*Photo from AP News*
The revenge tour came back to haunt Tampa Bay. Andrew Knizner homered, Tommy Edman added a homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays with a 5-2 victory on Thursday in St. Petersburg.
The Cardinals won the final two of a 3 game series to take the series from the Rays, holding the top wild card spot in the AL. On the mound, the Rays were dominated by Matthew Liberatore, who they traded to the Cardinals for Randy Arozarena in 2020.
Liberatore said of starting against the Rays that "Maybe looking back on it, it’s something that's a little hidden gem in the game, but once that first pitch is thrown, it’s another team. I don't try and do anything extra. I just want to go and get guys out and win a ballgame."
After a scoreless first 3 innings, Knizner took over in the 4th inning. He blasted a two run home run to center field, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Alec Burleson drove in a run in the 6th inning with an RBI single to make it a 3-0 game. Taylor Motter scored on an error in the 7th inning, pushing the Cardinals lead to 4-0.
Tommy Edman added insurance in the 9th for the Cardinals, hitting a solo home run to make it a 5-0 game. In the bottom of the 9th, the Rays got on the board. Wander Franco tripled to right center field, scoring Yandy Diaz to make it 5-1. Franco then scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2, but the Cardinals held on from there.
With his strong start, Liberatore improved to 2-4 on the season. He allowed two hits while striking out 7 hitters over 8 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero came on for the 9th and was able to close out the win despite allowing two runs.
Knizner said of catching Liberatore's start that "I was catching his bullpen the other day and I was like, ‘Man, he’s throwing harder,’ and it’s really getting on me a little bit. I didn’t think of it, you know, whatever. But I looked up a couple of times today and I saw 96 and 97 and thought, ‘OK, he’s letting it rip today!’ Any time you throw harder, your offspeed is going to play up, and he’s a big guy coming downhill."
Zack Littell got the start for the Rays, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, striking out 5 hitters over 6 innings, getting tagged with the loss. Cooper Criswell pitched the final 3 innings, allowing two runs on 4 hits with no strikeouts or walks.
Littell said of his start that "Feel like a little bit of the routine kind of kicking in, starting to get to the point where I'm peaking on that fifth day. I was happy with it. Wish I could take the pitch to Knizner back, obviously. The goal is just to eat innings, and the only way you're going to do that is just pound the zone."
Up next, the Cardinals start a two game series on Friday night against the Kansas City Royals, with Adam Wainwright getting the start. The Rays host the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, with Aaron Civale expected to start.
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