ANAHEIM, Calif. (Interstat) — José Soriano pitched seven strong innings and Jo Adell delivered a game-tying home run in the third as the Los Angeles Angels rallied for two runs in the ninth inning to edge the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Monday night at Angel Stadium.

Soriano allowed two runs on four hits while striking out seven in a no-decision, lowering his ERA significantly after a rough outing against Minnesota on July 12. The Angels, who entered the game with a 39-61 record, improved to 40-61 with the win. St. Louis fell to 51-48.

The Cardinals struck first in the second inning against Soriano. Jordan Walker led off with a double to left field, his 21st of the season. Lars Nootbaar followed with a single to left, sending Walker to third. After Masyn Winn struck out, Nathan Church lined a single to right field that scored Walker and moved Nootbaar to third. Blaze Jordan then grounded out to third, bringing Nootbaar home and giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

St. Louis threatened again in the third when JJ Wetherholt walked and stole second, but Iván Herrera struck out and Alec Burleson and Walker both grounded out to end the inning.

The Angels cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third against St. Louis starter Kyle Leahy. Jo Adell led off with a homer to left-center field, his 14th of the year, making it 2-1. Leahy settled down after that, retiring the next three batters including a strikeout of Mike Trout with a runner on base. Leahy finished with six innings pitched, allowing one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts.

From the fourth through the eighth innings, both bullpens held the line. Soriano retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, striking out the side in the fifth and seventh innings. The Cardinals managed only a Church single in the fourth, which was overturned on an Angels challenge as Church was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

Leahy departed after six innings, and George Soriano worked a scoreless seventh for St. Louis, allowing one hit while striking out one. Ryne Stanek followed with a perfect eighth, striking out one.

The game turned dramatically in the bottom of the ninth. St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien entered with a 2-1 lead. Mike Trout struck out looking to start the inning. Nolan Schanuel then singled to right field, and Jorge Soler was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second. The Angels then executed a double steal, with pinch-runner Oswald Peraza moving to third and Jose Siri taking second. Vaughn Grissom followed with a double to right field that scored Peraza and Siri, tying the game at 2-2 and moving Grissom to third. O’Brien intentionally walked Josh Lowe to load the bases, and then Jo Adell was hit by a pitch, forcing in Siri with the winning run.

José Fermin, who pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts, earned the win, improving to 3-1. O’Brien took the loss, dropping to 3-4.

Nathan Church had two hits and drove in a run for St. Louis. Walker also had two hits, including the double. For the Angels, Adell went 2-for-3 with the homer and two RBI. Grissom drove in the tying run with his double and finished 1-for-4.

The attendance was 29,794, and the game lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes.

The Cardinals, who had lost three of their previous four games including a 7-8 extra-inning defeat at Arizona on Sunday, will look to bounce back in the second game of this series Tuesday. The Angels, winners of two of their last three after beating Detroit 3-2 on Sunday, continue their homestand.

St. Louis managed just four hits total, all off Soriano, who rebounded from a July 12 loss at Minnesota where he allowed five hits and three earned runs in five innings. The Cardinals struck out 11 times against Angels pitching, including seven in six innings off Soriano.

The Angels’ bullpen was dominant. Samy Natera Jr. pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts, and Fermin closed it out with another perfect frame, also striking out two. For St. Louis, Leahy’s effort was his third straight quality start, but the bullpen could not hold the lead.

The game’s pivotal moment came in the ninth when the Angels, down to their final two outs, strung together three consecutive hits and a hit-by-pitch. Grissom’s double was the key blow, scoring both runners and setting the stage for Adell’s walk-off hit-by-pitch.

The Cardinals had chances to add insurance but could not capitalize. After Church’s single in the fourth, St. Louis did not record another hit until the ninth, when Walker walked with two outs but was left stranded when Nootbaar flied out.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of St. Louis 4, Los Angeles 2. The Interstat ELO system gave St. Louis a 57.80 percent probability to win. The Cardinals were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of five runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.