Cardinals 5, Reds 4: Jon Jay was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning as host St. Louis rallied to win for the sixth time in seven games.

The Cardinals tied it at 4-4 on an RBI double by pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso in the eighth and Matt Holliday led off the ninth against J.J. Hoover (1-10) with a walk. Matt Adams singled and Jhonny Peralta walked before Hoover's first pitch to Jay clipped him on the leg, giving St. Louis a walk-off win for the second straight night.

Peralta also belted a solo homer and Holliday recorded an RBI single as the wild card-leading Cardinals stayed within 2 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central. Todd Frazier launched a two-run blast and Ryan Ludwick added a two-run double to pace Cincinnati, which has dropped four straight and nine of 11.

Holliday singled home St. Louis starter John Lackey - who gave up four runs (two earned) and struck out seven in six innings while recording his first career two-hit performance - to start the scoring in the third, but Frazier went deep in the fourth to put the Reds on top. Two errors and a walk in the sixth set things up for Ludwick, who doubled to left field to make it 4-1.

Peralta's homer with one out in the sixth sparked the comeback, which included RBI hits by pinch-hitters Shane Robinson and Descalso. The Cardinals left the bases loaded in the eighth after tying it before Pat Neshek (6-0) worked a scoreless ninth to set up the game-winning rally, which dropped the Reds 5 1/2 games back in the wild-card race.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Louis placed 2B Mark Ellis (oblique) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled INF Greg Garcia from Triple-A Memphis. ... Jay has been hit by a pitch 15 times, most in the majors. ... Cincinnati fell to 18-31 in one-run games.