Los Angeles Angels hold off St. Louis Cardinals rally

June 24 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Angels claimed a victory in their final game in a series against the St. Louis Cardinals by halting a ninth-inning rally.

Los Angeles led 2-0 after eight innings, before posting four runs in the ninth frame of the 6-4 win Sunday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Cardinals responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning, before Angels reliever Hansel Robles was able to stop the bleeding.

Angels second baseman Tommy La Stella drew first blood with an RBI single in the top of the second frame. La Stella plated the Angels' second score with another RBI single in the sixth inning.

Then the Angels added some insurance. David Fletcher plated Mike Trout and Brian Goodwin on a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning. Dustin Garneau followed with another RBI single, plating Kole Calhoun for a 5-0 lead.

Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera later walked Wilfred Tovar with the bases loaded to give the Angels their final run.

Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna grounded out in the first two at-bats for the Cardinals in the bottom of the frame. Jose Martinez then ripped a solo homer to spark the St. Louis two-out rally. Yadier Molina smacked a single to center field in the next at-bat. Harrison Bader followed with a walk.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong plated Molina and Bader with a two-run double in the next at-bat, cutting the Angels' lead in half. St. Louis outfielder Dexter Fowler followed with an RBI single, making the score 6-4.

Cardinals star Matt Carpenter attempted to extend the rally with a single in the next at-bat, before Robles forced Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong to ground out and end the game.

"You talk about a fighting team, if anybody is ever going to question the heart of this team, look at that. ... It was the mentality keeping the line moving," Cardinals manager Mike Schildt told reporters, according to MLB.com.

The Cardinals host the Oakland Athletics at 8:15 p.m. Monday at Busch Stadium. The Angels host the Cincinnati Reds at 10:07 p.m. Tuesday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif.