Cardinals beat Rays 6-5 in 10 innings at Busch Stadium after late Tampa Bay rally

A back-and-forth finish after eight quiet innings

The St. Louis Cardinals opened their home series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, March 28, 2026, with a 6-5 extra-inning win at Busch Stadium, overcoming a ninth-inning turnaround and then ending the game in the bottom of the 10th.

St. Louis built its first lead immediately. In the bottom of the first, Alec Burleson drove in the game’s first run with a single to center that scored JJ Wetherholt. Later in the inning, Nolan Gorman singled to right to bring home Burleson, pushing the Cardinals ahead 2-0.

The game remained scoreless from the second through the seventh innings, with neither club adding to the line. The Cardinals extended the margin in the eighth, turning a two-run lead into a four-run cushion. Ivan Herrera doubled to deep center to score Jordan Walker, then Burleson delivered a sacrifice fly that brought in Victor Scott for a 4-0 St. Louis advantage entering the ninth.

Tampa Bay’s ninth-inning surge changes the game

Tampa Bay broke through in the ninth with four runs, flipping the game from a late Cardinals lead into a tie. Chandler Simpson’s infield single brought in a run and was followed by a throwing error that allowed an additional run to score. Carson Williams then singled to left, driving in two more runs, and Nick Fortes added an RBI single as the Rays completed the four-run inning to pull even at 4-4.

The Rays took their first lead in the 10th when Yandy Díaz singled to center, scoring Ben Williamson for a 5-4 Tampa Bay edge.

Walk-off in the 10th caps the Cardinals’ opener

St. Louis answered in the bottom of the 10th. With runners aboard, Wetherholt singled to right and drove in two runs—Jordan Walker and Nathan Church—ending the game and giving the Cardinals a 6-5 win.

• Final score: Cardinals 6, Rays 5 (10 innings)
• Scoring by inning: Tampa Bay scored 4 in the 9th and 1 in the 10th; St. Louis scored 2 in the 1st, 2 in the 8th, and 2 in the 10th
• Winning pitcher: Ryne Stanek (1-0)
• Losing pitcher: Griffin Jax (0-1)
• Attendance: 25,951 at Busch Stadium

St. Louis scored first, led late by four, fell into a deficit in extras, and still finished the opener with a two-run walk-off single.

The result left the Cardinals 1-0 after the game, while the Rays dropped to 0-1.