Coverage of today's Cards and Dodgers game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM beginning at 5:40pm.
St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - James Loney went 2-for-4 with two runs
scored, Yunel Escobar knocked in a pair of runs and the Tampa Bay Rays took
a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a two-game set.
Evan Longoria homered while Matt Joyce, Jose Molina and Jake Odorizzi
each collected an RBI for the Rays, who have won a season-best six straight.
Odorizzi (6-8) went 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on five hits and
three walks with eight strikeouts.
"We played really well," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Up and down, the
lineup played well."
St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright (12-5) was tagged for six runs -- four
earned -- on six hits and a season high-tying four walks through 4 2/3
innings.
Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday each had a solo home run for St. Louis, which
had won two of their last three coming in.
"We had a lot of swings out of the zone and up," Cardinals manager Mike
Matheny said. "(Odorizzi) did a nice job of staying under control."
Carpenter got St. Louis on the board in the first with a leadoff homer to
right-center.
However, Tampa Bay would tie the game in the second. Loney doubled and moved
over to third on Molina's single two batters later. Odorizzi helped his own
cause by executing a perfect safety squeeze that allowed Loney to cross home
and make it a 1-1 game.
Kevin Kiermaier walked to begin a five-run fifth and Wainwright committed his
first error of the season two batters later on a dribbler from Ben Zobrist.
Joyce made sure the error would hurt the Cardinals ace as he knocked a double
down the third-base line for a 2-1 lead. Longoria was hit by a pitch to load
the bases before Loney pushed another run across with a walk.
Escobar proceeded to flick a ground-rule double into the right-field corner
that plated Joyce and Longoria, then Molina capped the scoring in the inning
with an RBI groundout.
Holliday got a run back in the sixth after he launched his eighth homer of the
season. The Cardinals put a pair of runners on later in the frame that forced
Odorizzi out of the game, but Jeff Beliveau got pinch-hitter Peter Bourjos to
strike out looking to escape further trouble.
Longoria poked a homer, his 12th of the season, with two outs in the ninth to
account for the final margin.
Game Notes
With the homer, Longoria now has a Rays record of 593 RBI, passing the mark
previously held by Carl Crawford ... Maddon was ejected by home plate umpire
Mark Ripperger for arguing balls and strikes in the third ... Tampa Bay
reliever Joel Peralta was placed on the 15-day disabled list after he
acquired the Chikungunya virus from a mosquito bite ... The Rays
went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, while St. Louis
finished 0-for-5 in those instances and left nine men on base.