Cards ride JJ Wetherholt's power surge into finale vs. Guardians

St. Louis Cardinals rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt had not homered since the team's season opener going into Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians.

The left-handed-swinging leadoff hitter went deep twice on Tuesday, including a two-run blast in the eighth that sparked a Cardinals 6-5 victory in 10 innings.

The Guardians and Cardinals will play the rubber match of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis.

"Everything happened so quick," Wetherholt said of his team's comeback from a three-run deficit. "I was just looking to pass the stick in that spot. I got good barrels today. You are not going to be on the barrel every day, but you just have to trust that they are coming."

The Cardinals looked cooked with two outs in the ninth inning after Masyn Winn hit a slow roller to second base with two outs. The ball, however, scooted between Juan Brito's legs, and St. Louis' Yohel Pozo followed with a game-tying double.

"Sometimes all it takes is an error," Wetherholt said. "As our continuity grows, our confidence gets better and our chemistry comes out."

The Cardinals will send right-hander Dustin May (1-2, 9.45 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. May gave up seven earned runs in an 11-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers on April 4 after starting the season by giving up six earned runs in an 11-7 setback to the Tampa Bay Rays.

On Friday however, the veteran allowed just two runs (one earned) in six innings of a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

"I was real glad he was able to feel good about his outing," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "His mix was good, and when he gets ahead, it is a different ball game."

May, 28, is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Guardians, who will counter with right-hander Slade Cecconi (0-2, 5.74) on Wednesday.

Cecconi gave up four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in an 11-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

"Slade was sharp the first five, throwing the ball really well, hitting his spots, changing speeds," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "It just got away from him. When you are pitching from behind, you've got to come into the zone, and a lot of the times your stuff's not going to play as well."

Cecconi, 26, has a 5.79 ERA without a decision in his lone career start against the Cardinals.

Cleveland star Jose Ramirez is showing signs of getting back on track. Ramirez was hitting .151 with one home run before going deep and leading the Guardians to a 6-0 win over the Braves on Saturday.

On Tuesday, he hit a solo home run in the first inning and sparked a three-run rally in the eighth against the Cardinals.

"Jose is the best player in the game. We know that," Vogt told Sports Illustrated. "And the base running is probably his best skill. He's such a great hitter, but he's ... one of the best base runners in the game. And he's smart, knows the game. It's always thinking ahead ... even defensively, he made a couple of really nice plays tonight, too.

"So ... we always know he's ready to go."

--Field Level Media