Cardinals edge Angels for third straight victory

Alec Burleson hit the decisive two-run homer in the seventh inning to push the visiting St. Louis Cardinals past the Los Angeles Angels 7-6 on Tuesday.

Pedro Pages hit a three-run double for his first big league hit as the Cardinals won their third straight game.

St. Louis starting pitcher Sonny Gray (5-2) allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out nine. Reliever Ryan Helsley earned his 13th save.

Logan O'Hoppe hit a three-run homer for the Angels, who lost for the fifth time in six games.

Angels pitcher Reid Detmers allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out seven. Reliever Hunter Strickland (1-1) suffered the loss.

The Cardinals broke out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Dylan Carlson hit a single, Nolan Gorman walked and they advanced on a flyout. Carlson scored on a wild pitch and Gorman scored on Michael Siani's fielder's choice grounder.

St. Louis extended its lead to 5-0 in the third inning.

Paul Goldschmidt and Burleson hit singles and Carlson walked to load the bases. Pages drove in all three with a double.

Gray retired his first seven batters he faced before allowing Cole Tucker's third-inning triple. Nolan Schanuel hit an RBI single to cut the St. Louis lead to 5-1.

The Angels reduced their deficit to 5-4 in the fourth inning. Willie Calhoun and Kevin Pillar hit singles and O'Hoppe launched his three-run homer, his third of the season.

Los Angeles tied the score 5-5 in the fifth inning. Schanuel hit a single and was moved to third on Luis Guillorme's single. Schanuel scored on Taylor Ward's sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals regained the lead 7-5 in the seventh inning. Nolan Arenado singled and scored on Burleson's two-run homer.

The Angels countered in the bottom of the inning on a ground-rule double by Ward and Pillar's RBI single.

Los Angeles loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning, but Guillorme's failed squeeze bunt derailed the rally.