Grand Pham! St. Louis Cardinals Newest Slugger Decks Texas Rangers

Tommy Pham hit a grand slam as a pinch-hitter in the fifth in his first at-bat since joining the St. Louis Cardinals from the Chicago White Sox via trade on Monday.

Jul 30, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Tommy Pham (29) celebrates with manager Oliver Marmol (37) after hitting a grand slam home run against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

ST. LOUIS — It was not a great way to celebrate MLB Trade Deadline Day.

The Texas Rangers were blown out by the St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

The teams meet in the rubber game at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Tommy Pham, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Monday, pinch-hit for Matt Carpenter with the bases loaded in the fifth and belted a grand slam to give the Cardinals an 8-1 lead.

It came against Rangers reliever Cody Bradford, who was seeing his first action since an April injury.

The Rangers struggled to do much against former Texas pitcher Lance Lynn, who held them to one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. Wyatt Langford's solo home run in the second inning was his only blemish.

Rangers starter Max Scherzer left the game trailing 3-1 after four innings.

Thre8e thoughts from Tuesday's game:

1. Rough Return For Bradford

Jul 30, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Brandon Crawford (35) reacts after hitting a one run double against the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Left-hander Cody Bradford had a rough return out of the bullpen. Bradford, who had been on the injured list with a rib fracture since April 11 before being activated on Monday, allowed five runs on five hits and a walk over two innings. The big blow came against pinch-hitter Tommy Pham in the fifth. Bradford returned in the sixth for a 1-2-3 inning. He threw 46 pitches and struck out two.

2. Feast Or Famine

Jul 30, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) is congratulated by third base coach Tony Beasley (27) after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers were held to four or fewer hits for 12th time on Tuesday. Texas had 10 or more hits in five of its six previous games. Toronto held Texas to four hits on Saturday in a loss. The Rangers were held to eight or fewer hits for 10 consecutive games from July 9-23 and still went 6-4.

3. Up Next

Jul 21, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (44) throws during the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-10, 3.77) faces Cardinals' right-hander Sonny Gray (10-6, 3.79) in the series finale at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on X @StefanVersusTex.

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