By MATT PIKE
Joc Pederson hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 at Busch Stadium for their season-best fifth straight victory.
Jimmy Crooks opened the scoring for the Cardinals with an RBI single in the second inning, driving in Bryan Torres, which snapped a string of 28.1 consecutive scoreless innings by Rangers starters, the third-longest streak in franchise history. Nolan Gorman extended the lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning with a solo home run, his seventh of the season.
The Rangers tied things up in the fifth inning though when Evan Carter scored as Nicky Lopez grounded into a forceout, and Pederson's double two pitches later drove in Lopez. They took their first lead of the game in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Alejandro Osuna, driving in Jake Burger, before extending the lead to 4-2 in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Pederson, bringing home Kyle Higashioka.
In the bottom half of the seventh though, JJ Wetherholt singled for the Cardinals and scored on a double by Alec Burleson. Two pitches later, Jordan Walker’s single drove in Iván Herrera to make it 4-4 against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi, who was relieved by Jalen Beeks.
The game remained tied until the ninth inning, where Carter drew a leadoff walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch by Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien, and then to third on a single by Higashioka. Pederson and Josh Jung followed with RBI singles, scoring Carter and Michael Helman who pinch ran for Higashioka respectively, before Pederson scored on Brandon Nimmo’s sacrifice fly to make it 7-4. Jakob Junis pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.
The Cardinals are 2-9 in the regular season against Texas in St. Louis. O'Brien fell to 3-3 on the season in relief, giving up three runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts in one inning. At the plate, Crooks was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Burleson was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while Gorman was 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
St. Louis and Texas close out their series tomorrow at Busch Stadium. Andre Pallante (5-4, 4.19 ERA, 46K's) starts the finale for the Cardinals opposite Mackenzie Gore (4-4, 3.96 ERA, 65K's) for the Rangers. First pitch is at 6:45pm, coverage begins at 6:35 on KY 102 (102.5FM).
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