Eugenio Suárez, Rhett Lowder help power the Reds to a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run homer, Rhett Lowder pitched two-run ball for five innings and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Friday night.

Suárez's 435-foot shot to left-center tied him with Eric Davis for 10th in franchise history with 203 home runs. Johnny Bench hit 389 homers for the Reds.

Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson each had two hits and an RBI.

Lowder was perfect through three innings and, after JJ Wetherholt walked, had faced the minimum number of batters after four innings.

Iván Herrera was hit by a pitch to leadoff the fifth, stole second and moved to third when Lars Nootbaar flied out. Masyn Wynn grounded out and Nathan Church walked before Blaze Jordan doubled to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

After Stewart singled, Suárez hit his homer off George Soriano (3-3) with two out in the seventh, giving Cincinnati a 3-2 lead.

Julian Garcia (1-2) struck out the only batter he faced and earned the win. Emilio Pagán had two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.

St. Louis starter Dustin May allowed seven hits and one run with eight strikeouts in six innings.

Stephenson hit a ground-rule double that drove in JJ Bleday to give the Reds a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

The Reds are 7-22 against the rest of the NL Central. Cincinnati went into the game with a .214 win percentage against its division, the worst in MLB.

Reds RHP Hunter Greene (2-1, 6.06 ERA) starts Saturday against right-hander Andre Pallante (10-6, 4.02).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May delivers against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 24, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder delivers against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 24, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher George Soriano looks on after giving up a 2-run home run to Cincinnati Reds' baseman Eugenio Suárez during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 24, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

Cincinnati Reds' Eugenio Suárez, right, celebrates with Sal Stewart after hitting a 2-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 24, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

Cincinnati Reds' Eugenio Suárez hits a 2-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 24, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jake Burger hit a two-run home run and a go-ahead single to lead the Texas Rangers past the Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Friday night in the opener of a four-game series between the top two teams in the AL West.

With the win, the Rangers improved to 52-51 and increased their divisional lead to 1 1/2 games ahead of the 51-53 Mariners.

Burger’s fourth-inning homer off Bryce Miller (4-5) tied the score at 3-3. In the sixth, Burger hit the first pitch from Eduard Bazardo up the middle to score Brandon Nimmo and put Texas ahead 4-3.

Nicky Lopez then bunted in front of the plate with runners on the corners. Bazardo fielded the ball bare handed and tossed underhand high off the glove of catcher Cal Raleigh allowing Evan Carter to score.

Peyton Gray (5-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning and Jacob Latz allowed a run in the ninth but earned his 20th save in 22 opportunities.

Burger was hitting .150 in July before his home run barely cleared the right field wall. He has 18 homers and 64 RBIs to lead the club in both categories.

Wyatt Langford gave Texas a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a home run to left field one pitch after fouling a ball off his left foot and limping out of the batter’s box.

Weston Wilson’s two-out, opposite-field single to right tied the score 1-1 in the second.

Dominic Canzone’s opposite-field, two-run double to left center in the fifth tied the score 3-3.

Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, pitching on five days’ rest, allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings.

Miller was charged with five runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Texas’ Joc Pederson had his 1,000th career hit.

Seattle’s Cole Young matched a career best with three hits.

Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (7-6, 4.16 ERA) will face Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-8, 4.21) on Saturday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Texas Rangers' MacKenzie Gore (1) pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Mariners, Friday, July 24, 2026, Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)

Seattle Mariners' Bryce Miller pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, July 24, 2026, Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)

Seattle Mariners' Josh Naylor runs towards home during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, July 24, 2026, Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)

Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, July 24, 2026, Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)

Texas Rangers' Jake Burger (21) is celebrates hitting a home run with Texas Rangers' Ezequiel Duran during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, July 24, 2026, Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)