Tommy Pham made his return to St Louis triumphant, coming off the bench to deliver a grand slam in the Cardinals’ 8-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals already had a 3-1 lead entering the fifth when Alec Burleson added an RBI single to begin loading the bases. After Willson Contreras and Paul Goldschmidt arrived on base, Pham stepped into the batter’s box for Matt Carpenter, in his first appearance since being traded from the White Sox. He would connect on a 2-2 pitch to send his grand slam over the right center field fence. Masyn Winn, Brandon Crawford, and Lars Nootbaar recorded RBIs early in the game, while Wyatt Langford has Texas’ only score with a home run in the second frame.

Lance Lynn picked up the win with his five-inning performance, allowing the one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three. Mizzou product and St Louis native Max Scherzer was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs, four hits and one walk during his four innings, while striking out five.

Despite the emphatic win, the Cardinals couldn’t make up ground in the wild card chase, as Arizona, Atlanta, the Mets, Pittsburgh, and San Diego all won. The Brewers’ loss to Atlanta reduced their lead in the NL Central to six games over the Cardinals and Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals wrap up the series with Texas on Wednesday afternoon, with first pitch at 1:15.