CINCINNATI -- On a night that Cardinals legend Albert Pujols slugged his 694th career regular-season home run, Reds rookie catcher Chuckie Robinson hit his first.

Robinson wasn't the only Reds rookie to clear the fences in the bottom of the fifth inning. TJ Friedl and Stuart Fairchild did likewise in the few bright spots among a 13-4 loss to the Cardinals on a rainy Monday night at Great American Ball Park.

“It was awesome, man. I hit it and knew it was out," Robinson said. "I think when I hit it, I kind of blacked out a little bit like, ‘Dang, I got it.’ I was super excited."

Using a six-run second inning -- including five against starting pitcher Chase Anderson -- St. Louis built an 8-0 lead after three innings. Cardinals ace Miles Mikolas was cruising with only two hits allowed over four scoreless innings.

Any pretense of a smooth night for Mikolas ended after Friedl led off the bottom of the fifth with an 11-pitch at-bat. On a 3-2 pitch in a sequence that included six fouls with two strikes, the lefty hitter crushed a drive to right field for his third homer in 13 games since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville.

Friedl, who has earned increased playing time in the outfield with his play, is batting 14-for-37 (.378) during the stretch.

Two batters later, Fairchild drove a first pitch from Mikolas for a solo homer -- his fourth of the season.

Following a Colin Moran walk, Robinson fell into an 0-2 count but battled to make it 3-2. Mikolas left a sinker up, and it was lifted into the second deck in left field by Robinson for his first Major League home run to make it an 8-4 game.

Cincinnati's dugout erupted with excitement after the ball cleared the fence.

"It's what this is all about. It's something you dream about," Reds manager David Bell said. "I got to have a moment with him on the mound during a pitching change, and that's something I'll remember, just the look on his face, the smile. It's just a beautiful thing, a beautiful moment."

Robinson was called up from Louisville on Aug. 23 and made his big league debut the following day at Philadelphia. While his father and grandfather -- both former Minor League catchers -- attended the game last week, Monday marked the first time his mother, Dionne, could see him play since his promotion.

As luck would have it, a family from Robinson's hometown of Danville, Ill., caught the homer ball.

“Super small world. I didn’t know they would be at the game. They caught it and got the ball to my mom," Robinson said. “After the game, [my mother] went on to the field. Her and my little brother came. We got to share that moment together. It was awesome.”

It was the first time a team had three rookies hit a home run in the same inning since the Dodgers did it against Cincinnati on Aug. 22, 2016. It's the first time the Reds have ever done it.

"Even in a game like this, there's things to really be happy with and proud of, and those three guys -- [they] actually got us back in the game," Bell said. "We just weren't able to keep clawing back. That was a big inning. Kind of changed the game, and we started thinking about how we're going to win this thing."

The game -- which had a 91-minute rain delay ahead of first pitch and a second delay of 36 minutes in the sixth inning -- saw Pujols inch closer to his 700th career homer. In the top of the third inning with lefty reliever Ross Detwiler pitching, Pujols drove an 0-2 pitch the opposite way for a two-run homer to right field.

Detwiler, a St. Louis-area native, was the 450th pitcher Pujols has hit a home run against in his career, breaking a tie with Barry Bonds for most all-time. It also marked his 21st home run at Great American Ball Park.

"I got ahead of him and was trying to go to a high fastball. I didn’t get it high enough, and it leaked out over the plate more than I wanted it to. The ball jumps off his bat quite a bit," Detwiler said. "His career speaks for itself. All of the numbers and everything are better than anything we’ve ever seen in person -- at least I have anyway. It’s pretty unbelievable he has been so good for so long."