Cardinals Rally Past Rays 7–4 on Contreras Blast and Burleson’s Two-Run Single

ST. PETERSBURG, FL. - The St. Louis Cardinals broke Tampa Bay’s four-game losing streak. They claimed a 7–4 win over the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field. Willson Contreras delivered a big solo home run. Alec Burleson’s two-run single wrapped up a five-run second inning. That inning turned out to be crucial.

Contreras opened the scoring in the second with his 18th homer of the year, a line-drive shot to right field. Soon after, St. Louis hit a series of singles. Nolan Gorman got an RBI double. Then, Alec Burleson followed with a two-out, two-run single. This put the Cardinals up, 5–1. Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan each hit RBI singles later in the inning. This capped off the team’s scoring surge.

Tampa Bay came back with a two-run homer by Yandy Díaz in the third. Brandon Lowe added an RBI single in the seventh. Still, they couldn’t overcome St. Louis’s early lead. Sonny Gray (12–6) earned the win, allowing three runs on six hits over five innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Juan Scott recorded his fourth save by closing out the final two frames in scoreless fashion.

Key Performances

Willson Contreras (STL): 1-for-3, HR, RBI, run scored
Alec Burleson (STL): 1-for-4, 2 RBI, two runs scored
Sonny Gray (STL SP): 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K (W, 12–6)
Yandy Díaz (TB): 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI

With the win, St. Louis improves to 65–65 and remains in the thick of the NL Central race, while Tampa Bay falls to 61–68. The two clubs face off Saturday at 7:35 PM ET. Jack Flaherty will make his season debut for the Cardinals. He’ll go up against Rays lefty Jeffrey Springs.