ST. LOUIS —

Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning for the first walkoff RBI of his major league career, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals over Cincinnati 5-4 on Saturday in yet another Reds bullpen collapse.

Paul Goldschmidt’s streak of reaching base ended at 46 games with an 0-for-4 day for the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina made their 316th start together, tying the Boston and Milwaukee Braves’ Warren Spahn and Del Crandall for second-most behind the 324 of Detroit’s Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan.

Wainwright, 40, was matched up against Cincinnati's 22-year-old Hunter Greene.

Cincinnati led 4-1 in the eighth inning but blew a save for the seventh time in 17 chances, and the Cardinals won despite getting outhit 12-7.

Tyler O'Neill, who had three RBIs, hit a two-run double off Hunter Strickland that pulled St. Louis to 4-3 in the eighth.

Joel Kuhnel (0-1), a 27-year-old rookie right-hander, walked Dylan Carlson leading off the ninth but got Molina to ground into a double play.

Juan Yepez singled and Edman reached down for a slider at the knees, driving the ball to right-center for his sixth home run and giving the Cardinals their third walkoff win this season.

St. Louis (34-26) won the first two games of the three-game series and sent the NL-worst Reds (20-39) to their fourth straight loss and seventh defeat in nine games,

Nick Wittgren (1-0) pitched a one-hit ninth for his first win with St. Louis.

Wainwright allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings.

Greene gave up one run, two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts before being pulled after allowing the first two batters to reach base in the sixth. He topped 100 mph with five pitches and averaged 98.7 mph with his fastball.

Tommy Pham put the Reds ahead with a two-run double in the third off Wainwright, his former teammate, and scored on Kyle Farmer's single for a 3-0 lead.

O'Neill hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Alejo López, who had replaced an injured Colin Moran, hit an RBI single off Drew VerHagen in the eighth for a 4-1 lead.

MOVES

Cincinnati claimed OF Stuart Fairchild off waivers from San Francisco and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. RHP James Marinan was designated for assignment.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Moran left in the bottom of the seventh after getting tangled with Dylan Carlson on a tag at first. Moran veered into Carlson’s path trying to field an errant throw from second baseman Matt Reynolds.

Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz (left shoulder impingement) threw long toss in the outfield prior to the game. “He’s still feeling a little bit of that discomfort in the impingement,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “Until you get past that hurdle, you’re not really cleared to take that next step forward. I know he’s going to be reassessed by our medical staff and, hopefully, he’s able to resolve that.”

UP NEXT

RHP Dakota Hudson (4-2, 2.76 ERA) is 6-0 against Cincinnati going into Sunday's start, joining David Weathers (8-0) as the only pitchers since 1901 with at least six decisions against the Reds and a perfect winning percentage. RHP Graham Ashcraft (3-0, 1.14 ERA) will be making his fifth career start in Sunday’s series finale.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Cincinnati right-hander Sonny Gray is set to make his first start of the season Saturday at Cleveland, a welcome boost for a Reds staff that’s struggled at times.

Gray began spring training as the Reds’ possible opening day starter. But he experienced back spasms, made just one Cactus League start and opened the regular season on the 10-day injured list.

The 31-year-old Gray is an obvious asset to the Reds’ starting rotation. The two-time All-Star has a 75-63 record and a 3.54 ERA in eight seasons, including 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA last year.

“I’m very much looking forward to coming back and helping these guys win some games,” Gray said in a video interview.

The Reds led the NL Central with a 7-4 record as Wednesday began, but their 4.33 team ERA ranked ninth in the league. Cincinnati earned an NL wild-card spot last year, but lost Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer to the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.

Gray’s return promoted the Reds to move right-hander José De León from the rotation to the bullpen. DeLeon was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in two starts.

“I think it could be an exciting opportunity for him,” manager David Bell said. “I think he has a real chance to help us out of the bullpen. He could always go right back in the rotation if needed. He’s very built up and that’s not going to go away any time in the next few weeks.”

DeLeon’s move to the bullpen assured right-hander Jeff Hoffman of remaining in the rotation, at least for the immediate future. Hoffman is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts.

“I’m just here to help the team win and whatever capacity that is, I’m game for it,” Hoffman said.