Randal Grichuk and Kolten Wong homered, Carlos Martinez carried a shutout into the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

 

Yadier Molina had two of the Cardinals' five hits as they avoided being swept in Cincinnati for the first time since July 2012.

 

St. Louis began the day with a one-game lead over the Mets for the final NL playoff spot. New York was set to host Washington later.

 

Martinez (13-7) allowed three hits over six scoreless innings before the Reds reached him for three hits and two runs to knock him out of the game three batters into the seventh. He walked five and struck out six while improving to 8-1 in 13 road starts this season.