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Lehr, Reds hold off Cardinals

Cincinnati Reds' Justin Lehr pitches in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 in St. Louis.

AP photo by Tom Gannam Cincinnati Reds' Justin Lehr pitches in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 in St. Louis.

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By Hal McCoy, Staff Writer Updated 12:49 AM Wednesday, August 12, 2009

ST. LOUIS — Justin Lehr was in more trouble all night than a little brother playing in his big sister's closet, but the Cincinnati Reds pitcher was a marvel to behold, an execution of escape by legerdemain.

Lehr was peppered and plastered for 11 singles in six innings Tuesday night, Aug. 11, but somehow held the St. Louis Cardinals to one run and the Reds won, 5-4, in Busch Stadium.

All singles? Eleven singles?

"If you are going to give up hits, they might as well be singles," said manager Dusty Baker.

And it began oddly. Watching from the Reds dugout, Aaron Harang had to be muttering, "Is that legal?"

The Reds scored three runs in the top of the first inning before Lehr threw any of his 89 pitches, something they never do for Harang, or any other pitcher.

Three runs in the first? They seldom score three runs in a game for Harang. Sometimes not in two starts combined.

Lehr, making his third major-league start after a complete-game shutout over the Chicago Cubs in his previous start, gave up at least one hit to everybody in the Cardinals lineup but Skip Schumaker and Albert Pujols — and how do you do that?

Somebody facetiously asked Lehr about being a slayer of first-place teams and his first utterance was a gutteral, "Huh," at a loud pitch.

"You'll never hear that come out of my lips," he said with a laugh. "You're never as good as your last start or as bad as your last start."

About his eventful evening, Lehr added, "I had a good amount of baserunners, gave up a lot of small hits, but they never got the big hit."

Lehr is a stand-in No. 5 starter for injured Micah Owings, who will make another rehab start before he is given consideration to return, but Baker supports Lehr.

"If the kid — well, he's no kid, he's 32 — keeps pitching, it would be tough to take him out. He has battled to get to where he is and at 32 he has learned how to pitch."

Laynce Nix poked a two-run double and Jonny Gomes pushed across a third run in the first with an infield single to give the Reds and Lehr a 3-0 lead.

The Reds made it 4-0 in the second on a triple by Chris Dickerson and a single by Joey Votto.

Then it was hang-on time for Lehr.

The Cardinals put two on in the first, two on in the second, scored a run in the third but left two more on and put two on in the fifth without scoring.

The Reds turned a double play in the second and a double play in the fourth when left fielder Gomes caught a fly ball and threw Yadier Molin out at home on a tag-up.

The last Reds run was driven in by Alex Gonzalez, a single in the eighth that was his fourth hit.

The Cardinals scored twice off Nick Masset in the eighth, including a homer by Pujols, his 37th, and once in the ninth off closer Coco Cordero before he closed it off for his 25th save with the tying run on second base.

"An exciting game, but I was having a little trouble breathing in the ninth inning," said Baker.

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