Interleague play always brings up some interesting match-ups, and we had on in St. Louis over the weekend. Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay and Tony LaRussa of St. Louis are two of the more innovative managers in the game, and the two teams make up two of the bigger surprises in baseball this year. Here is how we learned. Tampa Bay Rays Centerfielder B.J. Upton was 6-13 with three doubles and two stolen bases in the series. Upton is really starting to come into his own as a baseball player as seen in Maddon?s confidence to put him in the No. 3 hole in front of first baseman Carlos Pena. He makes it on defense in large part due to his athletic ability, and he has a really nice stroke at the plate. Friday?s starter was Andy Sonnanstine, and he was outstanding in his eight innings of work. He allowed eight hits and only one run while striking out four batters and issuing no walks. He was also efficient with only 98 pitches on the night and didn?t give up the big mistake. He only allowed two extra base hits, including an eighth inning home run by St. Louis first baseman Chris Duncan. Second baseman Akinori Iwamura has been a nice lead-off hitter for Tampa Bay and continued it this weekend. He went 6-15 with two runs scored. Iwamura is a slap hitter from the left side who can work most parts of the field. He isn?t a traditional lead-off hitter in the way that he takes walks and steals bases, but he is a nice solution, nonetheless. In addition to that, the Rays have been able to put Crawford in the No. 2 hole and build a formidable young power core. St. Louis Cardinals Outfielder Ryan Ludwick played the final two games of the series for an injured Rick Ankiel and was very good. He went 3-7 with two home runs and four RBI, including a walk-off home run in the 10th inning for Saturday?s win. Ludwick was put up some great power numbers this year with 11 home runs in 119 at-bats and a .739 slugging percentage. Last year, in his first full season, his slugging percentage was .479. Right-handed reliever Chris Perez was solid over the weekend in his two outings. The 22-year old pitched two innings of no-hit ball on 22 pitches and added a strikeout. They were his first two outings of his career, and from all accounts he could have a major role for the Cardinals in finishing games by mid-season. The Cardinals are one of the teams this year who are trying the concept of batting the pitcher eighth and then a position player ninth to better turn over the line-up. In this series, shortstop Cesar Izturis had the honors on Friday and Sunday while shortstop Brendan Ryan did it on Saturday. The players combined for 3-9, including a 1-2 with three walk day for Izturis on Sunday. It is an interesting concept that in theory should help create more rallies once they turn over the line-up. But either way, the pitcher has to come up at some point. Who is better: Tampa Bay or St. Louis? Email your thoughts to [email protected]