St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Leake tossed eight scoreless innings and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, to avoid a three- game sweep.

Leake (1-1) allowed just four hits while striking out three for the Reds, who improved to 3-6 on the young season.

Devin Mesoraco hit a two-run homer for Cincinnati, which got an RBI apiece from Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips. Billy Hamilton went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two steals.

St. Louis starter Shelby Miller (0-2) gave up three runs on seven hits while striking out five over six full frames.

Mesoraco's homer in the fourth gave the Reds a 2-0 lead. Chris Heisey hit a two-out single and scored on Mesoraco's blast to left-center field.

Cincinnati tacked on another run in the fifth when Hamilton scored on Bruce's sacrifice fly. Hamilton led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a flyout and tagged up on Bruce's pop fly to shallow right.

St. Louis finally had a runner advance past first base in the seventh. Matt Adams hit a two-out double to left, but Yadier Molina struck out swinging to end the inning.

Phillips' RBI single in the ninth made it a 4-0 contest.