ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals came into Friday as the hottest team in baseball, with one of the best offenses. The Reds have had a feeble offense all season, with the lowest team batting average, but they have stayed afloat with sterling quality starting pitching.

To take down St. Louis with a 12-1 win at Busch Stadium, Cincinnati got another great start from its rotation, but Anthony DeSclafani didn’t have to do all the heavy lifting himself and hope for the best. His lineup delivered five home runs – solo shots from Eugenio Suárez, Jesse Winker, Joey Votto and José Peraza and a two-run homer from Yasiel Puig. A six-run top of the ninth inning turned the game into a rout.

Put it all together, and the Reds had their sixth win in their last eight games and the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak ended.

The bats break out
Cincinnati tied its season high with the five homers -- with four of them coming from the first four batters in the lineup. Three were against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. This from a club that came into the night 30th out of 30 teams with a .200 average.

“After tonight, you’d say that’s a little bit surprising,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said.

Added Mikolas: “Well, you know, when you throw pitches down the middle, everyone is probably better than a .200 hitter.”

Suarez got it started in the top of the first inning by hitting a 95 mph, full-count fastball to left field for his sixth homer. He has cleared the fences in three of his last seven games. Winker opened the fourth by hitting a 1-1 fastball over the middle to center field for his team-leading seventh homer. Votto’s homer on a first-pitch slider to begin the fifth gave the Reds a 4-0 lead.

Puig’s homer in the eighth and Peraza’s in the ninth came against the Cardinals’ bullpen. Curt Casali also tied a career high with four RBIs, including a three-run double in the ninth.

“I think we’ve been talking about this offense all year long,” Winker said. “It can kind of get you at any minute. It happened tonight real quick. Those 12 runs got put up very fast, and I think that can happen at any moment with us.”

The Reds have been held to two runs or less eight times this season, including four shutouts.

"We've talked about it being a matter of time and believing in these guys,” Reds manager David Bell said. “Confidence comes with success. They know they can hit. It's good to get some success and big hits to contribute to wins."

DeSclafani sets the tone
Against a Cardinals club with the fourth-most runs scored (138) in the Majors, DeSclafani gave up four hits, including two bunt singles, and three walks with six strikeouts over his six scoreless innings for the win. Reds starters have given up two runs -- one earned -- over their last 17 innings, and their 3.01 ERA this season is second-best in the National League.

It has been quite a transformation for a group that was ranked 14th out of 15 NL clubs in starter ERA last season. New acquisitions Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark have delivered, and ace Luis Castillo leads the Majors with a 1.23 ERA.

“I feel like day after day, we’re just going out there and trying to be better than the last start,” DeSclafani said. “But we’re all pulling for each other at the same time. It’s fun watching all of these guys go out there and have success. Hopefully, it’s something we can keep doing. We all learn from each other, as well."

Combined with his performance in a no-decision at San Diego on April 19, DeSclafani has given up one earned run, six hits and four walks with 12 strikeouts in his last 12 innings. That came after he was roughed up in the two starts prior. The outing vs. the Cardinals gave him his first win of 2019, as he is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA.

How has DeSclafani been able to turn it around? By going against instinct when throwing his fastball.

“I’m trying to command the ball up a little bit. It’s something I haven’t been used to in the past,” DeSclafani said. “I always preach, ‘Down in the zone.’ These coaches came along, and they say, ‘Your fastball plays up,’ so I’m trying to command the upper part of the zone.

“It’s something I’ve been working on since Spring Training. Maybe I got away from it a little bit once the season started. Hopefully, from here on out, I can utilize it, whether to get ahead or getting a weak out.”