Jay Bruce had three hits and drove in a pair of runs and the Cincinnati Reds withstood a lengthy rain delay to hang on for a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Cincinnati has won five in a row, while St. Louis' five-game winning streak was snapped.

Johnny Cueto's consistency problems were not on display in this one. After allowing 14 runs and 26 hits in his first four starts, Cueto (1-1) scattered five hits in five innings with three strikeouts and just one walk.

A two-run single by outfielder Matt Holliday opened up the scoring in the first inning to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead.

Bruce singled on a pop-up to shortstop in the fourth, scoring Brandon Phillips to cut the deficit to 2-1. He followed up in the top of the sixth with a hit to center field that plated Joey Votto and then scored on a single by Jonny Gomes to put Cincinnati up 3-2.

Cardinals starter Brad Penny (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season after starting April with a 3-0 record and a 0.94 ERA. He allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings with five walks and three strikeouts, nearly doubling his ERA to 1.56 in the process.

Five relievers held the Cardinals scoreless over the final four innings, including closer Francisco Cordero, who picked up his ninth save.

Severe thunderstorms suspended play in the middle of the sixth inning for nearly 2 1/2 hours.