Alec Burleson hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, while Pedro Pagés got a three-run double for his first MLB hit, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-6 on Tuesday night. Burleson also got three hits, hitting his fourth home run in 16 games after not hitting any in his first 19.
Nolan Arenado started the seventh inning with a base hit, and then Burleson hit Amir Garrett’s slider over the right-field wall, giving the Cardinals their third consecutive win.
“I think we had good at-bats all day. We started strong and had a bit of a slow period, but we kept putting things together,” Burleson commented.
Sonny Gray (5-2) struck out nine batters in six innings but gave up five runs and eight hits. Ryan Helsley got his 13th save, which ties him for the MLB lead.
“I managed to get nine strikeouts, but I didn’t consistently do well enough when I had two-strike counts to get batters out,” Gray admitted.
Kevin Pillar got three hits, and Logan O’Hoppe hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning as the Angels fell to 1-5 in their current homestand despite coming back from an early five-run deficit. The Angels have the worst home record in the MLB at 5-16.
Pillar got a hit in the seventh inning, bringing in a run. This gives him 13 RBIs in his first nine games with the Angels, which ties a team record. Pillar joined the team on April 30 after Mike Trout was placed on the injured list due to a torn meniscus in his left knee.
The Angels had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth inning, but Zach Neto was caught trying to steal home on a failed suicide squeeze play, and Luis Guillorme struck out.
Manager Ron Washington explained, “I didn’t want him to hit into a double play. He can handle the bat. He didn’t do the job; it wasn’t anything I did wrong. He didn’t get the bunt down.”
Hunter Strickland (1-1) was credited with the loss. St. Louis scored two runs in the second inning after the first two batters reached base. A wild pitch by Detmers allowed Dylan Carlson to score, and Nolan Gorman scored on an errant throw by Angels third baseman Cole Tucker.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, Pagés hit a curveball down the third base line into left field, making it 5-0. Pagés, who was drafted by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2019 draft, had not gotten a hit in his first six at-bats.
