Orioles, after almost enduring epic collapse, seek sweep of Cardinals

Baltimore right-hander Kyle Bradish called it a "relentless win" for the Orioles, one that sets up a possible three-game series sweep against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.

Pete Alonso and Leody Taveras homered early and Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 4-for-5 with a tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning Wednesday night, helping the Orioles escape with an 8-7 victory. Baltimore blew a 7-0 lead before recovering.

"The lineup and the bullpen really picked me up," said Bradish, who allowed all seven of the Cardinals' runs, including six in the fifth inning.

Baltimore reliever Andrew Kittredge, who escaped a ninth-inning jam for his seventh save, added, per MLB.com, "Just a crazy game, but that's why you play nine, and glad we came out on top."

The Orioles improved to 14-19 in one-run games, one of the worst marks in the American League.

Despite allowing St. Louis to rally, the Orioles remained strong collectively, according to Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz.

"I think it's the first time we've been on the opposite end of that," he said. "It's usually us clawing back. It was a great test for us."

The Orioles remained just 2 1/2 games behind the final AL wild-card position, currently occupied by the Cleveland Guardians. Four other teams are within four games of Cleveland.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers (9-8, 4.14 ERA) will take the ball for Baltimore in the series finale.

As for the Cardinals' pitching plans, manager Oliver Marmol said, "It will be a bullpen day. All options will be considered. We don't really have a long man in the 'pen."

St. Louis has lost five games in a row, sinking six behind the San Diego Padres, who sit in the final National League wild-card position.

The Cardinals recently sustained multiple injuries to their rotation, and mediocre outings by healthy starters aren't helping. During the five-game skid, St. Louis starters have allowed 25 runs on 35 hits in 22 innings (10.23 ERA).

Rogers has a 2.57 ERA in his past 14 starts since June 4. He has an 0-2 record despite a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals, the most recent one in 2024.

Encarnacion-Strand has had a strong series in St. Louis to help the Orioles take the first two games, going 6-for-10 with a homer and five RBIs. He had gone 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts and one walk in his previous five games.

"The key is trusting the early work we put in during practice," Encarnacion-Strand said. "Like we've talked about before, you're not always going to get the results you want, but you've got to keep putting in the work so you can have nights like this."

The Orioles lost a veteran from the roster on Wednesday when right fielder Tyler O'Neill landed on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.

"It's a big blow for us," Albernaz said. "Ultimately, hopefully this IL stint is quick and he can get back to helping us win, because we need it."

Infielder Luis Vazquez was promoted from Triple-A Norfolk to replace O'Neill, and he scored the winning run Wednesday night as a pinch runner in his first major league game of the season.

--Field Level Media