Wednesday night’s game in St. Louis looked to be a continuation of the offensive outburst from Tuesday night. Another blowout appeared to be on the horizon, until it wasn’t. The Baltimore Orioles opened the game by scoring five runs in the first inning and added a pair in the second inning to establish a 7-0 lead after 1.5 innings. The St. Louis Cardinals (66-68) plated a run in the bottom of the second before putting up a six-pack in the fifth. It took a ninth inning run for the Orioles to prevail 8-7.
All of the Orioles’ first inning runs came with two outs. Gunnar Henderson (1 for 5, R) singled to start the party. A Samuel Basallo (2 for 4, R, BB) walk preceded back-to-back RBI singles from Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Dylan Beavers (2 for 4, 2B, R, RBI, BB). Leody Taveras (1 for 5, R, 3 RBI) finished it off with a three-run homerun.
The second inning surely made New York Mets fans nauseous as Pete Alonso (1 for 4, R, 2 RBI, BB) hit a two-run homerun, his 32nd of the season.
The eventual winning run came on a CES RBI-double. CES was by far the catalyst of Baltimore’s offense. A player who no doubt many saw as a depth piece in Norfolk, CES has become a vital part of the team. He went 4 for 5 with a pair of doubles, 1 run scored and 2 RBI while playing third base before shifting to first base in the ninth inning.
Kyle Bradish took the bump to start the game and lasted just 4.1 innings. Bradish allowed 7 runs on 9 hits, including a Nolan Gorman solo homerun in the second inning, while walking 2 and striking out 4. He threw 91 pitches (64 K’s) while facing 23 batters. Stating the obvious, Bradish did not pitch like his usual self.
Five relievers combined to limit the Cardinals to a pair of hits across the remaining 4.2 innings.
In the end Andrew Kittredge recorded his 7th save in support of Grant Wolfram (5-2) who walked one batter in the eighth inning.
Are more fireworks coming in the shadow of the Gateway Arch on Thursday? Tune in to see.
2026 Record: 65-68
Next Game: Thurs. 8/27 @ 2:15 pm @ St. Louis Cardinals
