Cardinals 2, Reds 1: Randal Grichuk and Matt Holliday belted back-to-back homers in the first inning as host St. Louis continued its recent home dominance.

Holliday finished with two of the five hits recorded by the Cardinals, who maintained their 2 1/2-game lead over second-place Pittsburgh in the National League Central. John Lackey (14-9) allowed one run and six hits over 7 2/3 innings and Seth Maness recorded the final out for his third save as St. Louis improved to 6-1 on its nine-game homestand while winning for the 11th time in 12 overall contests at Busch Stadium.

Zack Cozart went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Brandon Phillips also recorded two hits for the Reds, who fell to 1-6 on their nine-game road trip. David Holmberg (1-2) yielded two runs on five hits and three walks in six frames as Cincinnati had its three-game winning streak against the Cardinals come to an end.

St. Louis got to Holmberg early as Grichuk deposited an 0-1 offering over the wall in left-center field with one out in the first inning. Three pitches later, Holliday pounded a shot to center for his 19th of the season and a 2-0 lead.

Cincinnati halved the deficit in the second as Devin Mesoraco led off with a single. Jay Bruce delivered a one-out base hit and, after Ryan Ludwick flied to center, Cozart plated Mesoraco with a single to right-center.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cincinnati put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth against RHP Trevor Rosenthal, but LHP Randy Choate came on to strike out Bruce and Maness induced a flyout by Ludwick to seal the win. ... St. Louis improved to 30-22 in one-run games this season. ... The Cardinals reduced their magic number for clinching the NL Central title to seven.