ST. LOUIS -- Adeiny Hechavarria is known as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball, which is why the Tampa Bay Rays traded for him.

But the light-hitting Hechavarria made the St. Louis Cardinals pay for an intentional walk Friday night.

His two-run double down the left field line in the third inning put Tampa Bay ahead for good in its 7-3 win at Busch Stadium.

Hechavarria recorded his first three-hit game since June 30 at Baltimore and upped his average to .238. What's more, it lifted the Rays to 64-66 on the year, keeping them within three games of the Minnesota Twins for the American League's second wild card.

"It felt good that I was able to contribute," Hechavarria said through an interpreter. "Defense is my specialty. I take pride in it, but I have focused a lot more on my offense."

He mirrored his teammates on this night. Tampa Bay pounded out 16 hits, including four by Corey Dickerson, and got a hit from everyone in the lineup but catcher Wilson Ramos.

Paired with 5 1/3 scoreless innings from a bullpen that produced 4 2/3 shutout frames Thursday, it was more than enough to overcome a short start by Jake Odorizzi and begin a critical nine-game road trip in a positive fashion.

"We had big hits, timely hits," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "And everyone in our bullpen got big outs from the fourth and fifth inning on."

A four-run third wiped out St. Louis' first-inning run and shaped the game's remainder. Steven Souza cracked a 434-foot homer to the third deck in left field, and Tampa Bay pressed the attack. It loaded the bases with one out for Hechavarria.

His pride perhaps wounded by the free pass the Cardinals accorded Dickerson, Hechavarria grounded a first pitch changeup from Michael Wacha (9-7) just inside third to score Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison.

"I was thinking middle of the field, but he threw a changeup, so I hit it to left field," Hechavarria said.

Odorizzi took advantage of a rare chance to help his cause, knocking in the inning's final run with a two-out infield single.

That was the highlight of his night, which lasted just 3 2/3 innings in front of about 300 friends and family that made the 30-mile drive from Highland, Ill. to watch Odorizzi pitch. He gave up three hits and three runs, walking four and fanning four.

"I wish I could have lasted long and saved the bullpen," he said. "It wasn't my choice, but we won and that's what matters."

Sergio Romo (1-0) was awarded the win after retiring all six hitters he faced. Tommy Hunter might have recorded the bullpen's biggest out, whiffing Stephen Piscotty with runners at the corners in the seventh after a pair of two-out singles.

Kevin Kiermaier tacked on a two-run single in the ninth for Tampa Bay, enabling him to avoid an 0-for-6 evening.

Aside from three shutout innings by Ryan Sherriff in his big league debut and a solo homer by Kolten Wong in the fourth, there were few positives for St. Louis (64-64). It remained 4 1/2 games behind the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs and five games in back of Colorado for the second wild-card spot.

Wacha lost his third straight start, permitting nine hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.

"He still looks strong," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Wacha, "but he got into some deep counts. He had some trouble putting guys away."

Dexter Fowler and Yadier Molina collected sacrifice flies for St. Louis, which has lost eight of its last 11 games since tying the Cubs for first place on Aug. 12 with its eighth straight win.

NOTES: Tampa Bay signed INF Danny Espinosa Friday and optioned INF Daniel Robertson to Triple-A Durham. Espinosa, who batted eighth and played second base Friday night, hit .164 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 85 games with the Angels and Mariners. ... St. Louis 1B Matt Carpenter (virus) was back in the lineup after a two-game absence, hitting in his customary leadoff spot. ... The Rays assigned INF Trevor Plouffe to Durham Friday after he cleared waivers.