If the St. Louis Cardinals are going to stay in the National League wild-card chase, they will need veterans Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado to produce more runs.
Contreras had gone nine games without driving in a run before hitting an RBI single Wednesday night as the Cardinals defeated Tampa Bay 5-2 for their second straight victory over the visiting Rays.
St. Louis will go for the three-game sweep Thursday night at Busch Stadium.
“Willson, any time he’s on the field and he’s smiling and having a good time, it’s a good day,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He went out there with some energy today that looked awesome. His swings looked really good.”
The same went for Arenado, who hit a two-run double in the victory.
“Nolan, to drive in two there was big,” Marmol said. “He needed that, we needed that and hopefully it sparks more.”
Arenado is 9-for-27 in August with three doubles and five RBIs.
The Cardinals will start Kyle Gibson (7-4, 4.04 ERA), who struck out seven in seven innings in his last start, a game the Cardinals eventually won 5-4 over the Chicago Cubs. He allowed four runs on five hits and a walk.
Gibson is 6-6 with a 4.26 ERA in 15 career outings against the Rays, including 14 starts.
The Rays will counter with Shane Baz (0-1, 3.60). Baz pitched well in his past two starts, but the Rays lost to the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros by 3-2 scores.
He allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks in 11 1/3 combined innings in those starts while striking out 12. This will be Baz’s first career appearance against the Cardinals.
Tampa Bay will look to get its offense back on track in this game. The Rays went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position Tuesday and 0-for-11 on Wednesday. In the two losses, they left 16 runners on base.
The Rays rank 28th in MLB in runs with 446 in 113 games. Tampa Bay struck out at least 12 times in four straight games, including 15 on Sunday. They struck out eight times in each of the first two games of this series.
Brandon Lowe had been the offensive catalyst for the Rays. He hit .344 with six home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBIs in 25 games before going 0-for-5 on Wednesday.
The Rays made a roster move Wednesday, activating pitcher Drew Rasmussen (elbow surgery) from the 60-day injured list. Rasmussen pitched two scoreless innings Wednesday night in his first major league game since May 2023.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to compete again at what I love doing,” Rasmussen said, according to Bally Sports Sun. “(I had) a lot of help, a lot of prayer. The supporting cast I have, you know the people you don’t get to see, my wife, my son, my parents, my in-laws, I work with a sports psychologist on my own.
“There’s just too many people to thank, too many people who have kept my head held high.”
–Field Level Media