ST. LOUIS – Ten games, three series. That's what is left of the regular season for the Reds.

While they still have to climb over several teams for the final playoff spot, their chances aren't zero. So that made Wednesday's road trip-concluding 6-2 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium critical.

Cincinnati (76-76), which finished its three-city trip with a 4-5 record, is 2 1/2 games behind the Mets (78-73) – pending their night game vs. the Padres – for the final National League Wild Card spot . Two other teams in the race, the Diamondbacks (77-75) and Giants (75-76), were playing late Wednesday afternoon.

Alec Burleson's two-out solo home run to right-center field off Brady Singer gave St. Louis a 1-0 first-inning lead. Singer settled in and retired 10 of his next 12 batters.

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