Dustin May had the Rays right where he wanted them for one inning Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Then the second inning hit, and the Cardinals’ young rotation took another painful step backward in a season that already feels like it’s testing their patience.
May lasted just four innings in an 11-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays that featured 28 combined hits and left the Cardinals (2-1) searching for answers before the series even ends. The Rays piled up 17 hits — none of them home runs — and feasted on extra-base knocks and small-ball execution to build leads that St. Louis simply couldn’t erase, even with a late power surge.
The Cardinals trailed 3-0 before they recorded an out in the second. Cedric Mullins ripped an RBI double, Jonny DeLuca followed with a double of his own, and DeLuca scored on a wild pitch. Yandy Díaz, who finished 5-for-6 with four RBI, delivered a two-run single to cap the inning.
St. Louis clawed back in the fourth. Masyn Winn and Thomas Saggese reached safely, setting the stage for Jordan Walker’s three-run homer to center that cut the deficit to 6-4. Walker gave the 27,653 in attendance a reason to believe. For a moment, the Cardinals’ offense — which had shown life in the first two games of the series — looked capable of stealing one.
It wasn’t to be. The Rays methodically added three more in the eighth against the Cardinals’ bullpen, stretching the lead to 9-4 on RBI hits from Díaz and Jonathan Aranda plus a sacrifice fly from Mullins. Nolan Gorman answered with a 443-foot blast to right-center in the bottom half, and Victor Pagés followed with a 418-foot shot to left-center that scored Walker and made it 9-7. The fight was real. The comeback fell short.
The Rays tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth on a sacrifice bunt and another Díaz infield single. Steven Matz, the Rays’ starter, worked five innings and earned the win despite allowing four runs. May took the loss, charged with six earned runs on 10 hits.
Walker’s three-run homer and the eighth-inning rally were bright spots. The Cardinals showed they can slug with anyone when the bats wake up — 11 hits and three homers proved that — but the rotation and bullpen surrendered 11 runs. With the Mets coming to town Monday night, the Cardinals will have a tougher test.
