ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Arenado and Alec Burleson each had two hits and drove in two runs to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Erick Fedde (8-5) pitched five innings for the victory. Willson Contreras and Masyn Winn also had two hits apiece for the Cardinals.
After a rocky debut after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox, Fedde rebounded in his first start at home. He allowed a run on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk.
Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth for his majors-leading 36th save in 39 opportunities.
Josh Lowe had two hits for the Rays and scored a run.
Taj Bradley (6-6) was lifted after 4 2/3 innings. He gave up five runs on nine hits. He was the American League Pitcher of the Month for July when he went 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA.
The Cardinals opened the scoring in the first inning when Contreras singled with one out, scoring Winn, who led off with a double.
The Rays tied it in the third on a mistake by Fedde. Alex Jackson was on third after he singled and advanced on a single by Yandy Díaz. Brandon Lowe bounced a grounder to Fedde, who ignored Jackson and tried to get a double play. Lowe beat the relay.
Two, two-run doubles gave St. Louis a 5-1 lead after four innings.
In the third inning, Arenado hit a one-out bouncing double over third base, scoring Burleson and Contreras. Burleson doubled home Nolan Gorman and Winn with one out in the fourth.
The Rays added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by José Caballero.
TRANSACTIONS
Rays: Optioned RHP Joel Kuhnel to Triple-A Durham Bulls.
TRAINERS ROOM
Rays: Activated RHP Drew Rasmussen (elbow) from the 60-day injured list.
Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz (lower back stiffness) threw Tuesday night for Triple-A Memphis. He allowed one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched, when he reached his scheduled 50 pitches. He walked two and struck out none.
UP NEXT
Rays RHP Shane Baz (0-1, 3.60) was set to start against RHP Kyle Gibson (7-4, 4.04) on Thursday night.
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