(My Sportsbook) - Thanks to a recent seven-game win streak the Cardinals find themselves at the top of the heap in the National League Central, but having to play Cincinnati on the road in recent days has been very taxing on the club.

In both contests, the Reds toppled St. Louis in the bottom of the ninth to collect the win. On Tuesday night, it was Barry Larkin, only activated from the 15-day disabled list that afternoon, who provided the game-winning home run against the Cards in a 6-5 decision at the Great American Ball Park.

J.D. Drew broke a tie with a pinch-hit home run to leadoff the ninth inning. Edgar Renteria and Albert Pujols both hit two-run homers in the contest for the Cardinals, who play the third of a four-game set on Wednesday night.

After a shaky start, Brett Tomko hung on to pitch eight solid innings for the Cardinals. Tomko, who played for the Reds, gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out four. Kiko Calero came in to pitch the ninth and gave up two runs in one-third of the inning to pick up the blown save and the loss.

The blown save marked the ninth of the season for the Cardinals, a team that is tied with the Florida Marlins for the fewest saves in the NL with five.

St. Louis will try to get back into the win column tonight with 29-year-old righthander Jason Simontacchi on the hill. Simontacchi is coming off his best start of the year, a win over the Montreal Expos. The righty held the Expos to only six hits and a run over eight innings of action. Simontacchi permitted three walks and struck out one in the contest.

Simontacchi has been solid versus the Reds in his career, posting a 2-1 record with a 3.28 ERA. The California native has given up 26 hits and nine earned runs over 24 2/3 innings against Cincinnati.

Despite having a bullpen that doesn't exactly instill faith in the rest of the team, the Cardinals have made it to the top of the NL Central thanks to a team batting average of .290, leading the league entering Wednesday's action.

St. Louis boasts the top three hitters in the National League at the moment, with Jim Edmonds batting .379, Pujols at .370 and Renteria with a .352 mark.

The squad is second in home runs with 40 and has proven to be the most disciplined group at the plate, striking out a league-low 164 times after 31 games.