Cardinals 13, Reds 3: Daniel Descalso homered twice and Allen Craig also went deep as visiting St. Louis throttled Cincinnati.

David Freese knocked in four runs while Jon Jay added three RBIs to help make a winner out of Shelby Miller (11-7). The rookie right-hander allowed three runs while fanning eight over five innings as St. Louis closed to within a half-game of Pittsburgh atop the National League Central.

Bronson Arroyo (9-9) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings in his shortest outing in more than a year. Joey Votto's three-run homer provided the lone bright spot for the Reds, who remained 5 1/2 games back of the Pirates.

St. Louis wasted no time pounding Arroyo, striking for four runs in the first. Freese's bases-loaded double to the center-field wall brought home Carlos Beltran, Craig and Matt Holiday. Jay followed with a run-scoring infield single.

After tacking on a run in the second, the Cardinals chased Arroyo with four more runs in the fourth as Holliday and Freese drew bases-loaded walks and Jay added a two-run double. Descalso and Craig added homers in the fifth before Votto launched a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left-center to score Shin-Soo Choo and Derrick Robinson ahead of him.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arroyo failed to get out of the fourth inning for the first time since July 16, 2012. ... Beltran, who went 3-for-3 with four runs scored, has four multi-hit efforts in his past six games - including three in a row. ... Reds 3B Todd Frazier, who went 0-for-4, is hitless in his last 24 at-bats.