CINCINNATI - Aaron Boone won't waste time analyzing his home run binge. He'd rather savor the results than look for the reasons.
Boone hit three homers Thursday, leading the way again as the Reds beat the Cardinals 8-6 and completed a four-game sweep.
Sean Casey added a homer as the Reds completed their first sweep at Great American Ball Park and compiled their first four-game winning streak of the season.
Their pitching staff has the league's worst ERA, their defense has the most errors in the majors and the lineup leads the league in strikeouts, but the Reds are starting to feel like a good team.
"We're focused," said Boone, who led off the second, sixth and seventh with homers. "We have a purpose each day. There's no letting up. We kind of have blinders on to things that aren't under our control. That's the attitude that I think this team is starting to take."
The Cardinals were the hot team going into the series with seven straight wins and first place in the Central in their pocket. Just like that, they got their pocket picked.
"I don't think we're struggling per se," said starter Garrett Stephenson, who gave up Boone's first two homers. "We're not clicking on a few things. It was our first time to this ballpark. We didn't really know what to expect."
They got one surprise after another, most from Boone. He led off the ninth of the series opener with a game-ending homer, and Barry Larkin hit a game-ending homer the next day.
The Reds hit 10 homers in all during the series, half by Boone, who was 7-for-14 with seven RBIs. He hit a career-high 26 homers last season and is on pace to shatter his mark.
"I don't want to explain it," Boone said, waving his right hand in puzzlement. "I've just been getting some good pitches to hit lately. I've been hitting mistakes. That's all home runs are, usually. I'm going to hit some, but I certainly wouldn't get used to this."
The Reds got used to good feelings during the series, which left them with a winning record at Great American (11-8) and made inroads with fans. The crowd of 30,567 was their biggest since opening day.
GIANTS 3, MARLINS 2: Pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia singled home the tiebreaker with two outs in the ninth and visiting San Francisco got a boost from its bench to complete a three-game sweep.
Yorvit Torrealba, giving catcher Benito Santiago a rest, led off the ninth with a single against Braden Looper, then went to second on a sacrifice and third on a groundout. Aurilia, pinch-hitting for the first time this season, hit a 2-and-2 pitch into short center.
BRAVES 12-5, ROCKIES 6-2: Andruw Jones set a franchise record by driving in a run for the ninth straight game and John Smoltz got his second save of the day as host Atlanta swept.
Robert Fick had a grand slam and five RBIs and Gary Sheffield hit a three-run double for the Braves in the opener.
ASTROS 6, PIRATES 2: Geoff Blum went 3-for-3 and scored the go-ahead on a wild pitch as host Houston extended its winning streak to seven. The Astros swept the four-game series, coming from behind in the past three.
EXPOS 12, PADRES 5: Fernando Tatis hit a two-run double that capped a six-run first for host Montreal. Wil Cordero went 3-for-4 for the Expos, who took a 9-1 lead in the second and scored 12 for the second straight night.
DODGERS 6, METS 1: Kazuhisa Ishii allowed one run in six innings and Cesar Izturis drove in three to lead visiting Los Angeles to its ninth win in 13 games. The Dodgers took two of three in a matchup of the league's worst offenses.
