CINCINNATI – Joey Votto tied a career best with four hits and scored the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Chris Heisey's ninth-inning single, capping a comeback from a three-run deficit and leading the Cincinnati Reds over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Wednesday.
Down 3-0 in the third against Jaime Garcia, the Reds tied the score in the fifth.
Votto doubled off Marc Rzepczynski (0-1) leading off the ninth for his fourth four-hit game. Ryan Ludwick was intentionally walked, Jay Bruce struck out, Fernando Salas relieved and Heisey lined a single to left.
Aroldis Chapman (2-0) struck out five in two scoreless innings, helping the Reds avoid a three-game sweep.
Garcia, 6-1 against the Reds, allowed three runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. Reds starter Johnny Cueto gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings.
St. Louis took a 3-0 lead in the third on Garcia's two-out single, Rafael Furcal's RBI triple into the right-field corner and Jon Jay's two-run homer, his first home run this season.
Votto doubled in a run in the third, when Garcia escaped a two-on, no-outs jam by striking out Ryan Ludwick and Jay Bruce, then retiring Miguel Cairo on a groundout. Votto's double gave the Reds seven hits, matching their total in the first two games on the series.
Bruce's sacrifice fly and Wilson Valdez's run-scoring bunt single tied the score in the fifth.
NOTES: Concerns over Monday's left hamstring forced Reds 2B Brandon Phillips to miss his second consecutive start since agreeing to a $72.5 million, six-year contract. Manager Dusty Baker expects Phillips to miss three or four days. ... Cardinals 1B Lance Berkman didn't start after leaving Tuesday's game in the eighth inning with tightness in his left calf.
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