Jose Barrero made the most of an unexpected start by doubling in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning, leading the Cincinnati Reds over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 Friday night.
The 23-year-old Barrero had two hits after he was recalled from Triple-A Louisville earlier in the day to fill in for infielder Kyle Farmer, who was placed on the paternity list. Barrero was hitting .167 over 14 big league games prior to Friday.
Joey Votto homered for the second straight game when he led off the fourth with a drive just over the center-field wall and the outreached glove of Harrison Bader for his 30th homer.
RHP Miles Mikolas (0-2 5.06 ERA) goes for St. Louis as the Reds and Cardinals continue their three-games series Saturday, 5:20 with the pregame and the first pitch at 6:15.
The Dodgers are the number one wildcard team, 14 games over the Reds and Padres who are tied for the number two spot. The Cardinals are three games out, the Phillies are 3 1/2 games back, the Mets are four games out.