ST. LOUIS (AP) — Willson Contreras drove in three runs against his former team, Ranger Suárez pitched six scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox set a season high for runs with a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.
Boston, which broke open the game with a five-run ninth inning, has won three of four after a 2-8 start.
Jordan Walker hit his NL-leading sixth home run for the Cardinals.
A three-time All-Star, Contreras was acquired
by Boston from St. Louis in a December trade. He put the Red Sox ahead 2-0 with a two-run double in the fourth off Kyle Leahy (1-2) and added run-scoring single in the ninth for his first three-RBI game with the Red Sox.
Suárez (1-1) lowered his ERA from 8.64 to 5.02, allowing three hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He had not pitched past the fifth inning in either of his first two starts this season after signing a $130 million, five-year contract as a free agent.
Walker homered in the eighth off Garrett Whitlock.
Caleb Durbin had a two-run single in the ninth, and Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran had run-scoring hits.
José Fermin reached on a double video review in the seventh. Plate umpire Brian Walsh ruled Fermin was hit by a Greg Weissert pitch, and a challenge by Boston resulted in Walsh telling Fermin to return to the plate with an 0-2 count. St. Louis then challenged and the second review resulted in a catcher’s interference call on Carlos Narváez. Fermin went to first after a 4-minute delay.
Boston RHP Brayan Bello (0-1, 9.00 ERA) and St. Louis RHP Andre Pallante (1-0, 1.80 ERA) start in Sunday's series finale.
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