(AP) -- Jaime Garcia homered off Bronson Arroyo and pitched into the seventh inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals clinch a tie for the second NL wild card and spoil Dusty Baker's return from a mini-stroke with a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.
The defending World Series champions have won 11 of 14 and led the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing at home later against San Francisco, by 2 ½ games.
The Cardinals have two games to go, the Dodgers three.
Arroyo (12-10) threw 73 pitches while allowing three runs over five innings in a tuneup for the postseason.
He topped 200 innings for the seventh time but is 0-3 in his last four starts.
The Reds are 96-64, tied with the Nationals for the best record in the National League with two games to go, and must finish ahead of Washington to get home-field advantage throughout the postseason after losing the season series.
(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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