ST. LOUIS -- Asked recently if a winless streak that had improbably spanned more than two months had started to wear upon him mentally, Cardinals left-hander Jordan Montgomery responded with about as much conviction as he'd pour into a big strikeout pitch.

“I’m not a loser, and I’m going to keep giving them everything I’ve got out there,” Montgomery said last weekend following a loss in Pittsburgh. “The team knows that … manager knows it … pitching coach knows it … fan base knows it.”

Montgomery came out a winner on Friday night after blanking the Reds over six innings and using some early run support to earn his first win since April 8. Montgomery, who struck out six batters, including rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz three times, snapped a streak of losses in seven straight decisions in the 7-4 defeat of Cincinnati.

The lefty -- who started the season 2-0 -- avoided becoming the first Cardinals pitcher in 126 years to have the team lose 11 straight games he started, something that happened to Bill Hart in 1896 (11 straight losses) and 1897 (12 straight losses).

“I just like winning,” said Montgomery, who got 10 swings and misses with a refined changeup he had been tinkering with in recent weeks. “As long as I’m throwing well and giving us a chance to win, that’s all I can really do. But it’s always good to win.”

Nolan Arenado hit the 311th home run of his career but the first to come on a 3-0 pitch. Arenado got the green light and hit a Ben Lively fastball 429 feet to left to give Montgomery an early 2-0 lead. Before Friday, Eric Hosmer was the only active MLB player with more 3-0 counts without a home run (186 plate appearances) than Arenado (168 plate appearances), per Elias Sports.

“I’ve gotten hits before [on 3-0 counts], but I didn’t know that was my first homer. That’s crazy,” Arenado said.

Rookie Jordan Walker and second-year slugger Nolan Gorman also hit two-run home runs for the Cardinals, who won a series opener for just the fifth time in 21 series this season. Walker, 21, hit a 431-foot shot into the Cincinnati bullpen for his fourth home run of the season. 

“Jordan’s got a lot of potential in this game and he’s a hard worker,” Arenado said. “As long as he continues to do that and gets experience in the big leagues, he’s going to be just fine.”

Gorman struck out in his first three at-bats but smashed a line-drive shot in the seventh for his career-best 15th home run of the season.

The Cardinals provided Montgomery with an early 5-0 lead. That had to be a welcome sight for the lefty, who had seen his teammates score three runs or fewer in six of his previous 12 starts this season.

Montgomery gave up a game-opening double to Kevin Newman but pitched around it and got De La Cruz to whiff on a curveball in the dirt to end the first. In the second, he allowed two more Reds to reach but got out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout. In the third inning, Montgomery pitched around a one-out double by striking out the next two batters. His finest pitch of the night -- an 84-mph changeup -- had De La Cruz way out in front for another strikeout.

“When I throw [the changeup] at the bottom of the zone, it’s hard to foul it off if they’re off balance,” Montgomery said. He got 15 swings on the changeup -- 10 which were whiffs. “It’s a pitch that I really have to focus on being at the bottom of the zone.”

The youngest of three Montgomery boys, Jordan said his two older brothers spoke to him often throughout his losing streak to offer encouragement. His high school baseball coach continued giving him tips and words of confidence, too.

“I’ve got my high school coach back home who has been working with me since I was 12, and he’s just been saying to stay the course,” Montgomery said. “I’ve thrown the ball really well, even though it might not have showed. I had a couple of bad games, but we’ve been in the game every time I’ve pitched. At the end of the day, that’s all I can really do. I’ve got him and my brothers, who check in on me every day for no reason and they are always there for me.”