ST. LOUIS -- The Reds needed two answers prior to Saturday night's 4-0 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium: how to hit Cardinals rookie Daniel Poncedeleon, who tossed seven hitless innings in his Major League debut on July 23 in Cincinnati, and how to lull a hot St. Louis offense. Luis Castillo was at his best, totaling a career-high 11 strikeouts to answer the latter.
Poncedeleon picked up right where he left off back in July after 3 1/3 innings, no-hitting the Reds -- making it 10 1/3 hitless innings against Cincinnati. But the Reds knocked him out in the fourth behind five hits, with the bulk of the damage coming on a Eugenio Suarez two-run double.