The Dodgers’ faint wild-card hopes stayed alive for at least a couple more hours Tuesday night after the St. Louis Cardinals lost 3-1 to the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals’ magic number to clinch the wild-card berth is 1.

The Reds broke open a 1-1 game with two runs in the sixth inning. With runners on second and third base and none out, Jay Bruce hit an RBI single off Chris Carpenter (0-2). Former Dodger catcher Dioner Navarro added an insurance run on an RBI single off Carpenter to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.

The game began at 5:15 p.m., early enough for the left-field video board to show the first four innings. By the time Chris Capuano threw his first pitch for the Dodgers, the game was tied 1-1 on a solo home run by the Reds’ Scott Rolen and a sacrifice fly by the Cardinals’ Matt Holliday.

The Dodgers still must beat the San Francisco Giants tonight and tomorrow, and the Reds must beat the Cardinals again tomorrow, for the Dodgers and Cardinals to meet in a one-game playoff Thursday at Dodger Stadium.