TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Willson Contreras homered, Alec Burleson’s two-run single highlighted a five-run second inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 on Thursday night. Sonny Gray (12-6) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings, with six strikeouts and a walk for the win. Kyle Leahy, Matt Svanson, and JoJo Romero (fourth save) combined to limit Tampa Bay to one run and five hits the rest of the way. Trailing 1-0 going into the second, the Cardinals got run-scoring hits from Nathan Church and Lars Nootbaar before another run scored on a wild pitch, and Burleson drove in two runs with a single to right field. Ivan Herrera added an RBI single in the fourth, and Contreras hit his 18th homer of the season in the seventh off Bryan Baker. Rays RHP Adrian Houser (6-4, 2.67 ERA) faces Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (6-9, 4.99) on Friday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vinnie Pasquantino sent a 407-foot go-ahead shot into right field for the fourth straight game, leading off the sixth inning, and the Kansas City Royals went on to beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 on Thursday for their sixth win in their last seven games. Nick Loftin also homered for the Royals, who boosted their playoff hopes by going 8-2 on a season-high 10-game homestand. Michael Lorenzen failed to make it through five innings for Kansas City, but Angel Zerpa (5-1), Daniel Lynch IV, John Schreiber, and Taylor Clarke were able to shut down the Rangers. Carlos Estévez handled the ninth for his AL-leading 33rd save. The Royals begin a three-game set Friday night in Detroit with RHP Ryan Bergert (1-1, 2.75) on the mound.
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