ST. LOUIS — Right-hander Miles Mikolas and the Cardinals were put on their heels in the first inning, and they weren’t ever able to find sure footing against an NL Central Division rival.

The Cardinals entered the night having won five of six and with Mikolas on a tear that made him one of the stingiest pitchers in the majors in recent weeks.

The Reds, having lost four of games five entering the series, led from start to finish and scored as many runs against Mikolas as he’d allowed in his previous five starts combined.

Mikolas gave up a season-high 10 runs (nine earned), and the Cardinals dropped the series opener against the Reds, 11-4, in front of an announced crowd of 32,787 at Busch Stadium on Thursday night.

By the seventh inning, the Cardinals had taken Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt out of the game, and veteran Matt Carpenter entered the game as a fielder for the first time this season. He played second base for the first time since 2021. He started a double play to end that inning. He then moved to first base in the eighth inning.

By the eighth inning, veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford started warming up in the bullpen.

The Cardinals (41-39) hadn’t allowed 10 runs or more in a game since they lost to the Boston Red Sox, 11-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Busch Stadium on May 19.

The Cardinals trailed by as many as nine runs, but they scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the margin seven runs. At that point, the Cardinals turned to right-hander Ryan Fernandez out of the bullpen instead of Crawford, who made one appearance as a pitcher last season with the San Francisco Giants.

Brendan Donovan went 1 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Dylan Carlson went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a walk. Arenado went 1 for 3 and hit two-run home run. Michael Siani (1 for 1) and Pedro Pages (1 for 3) each hit triples.

Reds start fast against Mikolas

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