Reds-Cardinals: Brandon Phillips and Laynce Nix Lead The Way to Win in St. Louis

The 2009 Reds proved once again that they the most resilient team Cincinnati has seen in a decade.  Decimated by injuries and in the midst of a losing road trip, Dusty Baker saw his makeshift lineup bang out 13 hits in a 9-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Take a look. Here are the "regulars" and then last night's starters.

LF  Chris Dickerson—Laynce Nix
CF  Willy Taveras—Chris Dickerson
RF  Jay Bruce
1B  Joey Votto—Ramon Hernandez
2B  Brandon Phillips
3B  Edwin Encarnacion—Jerry Hairston
SS  Alex Gonzalez—Paul Janish
C  Ramon Hernandez—Ryan Hanigan

Let us not forget that Brandon Phillips is playing with a broken thumb.

The calendar turning has not had an effect on Phillips' productivity.  Coming off an excellent month of May that saw him hit .352 with seven home runs, Phillips is five for his first 12 this month.

Last night, Phillips had three hits, including is tenth home run of the year.  He also stole two bases, scored three runs, and drove in three.

Phillips did not do it alone.  Laynce Nix hit two home runs and had four RBI.  He also made an outstanding catch in the sixth inning.

Phillips had the quote of the night when he was talking about Nix:

"

"Honestly, he's underrated," said second baseman Brandon Phillips, who was 3-for-5 with three RBI, including a ninth-inning two-run homer. "It's all about a guy getting a chance. He's out there taking advantage of the chance he's getting. We're thankful he's on our team."

"

Could he be referring to the big man who used to patrol left field for the Reds?

Nix seems to produce every time he is given an opportunity.  Nix has 29 hits so far this year, with 18 of those being for extra bases.  He leads the team with 11 doubles.

Ryan Hanigan had two hits, raising his average to .329.  He also threw out Brendan Ryan trying to steal third base in the seventh inning.

Johnny Cueto gave the Reds another great performance.  He went 6 1/3 innings and allowed just one run.  Cueto is now 5-3 with a 2.43 earned run average.

A disastrous beginning to this road trip could be almost forgotten if the Reds can win tonight.  Winning a series in St. Louis is not easy.  Aaron Harang (5-5, 4.19) will try to do just that.  He will be opposed by Chris Carpenter (3-0, 0.62).