By WARREN MAYES Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Victor Scott II and Tommy Pham each hit two-run homers, Sammy Gray pitched seven innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.
Scott, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, hit his first big league homer in the four-run second inning.
“It was almost, like, surreal,” Scott said. “I do this little skip when I go around third and as I was doing that, I was like, ‘Please don’t trip, please don’t trip.’ That would be so bad.”
Pham, who was acquired from the White Sox at the trading deadline, added a double in a 2-for-4 night. He has four multi-hit games in his eight games played since the deal.
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Rays, who were visiting St. Louis for the first time since Aug. 27, 2017.
The Cardinals had lost four of their previous five games and eight of 12.
“We needed this one,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “After Lowe gets that homer, you think we’re going to really have to battle them today.”
Gray (11-6) gave up four hits and struck out six, giving him 32 in his last four starts. Gray is 5-6 in 16 career appearances, including 14 starts, against the Rays.
Ryan Helsley gave up a run in the ninth on a two-out single by Jonny DeLuca after he allowed a leadoff walk and a single. He got Taylor Walls for the final out after a grounder deflected off him to shortstop Masyn Winn to end the game and earn his major league-leading 35th save in 38 chances.
“When I threw it, I knew he was out,” Winn said. “For the most part, if I throw a ball really hard, they’re out almost 100% of the time. If he was safe, I probably would’ve just eaten it, but I thought I had a good chance.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash liked how his club battled in the ninth.
“He’s not a guy we see very often,” Cash said about Helsley. “Man, that’s one talented arm. Big stuff. We had some good at-bats against him.”
Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Springs (0-1) pitched five innings in making his second start since his return from Tommy John surgery. He allowed four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
“Getting through the fifth inning was a big plus,” Springs said. “I don’t want to put a lot of extra workload on the bullpen because they already do a ton. I was in a better position mechanically. I hate we lost. Looking at the bigger picture, I feel like it’s a step in the right direction.”
Lowe crushed a hanging curveball 423 feet into the stands in right field after Yandy Diaz drew a leadoff walk in the first inning for a 2-0 lead.
“I put us in a hole early,” said Gray, who threw 30 pitches in the inning. “It was a long, ugly first inning. It couldn’t have looked good because it didn’t feel good.”
Scott sent a 2-1 fastball into the right-field bullpen after Pedro Pagés singled with two outs in the second.
Winn was hit by a pitch before Pham sent the first pitch he saw into the bullpen in left.
“Those two fastballs in the second inning missed the location,” Springs said. “They put good swings on them, too. That cost us the ballgame. Those two pitches got away. I’ve got to be better than that.”
TRAINERS ROOM
Rays: 1B Yandy Diaz (left wrist contusion) was back in the lineup, hitting leadoff. He departed Tampa Bay’s game Sunday early after getting hit by a hard liner from the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez in the sixth inning.
Cardinals: Michael Siani (oblique strain) got a PRP injection in his oblique and the club is monitoring his recovery. He has been able to do some light running, lifting and core work. There is no real timeline for his return.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Taj Bradley (6-5, 2.71) is set to make his first career start vs. St. Louis. He took the loss in his last start against Miami, working five innings, allowing four runs on four hits and one walk while fanning six batters.
Cardinals: RHP Erick Fedde (7-5, 3.34) will be making his second career start against the Rays. Earlier this season with the White Sox, Fedde pitched a career-high 8 1/3 innings on April 28, allowing two runs on seven hits in a 4-2 win over the Rays.
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