Rays 5, Cardinals 1
Casey Kotchman belted a three-run double with two outs in the sixth inning, and Justin Ruggiano followed with a two-run homer as the Tampa Bay Rays earned a 5-1 victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.
Trailing 1-0, the Rays loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a Johnny Damon single before Kotchman cleared them with a line drive down the right-field line. Ruggiano then hit his fourth homer of the season off losing pitcher Kyle McClellan (6-5), who has not won since May 19.
Damon had four hits for the Rays, moving him past Ted Williams into 70th on the all-time hits list with 2,658. It was Damon’s 39th career four-hit game. Kotchman and Ruggiano each had two hits.
Lance Berkman homered for the third time in three games for the Cardinals, who had their four-game win streak snapped.
Rays starter Jeff Niemann (3-4) allowed nine hits and one run in six innings, earning his second win in three starts (one no-decision) since coming off the disabled list. The Cardinals had five infield hits off Niemann, who struck out five.