The St. Louis Cardinals (59-56) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (57-56) 5-2 on Wednesday night in St. Louis. The Rays have now dropped the first two games of the interleague series.
The game was tied 1-1 in the top of the third when Brandon Lowe hit a RBI double. The Cardinals erupted with two in the third and two in the fourth to make it a 5-1 game. The Rays got one back in the sixth when Jose Caballero hit a sacrifice fly, but that would be all as the Rays fell 5-2.
Taj Bradley (6-6, 3.07), who had been named the AL Pitcher of the Month for July, did not have a great start, allowing five earned runs on nine hits in four and two-third innings of work while striking out three and walking three.
The Rays now look to avoid being swept when the two teams meet in the final game of the series coming up on Thursday night. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 7:15 PM - pregame coverage begins with Inside Pitch at 6:00 PM on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620, your Home of Rays Baseball.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES