Paul Goldsmith had a two-run single, Lars Nootbar belted a home run and the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Fla
The Cardinals rebounded from a 4-2 loss on Tuesday to even the three-game interleague series, which concludes on Thursday
St. Louis received contributions throughout their lineup, with Nootbar collecting two hits, an RBI and two runs scored. Jordan Walker added two hits and drove in a run
Cards starter Dakota Hudson (3-0) worked five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Giovanny Gallegos closed out the ninth inning for his ninth save
Jose Siri had two home runs for Tampa Bay
The Rays went with Jalen Beeks as the opener, and the left-hander was charged with two runs in two-plus innings. Kevin Kelly (4-2) entered in the third inning after Nootbar singled, and in two innings, the right-hander yielded three runs
The Cardinals grabbed the lead in the second inning on Alec Burleson’s RBI groundout. Nolan Gorman got the inning started with a single, and Walker’s double put runners on second and third. With one out, Burleson chopped a ground ball to third, and Gorman scored easily
Tampa Bay responded quickly with a two-run home run in the second inning. Siri crushed one to center, putting the Rays on top 2-1
In the third inning, the Cardinals reclaimed the lead
Nolan Arenado and Walker each collected a run-scoring singles, giving St. Louis a 3-2 advantage
St. Louis kept the pressure on in the fourth inning, building a 5-2 lead on Goldschmidt’s two-run single
The Rays chipped back to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth on Siri’s second blast of the night, a drive to left field, giving him 23 homers
Nootbar connected off Robert Stephenson in the seventh, giving the Cardinals a three-run lead
Wander Franco’s 448-foot home run off Drew VerHagen in the seventh pulled Tampa Bay within two runs
–Field Level Medi
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