Boston Red Sox

Boston scored five runs in the ninth inning to even the weekend series in St. Louis.

The Red Sox earned a much-needed 7-1 win against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday night, and it was a well-rounded victory, at that.

Boston plated seven runs, including five in the ninth inning to put the game away, holding a lead for the full contest.

It was a breath of fresh air to see the lineup string together hits and beat up on several opposing pitchers, especially coming off a tough loss to begin the series Friday.

But it was Red Sox starting pitcher Ranger Suarez who set the tone in the first six frames with his first strong and quality start of the season.

Suarez, 30, tossed a full six innings (84 pitches, 55 strikes) after pitching just 4.1 and 4.0 frames in his first two outings.

Not only did the left-hander throw six innings, but they were six shutout innings. After allowing four earned runs in each of his first two starts, a goose egg from Suarez quieted some concerns about his shaky start after signing a five-year, $130 million contract with Boston this past winter.

In the first inning, it felt like Suarez was destined for another rocky start. He tossed 27 pitches and allowed a leadoff single as well as two walks, but the Cardinals ultimately failed to capitalize. He induced a double play to get his first two outs, which aided him in keeping St. Louis’ bats at bay.

That first inning was the only real hiccup for Suarez. He settled into the game nicely the rest of the way, striking out six batters and allowing just three hits. Suarez’s outing was much closer to what the organization and fans were expecting him to look like when the Red Sox landed him.

Manager Alex Cora praised Suarez and his talent on the mound after the game.

“He can pitch, man. It’s pitchability,” Cora said. “He was able to execute. … It started with the mechanics.”

Suarez’s teammates took note of his dominant performance, including first baseman Willson Contreras. Contreras, who is also playing his first season in Boston and most recently played for the Cardinals, echoed Cora’s sentiments about Suarez’s pitch execution.

“I think it’s important for both sides, offensively and defensively, to have Ranger to throw six shutout innings,” Contreras said. “I think the biggest thing for him tonight was executing … identifying the weakness of the batters. He did that tonight. That’s the best game he’s thrown so far yet.”

Boston has been desperate for starters not named Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray to make it deeper into their outings. The bullpen was only needed for three innings Saturday, a nice change of pace for a group in need of a break.

Cora emphasized the team’s urgent need for quality starts from their rotation postgame. He said it’s a major key for the 5-9 Red Sox moving forward.

“He made pitches. … It started with the mechanics,” Cora said of Suarez. “We need him to go deep into games. If you look at what’s happened the first few weeks of the season, when we pitch, we win games. When starters go deep into the game, we have a better chance at winning games.”