Ryan Ludwick hit his second home run of the game off Dan Wheeler in the 10th inning, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to recover after squandering a four-run cushion in a 9-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. Albert Pujols also homered and had two RBIs a day after his 42-game streak of reaching base ended, helping the Cardinals win for only the third time in 11 games. The AL East-leading Rays lost for just the second time in 10 games. Ludwick hit the first pitch from Wheeler (0-3) with one out in the 10th an estimated 402 feet over the wall in left-center for the second winning homer of his career. He has four career two-homer games, including two this season.

Ryan Franklin (2-1) allowed two walks in two scoreless innings.

The Rays erased a pair of four-run deficits behind a season-high 18 hits that topped their previous best by three. Carlos Pena's three-run homer off Randy Flores in the seventh made it a one-run game and Evan Longoria's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth off Kyle McClellan tied it.

Matt Garza failed to make it out of the fifth, ending a 10-game run of brilliance for Rays starters in which they combined for a 1.03 ERA. Jason Bartlett singled four times and Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton each had three hits.

All that offense was somewhat negated by five runners getting thrown out on the bases, including Upton twice.

Adam Wainwright endured his second straight shaky outing, allowing four runs on 12 hits in 5 2-3 innings while being aided by a pickoff and a runner caught stealing. The Cardinals' opening-day starter gave up six earned runs in six innings in his previous outing at Milwaukee.

Evan Longoria was picked off first by catcher Yadier Molina to end the first and Crawford was caught stealing to end the second, setting the tone. Upton was caught stealing in the fifth on a nifty play at third by Glaus, who made the tag behind his back and between his legs, and Upton was an easy out trying to advance to third on Longoria's game-tying sacrifice fly when the throw to the plate was cut off. Gabe Gross was thrown out trying to steal second on a strikeout-double play to end the ninth.

The top of the Cardinals' order opened a four-run fifth, the biggest in the first five games of a six-game homestand, with three straight hits including an RBI single that Pujols lofted to left for a 4-3 lead. Rays pitchers faced 56 consecutive batters without a walk the first two games of the series before Glaus walked on four pitches to load the bases and Ludwick drove in a run with a five-pitch walk in consecutive at-bats and a second run scored on Molina's infield hit when Bartlett, the shortstop, made a wild and late throw to second in a force attempt.

The Jays were 6-for-6 with two outs while taking a 3-2 lead before Gross flied out to right with two on and two out to end the third.