At 6:47 p.m. Friday, Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker likely decided the outcome of what followed.

A weather-delayed game the Cardinals ultimately won 4-2 at Busch Stadium negotiated its first turn almost 30 minutes before first pitch when the Cardinals notified the Cincinnati Reds that the game would start as scheduled despite an ominous weather forecast.

In a piece of managerial legerdemain, La Russa held back his scheduled starting pitcher Kyle McClellan; Baker allowed Edinson Volquez to warm as originally planned.

From there, the event evolved into a mix of meteorological intrigue, missed opportunities and a final four-out stand that left McClellan the winning pitcher, Mitch Boggs a successful closer and the Cardinals alone in first place for the first time since last Aug. 13.

La Russa told Miguel Batista that he would be making an unscheduled start shortly before the Cardinals notified Baker of their decision to start the game on time. Baker said afterward he was informed by the Cardinals that a window of 45-60 minutes remained after first pitch, a version also supported by the umpiring crew.

"They told us we had a window of an hour. That window turned into two minutes," said crew chief John Hirschbeck.

In this case, the window slammed on Baker's hands.

Because the home team, not the umpiring crew, controls a game's first pitch, McClellan replacement Miguel Batista served his first offering at 7:16 p.m., barely two minutes before a squall shut down proceedings after only six pitches.

Downpours, high wind and a tornado warning for downtown St. Louis froze the game for 2 hours, 10 minutes. Less than two years removed from elbow ligament replacement, Volquez never took the mound. Baker instead summoned lefthander Matt Maloney (0-1) to make his 10th major-league start in less than ideal circumstances.

"We had a few minutes [notice]," Baker said. "But that wasn't an issue. It didn't matter what Tony did. I wasn't going to have to follow what he did."

Asked whether the club contemplated delaying first pitch until dangerous weather passed, La Russa said, "The forecasts were flying fast and furious. They're just guessing. You don't know what's going to happen. But right after we announced it was starting on time -- around 7:05 -- somebody said it was raining at [Interstate] 270 and they thought it'd be here in 15 minutes. By then, it's pretty tough to back off.

"Sure enough, five minutes into the game it's raining."

When the game resumed McClellan was ready to take his turn, albeit in what surely will hold up as the season's longest relief appearance.

Asked after the game whether he believed the Cardinals operated under a different weather advisory than what he received, Baker said, "I'd say there's a pretty good chance. But, hey, it almost worked out for us."

Baker wasn't the only one sounding indignant.

"How do you take me out? I still had a no-no," Batista remarked, tongue firmly in cheek.

McClellan (3-0) worked six-plus innings, allowing only two runs on seven hits and three walks. Maloney failed to record an out in the third inning and needed 73 pitches to somehow escape with only three runs of damage despite nine of 15 hitters reaching against him.

The Cardinals had chances aplenty to detonate the game early. The Reds, who lost their seventh in the last nine games, had enough opportunities to go 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

"All you can do is crank out the at-bats and we kept doing it," La Russa said. "But they had some chances, too, to score more than two."

Both teams were guilty of baserunning hijinks. The Cardinals bounced into two double plays before they lost two outs on the bases in the fifth inning. The Reds failed to score in the sixth inning despite taking four at-bats with a runner in scoring position, partly because right fielder Jay Bruce failed to break for home on a one-out grounder when the Cardinals infield plainly conceded the run.

"It was definitely a turning point," McClellan said of the sixth inning, adding, "If you put a zero up there it's big momentum for us and it kind of shuts the door on them."

Eduardo Sanchez and Jason Motte brought the game to Boggs for a four-out save. However, Boggs got his first out when catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols successfully picked off Chris Heisey at first base to end the eighth inning.

"Yadi knew he had a chance to make a play," Boggs said. "That was huge. It couldn't have been an easier out for me."

La Russa remained with Boggs after center fielder Drew Stubbs singled to lead off the ninth inning. With lefthander Trever Miller warm, Boggs got two fly balls and an infield pop up. He retired reigning NL MVP and Reds first baseman Joey Votto on a one-out fly ball after trailing in the count, 3-1.

"Once Tony let me face Votto, I know I can get this thing done," said Boggs, who earned his second save in the last three games.

The Cardinals (11-9) assumed sole ownership of the National League Central lead 10 days after finding themselves in fifth place, four games behind the pace-setting Reds. They have revived by winning nine of their last 12 games.

Said La Russa: "We're not even out of April. I don't care what club you are. You try to put your game together. You try to accumulate wins. Sometimes things click. Sometimes you struggle.... We're trying to take care of our business, whoever we play against. We like our club; we'll see what happens."

However, several Cardinals players acknowledged that they will have to go through Cincinnati to reach the postseason. They also believe they will have that opportunity. "I think people knew that. I think people knew we got off to a slow start," McClellan said. "I think it's making a statement early on."

The Cardinals immediately squeezed Maloney for a 3-0 lead. Eighyt of nine spots in the batting order hit safely before the sixth inning. Shortstop Ryan Theriot managed three hits as the Cardinals produced 11 baserunners in four innings yet failed to blow apart a disordered Reds staff.

First baseman Albert Pujols' sacrifice line drive scored Theriot with the Cardinals' first run. Maloney wriggled from the inning on his 39th pitch by striking out catcher Yadier Molina with the bases loaded.

The Cardinals manufactured a two-out run in the second when Theriot doubled, Colby Rasmus walked and Pujols lined an opposite-field single for his second RBI.

Facing reliever Jordan Smith, right fielder Lance Berkman doubled to begin the third inning, resulting in a quick score for the Cardinals when third baseman David Freese dropped a single that Reds right fielder Jay Bruce bobbled. Berkman already had stopped at third but restarted to score for a 3-0 lead.

Maloney needed 73 pitches to get six outs. Smith averted a complete wipeout by holding the Reds bullpen together for three more innings.

A bungled fifth inning led to only one run when left fielder Matt Holliday was thrown out attempting to move from first to third on Berkman's single with none out. A wild pitch and Molina's two-out single gave the Cardinals their second three-run lead. The inning ended with Molina's failed steal attempt.

McClellan, meanwhile, pushed into the seventh inning with a 4-1 lead before handing two runners to rookie sensation Eduardo Sanchez, who hit his first turbulence in four major-league appearances.

Sanchez, who struck out eight of his first 17 major-league hitters he faced, allowed one inherited runner to score before his second wild pitch allowed the tying run to reach scoring position. A fly ball ended the threat with the Cardinals still up, 4-2.

An announced crowd of 40,327 reveled in booing Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, the reviled instigator of last August's throw-down between the clubs in Cincinnati.

Phillips, who claims to feed off fan antipathy, singled in the third inning before breaking McClellan's shutout with a one-out, solo home run in the fifth inning.

"That's probably the hardest loss we had all year," Phillips said afterward. "We just beat ourselves."