Alec Burleson's 2-run HR leads Cardinals' 9-7 rally over Rays

St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt reacts after an at bat of his MLB Debut during the first inning an opening-day baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson hit a two-run homer to cap off an eight-run outburst in the sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 9-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

Rookie JJ Wetherholt also homered for St. Louis.

Jonathan Aranda homered for Tampa Bay, which took a 7-1 lead with six runs in the top of the sixth.

St. Louis answered back with eight runs in its half including run-scoring sacrifice flies by Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, which tied the game 7-all.

Burleson followed with a blast to right field.

Both teams sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning.

Jonny DeLuca had a two-run single to highlight the sixth inning for Tampa Bay, which had won four of its previous five games on opening day.

Riley O’Brien picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ryne Stanek earned the save. He struck out Richie Palacios with the bases loaded to end the game.

St. Louis outfielder Nathan Church added a two-run hit in the sixth. Church, Burleson and Victor Scott II had three hits each.

Yandy Díaz, Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes had three hits each for the Rays.

Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen allowed just one run on four hits over five innings in his first opening day assignment.

Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore surrendered one run on seven hits in five innings.

The Cardinals are in rebuilding mode after trading veterans Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras in the offseason for prospects.

The game time temperature of 91 degrees was the hottest opening day in the history of Busch Stadium, eclipsing the previous mark of 73 degrees on April 5, 1999.

Up next

After a day off on Friday, Tampa Bay RH Joe Boyle (1-0, 3. 52 ERA last season) will face RHP Michael McGreevy (8-4, 4.42) in the second game of the three-game set on Saturday,