Victor Scott II and Tommy Pham each hit two-run homers, and Sammy Gray pitched seven innings as the St. Louis Cardinals won 4-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, marking the start of a three-game series.
Scott, who was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, hit his first major league home run during a four-run second inning.
“It was almost, like, surreal,” Scott said. “I do this little skip when I go around third and as I was doing that, I was like, ‘Please don’t trip, please don’t trip.’ That would be so bad.”
Pham, who joined the team from the White Sox at the trade deadline, also had a double and went 2-for-4 for the night. He has had four multi-hit games in the eight games since joining the team.
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Rays, who were visiting St. Louis for the first time since August 27, 2017.
The Cardinals had lost four of their last five games and eight out of twelve.
“We needed this one,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “After Lowe gets that homer, you think we’re going to really have to battle them today.”
Gray (11-6) gave up four hits and struck out six, bringing his total to 32 strikeouts in his last four starts. Gray is 5-6 in 16 career appearances, including 14 starts, against the Rays.
Ryan Helsley allowed a run in the ninth inning on a two-out single by Jonny DeLuca after he gave up a leadoff walk and a single.
He got Taylor Walls for the final out after a grounder deflected off him to shortstop Masyn Winn to end the game and earn his major league-leading 35th save in 38 chances.
“When I threw it, I knew he was out,” Winn said. “For the most part, if I throw a ball really hard, they’re out almost 100% of the time. If he was safe, I probably would’ve just eaten it, but I thought I had a good chance.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash appreciated how his team fought in the ninth inning.
“He’s not a guy we see very often,” Cash said about Helsley. “Man, that’s one talented arm. Big stuff. We had some good at-bats against him.”
