Punchless Cardinals blanked again by Reds

Jay Bruce hit a bases-empty homer in the second inning Wednesday and it was all the Cincinnati Reds needed in a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that gave them two out of three in the series. Bruce connected on a 2-2 pitch from John Lackey (9-6), sending it barely over the wall in center field for his 17th homer of the season.

By the numbers

The Cardinals have been blanked in the last 22 innings and have scored in just one of the last 30 innings. ... Lackey fell to 7-3 at Busch Stadium this season despite lowering his home ERA to 1.89. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out eight. ... Anthony DeSclafini (6-7) fired seven shutout innings for the Reds. ... Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

Up next

Carlos Martinez (11-4, 2.34 ERA) vs. Chris Rusin (3-4, 4.13 ERA) in the opener of a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies, 6:15 p.m. Thursday.

This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Punchless Cardinals blanked again by Reds."