ST. LOUIS — With a bullpen that has been exhausted in recent days and a series split up for grabs vs. the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, the St Louis. Cardinals got just what they needed from starter Lance Lynn and their offense.

Lynn provided his club with six scoreless innings against Cincinnati and was backed by two runs in the fifth and sixth innings that aided the Cardinals (43-40) to a 2-0 win at Busch Stadium. Behind Lynn’s six frames, Andrew Kittredge (2/3 of an inning), JoJo Romero (1 1/3 innings) and Ryan Helsley (one inning) bridged the rest of the ballgame to notch St. Louis’ fifth shutout of the season and its second this weekend.

Helsley’s save was his 30th of the season. All of Helsley’s saves have come in consecutive fashion. The successful save tied Helsley with Hall of Famer Lee Smith for the most by a Cardinals closer before the All-Star break.

Offensively, the Cardinals received RBIs from Alec Burleson (1 for 3) and Masyn Winn (2 for 4).

Lynn quiets Reds

Coming off a winning decision in his last start, Lynn delivered his first scoreless outing since he threw four scoreless innings during St. Louis’ home opener on April 4.

Against the Reds, Lynn kept opposing hitters to two hits and one walk over six innings. The right-hander’s six strikeouts were his most in a start since he collected six against the Colorado Rockies on June 7.

The only hits Lynn allowed came in the second inning on a double from Jonathan India and in the fifth on a single from Stuart Fairchild, who stole second base during the following at-bat. Lynn did not allow a Reds base runner to reach third against him. He left the ballgame after setting down the side in order to end the sixth inning and reaching 79 pitches, 57 of which were strikes.

Youngsters get offense going

After the Cardinals were limited to one hit against Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene through the first four innings, the offense broke through in the fifth.

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