Kyle Leahy’s finish was better than his start and the St. Louis Cardinals bats were more than enough to overcome the Cincinnati Reds Friday night at Busch Stadium with an honorable mention going to the Reds bullpen for a big assist during the latter half of the game.

On the first pitch he saw in the majors in nearly two years, Cardinals outfielder Nelson Velazquez slugged the Cardinals out of an early hole

After missing the first two months of the season recovering from an injury, outfielder Lars Nootbaar is set to return to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

In 12 games down in the minors, Nootbaar slashed .257/.409/.543 with a .952 OPS, three homers, eight RBIs, nine walks, and one double.