. Louis left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim (1-4) left after making one warmup pitch in the fourth inning. The team said he was removed with lower back tightness.
The Cardinals have lost five of their last six.
SS Paul DeJong (non-displaced rib fracture) will begin a two-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Saturday. DeJong, out since May 12 after he was hit by a pitch by Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta, will return to St. Louis for further evaluation. … CF Harrison Bader (ribs) was wearing a fielder’s glove Friday and doing some light throwing. Bader went on the injured list May 25.
RHP Johan Oviedo (0-2, 5.40) was recalled June 1 from Triple-A Memphis and will start for St. Louis this afternoon, 12:20 with the pregame and the first pitch at 1:15 on KIRX.
The first place Cubs lead second place Milwaukee by one game, third place Cardinals are a game and a half out.