Cardinals Notebook: Westbrook dominates Rays

ST. LOUIS Maybe Jake Westbrook just needed a return to the American League to get himself going again on the mound. Stuck in a skid that saw him give up four earned runs in three straight starts, the Cardinals right-hander and longtime American League pitcher tossed seven shutout innings Friday night to help the Cardinals beat the Rays, 5-3, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The win was the fourth in a row for the Cardinals, who have moved back into first place after losing 12 of 15 games before sweeping the Orioles in Baltimore earlier this week. Westbrook allowed just two hits and struck out seven, putting together his third scoreless outing of the season and first since eight scoreless innings in Kansas City, another A.L. park, on May 21. "It took me a little bit to get into a grove but the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh innings I was able to get ahead and control the counts and it worked out," Westbrook told reporters on the FOX Sports Midwest postgame show. "It took me a while to get into that rhythm but once I did, I made some pitches early on when I needed to get out of some jams. I made some pitches and then was able to get into that rhythm." Westbrook retired the final 12 hitters he faced, throwing 112 pitches to lower his ERA from 5.32 to 4.92. The right-hander retired the first two batters in the second and third innings before putting two runners on base both times. He got Sam Fuld to end the second inning on a fielder's choice and Matt Joyce to strikeout to end the third, escaping both innings without any damage. "Outstanding," manager Tony La Russa told reporters. "The only thing you could really fault him for was he had two outs and nobody on and walked a couple guys and it got a little dicey, he did that two innings in a row, but after that, he just kept going after them. He mixed up his pitches very well. He did an outstanding job. "He was in command of his delivery, his emotions, his concentration - he was just really outstanding." RASMUS GOES DEEP AGAIN Colby Rasmus homered for the third time in four games Friday, a big three-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning that put the Cardinals up 5-0. But what happened while he was running the bases might have been more notable. Frustrated over two calls that went against him earlier in the inning, Rays pitcher J.P. Howell slammed his glove and a ball to the ground before getting ejected from the game. Manager Joe Maddon had already been ejected earlier in the inning and two Rays players on the bench were ejected for arguing as well. In all, four Rays were ejected as things got ugly following the Rasmus shot in the eighth. Howell had to be restrained from home plate umpire Vic Carapazza as Rasmus tried to touch home plate. "I hit it and just ran the bases," Rasmus told Jim Hayes on the postgame show. " I was looking down the whole time. I guess he slammed his glove and all that stuff. That's unfortunate for him. "I was just out there playing the game, I wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. I guess I'll go back and look at it and maybe have a laugh or two, but that's just how the game is." The Rays followed with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Cardinals lead to 5-3, making the Rasmus shot that much more important. LA RUSSA BACK HOME The Cardinals visit to the TampaSt. Petersburg area is a homecoming for manager Tony La Russa. The veteran skipper was born and raised in Tampa, attending Jefferson High School before beginning his professional baseball career. La Russa and former manager Lou Pinella, who watched the game from the stands, were teammates on a youth baseball team growing up. The Cardinals manager left close to 50 tickets for family and friends Friday night. "I have a bunch (of family and friends) coming over the three days," La Russa told Jim Hayes on the pregame show. "It's not a great opportunity to socialize with how the schedule goes. I'm not going to get across to Tampa where I was born and raised, but I was in the St. Pete area quite a bit. "I remember our two springs here, my first two springs here in 96 and 97, so this is not like going someplace else. There is a lot of things here I remember." The Cardinals held Spring Training in St. Petersburg for several years before moving to their current spot in Jupiter, Fla., before the 1998 season. CARDINALS TO WEAR RETRO UNIFORMS The Cardinals and Rays will look a little different Saturday, with both teams wearing retro uniforms as part of 50's Day at Tropicana Field. The Cardinals will wear replica jerseys made to look like the team's 1953 road uniforms while the Rays will wear 1951 Tampa Smokers uniforms. The Rays apparently paid for the Cardinals uniforms since it was their idea for the promotion.