Rookie Andrew Abbott blanked the St. Louis Cardinals for 5 2/3 innings as the visiting Cincinnati Reds rolled to an 8-4 victory Saturday.

Abbott (2-0), who allowed five hits and three walks, has started his big-league career with 11 2/3 scoreless innings.

Luke Maile and Spencer Steer each drove in three runs for the Reds, who won for the fourth time in their last six games.

Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (4-3) allowed five runs on seven hits in six innings.

Dylan Carlson went 3-for-3 with two walks and a two-run homer to pace the St. Louis offense.

Abbott needed 33 pitches to get out of the first inning unscathed. Paul Goldschmidt hit a one-out single, Nolan Arenado walked and Carlson drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Paul DeJong worked the count full before flying out to end the inning.

From there, Abbott cruised into the sixth inning.

The Reds surged ahead 3-0 with a two-out rally in the second inning. Singles by Tyler Stephenson, Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild loaded the bases before Maile’s double cleared them.

Cincinnati kept attacking in the third. Matt McClain tripled, Jonathan India was hit by a pitch, Elly De La Cruz hit an RBI single and Steer lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.

The Reds increased their lead to 7-0 in the seventh inning off reliever Drew VerHagen. India hit a one-out double, De La Cruz reached on a fielder’s choice and Steer ripped a two-run double.

The Cardinals got on the board in their half of the inning on Goldschmidt’s two-out RBI double off Kevin Herget. They cut their deficit to 7-3 in the eighth inning when Luken Baker singled and Carlson followed with his homer.

Stephenson’s RBI single in the ninth inning pushed the Reds’ lead to 8-3, then Arenado’s homer in the bottom of the inning cut the margin to 8-4.

–Field Level Media