Ranger Suarez, Red Sox defeat Cardinals 7-1 in well-rounded win

The Red Sox earned a much-needed 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night, and a good one at that.

Boston scored seven runs, including five in the ninth inning to put the game away, maintaining the lead in the entire contest.

It was a breath of fresh air to see the lineup string together hitting and hitting so many opposing pitchers, especially after the tough loss to start the series on Friday.

But it was Red Sox outfielder Ranger Suarez who set the tone in the first six frames with his first solid, quality start of the season.

Suarez, 30, has thrown six complete innings (84 pitches, 55 strikeouts) after striking out just 4.1 and 4.0 frames in his first two outings.

Not only did the left-hander pitch six innings, they were six shutout innings. After allowing four earned runs in his first two games, Suarez allayed some concerns about his shaky start after signing a five-year, $130 million contract with Boston last winter.

In the first half, it looked as if Suarez was destined for another difficult start. He threw 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 helped keep St. Louis bats at bay.

This first half was the only real hiccup for Suarez. He settled into the game well 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 expected when the Red Sox signed him.

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

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

Suarez’s teammates took note of his dominant performance, including first baseman Wilson 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 execution on the field.

“I think it’s important for both sides, offensively and defensively, that Ranger can throw six shutout innings,” he said. Contreras said. “I think the biggest thing for him tonight was execution…identifying hitters’ weaknesses. He did that tonight. This is his best game yet.”

Boston was in desperate need of rookies not named Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray to go deeper in their outings. The bullpen was only needed for three innings on Saturday, a nice change of pace for a group that needed a break.

Cora stressed the team’s urgent need for quality starting from the post-match period. He said he’s a major key to the Red Sox moving forward 5-9.

“He was throwing the ball,” Cora said of Suarez. “It started with the mechanics.” “We need him to get deep in games. If you look at what happened in the first few weeks of the season, when we play, we win games. When our starters get deep in the game, we have a better chance of winning games.”

Callie Brown

Sports product

Callie Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox.