The Reds made it interesting, and the bullpen almost blew it.

But in the end, the Cardinals defeated Cincinnati 5-4 at Busch Stadium on Friday night.

Kwang-Hyun Kim (1-0), making his Busch Stadium debut, allowed only one run on five hits and also notched a career-high with eight strikeouts. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cardinals, who have been largely inconsistent this season.

Heading into the ninth inning with a 5-1 lead, the St. Louis bullpen began to implode yet again. Jonathan India hit an RBI triple off of Jordan Hicks, a result of a miscommunication between center fielder Dylan Carlson and right fielder Justin Williams, making it 5-2 St. Louis. Following a walk to pinch-hitter Tucker Barnhart, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt brought in closer Alex Reyes.

Reyes then walked Tyler Naquin, loading the bases and then walked Jesse Winker, making it 5-3 St. Louis. In the next at-bat Nick Castellanos struck out, but a wild pitch on strike three allowed Barnhart to score. Eugenio Suárez then struck out to end the game.

Offensively, the Cardinals did most of their damage in the third inning, scoring four runs. Paul Goldschmidt had a two-run RBI double, Nolan Arenado then hit an RBI single, and Yadier Molina hit an RBI double. Molina later hit a home run, his fifth of the season, to make it 5-1. Later, Molina left the game and did not return due to a foot injury.

Tomorrow, LHP Wade Miley (2-1, 2.25 ERA) for Cincinnati goes up against John Gant (0-2, 3.21) for St. Louis.