CES bookends both sides of a rollercoaster win -- on offense and defense

ST. LOUIS – One night after trouncing the Cardinals by a dozen runs in the first game of a three-game set, the Orioles exploded out to a seven-run lead before the end of the second inning. As much as the outburst must’ve felt like another preordained victory, the Birds instead had to bounce back from a mid-game letdown to come away with a tighter-than-expected 8-7 victory.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s ninth-inning double marked the second four-hit game of his career, and stood as the game-winning RBI. Luis Vázquez, selected to the active roster earlier in the day after Tyler O’Neill was placed on the injured list, pinch-ran for Samuel Basallo and came around with the winning run in his first big league action this season.

“It’s maybe the first time this year we’ve been on the opposite end of that,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s usually us clawing back, so it was a great test for us.”

Leody Taveras delivered the first big blast of the night for the O’s, launching a three-run homer against Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy to put the exclamation point on a first-inning rally. Pete Alonso powered up for his second homer of the series in the second, this one an opposite-field shot that pushed him north of 90 RBIs for the sixth time in his eight big league seasons. One of the years he failed to reach that mark was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. In the other such season, 2024, he tallied a mere 88.

Kyle Bradish had to grind on a sweltering summer evening and was ultimately unable to finish the fifth inning of his start, needing 91 pitches to complete just 4 1/3 innings. Bradish held the Cardinals to one run in the first four innings, surrendering a homer to Nolan Gorman, but he gave back five runs in the fifth before being replaced by Alex Hoppe.

“I think early on they just hit some good pitches,” said Bradish, who added that consecutive walks to JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera put him in a difficult spot. “It’s a good hitting team, and then balls found holes in that fifth inning.”

The first two Orioles to come to the plate in the first inning, Jackson Holliday and Alonso, grounded out on a combined five pitches, seemingly setting the stage for McGreevy to escape the inning with a light tab. Instead, Gunnar Henderson poked a single to the opposite field to start a series of five consecutive Orioles to reach, culminating in Taveras’ homer. It was the third such streak in the first two games of this series for Baltimore, with both of the other two coming in Tuesday’s prodigious fifth-inning outburst.

Gunnar Henderson poked a single to the opposite field after two quick outs to open the game, beginning a series of five consecutive Orioles to reach and culminating in Taveras’ homer. It was the third such streak in the first two games of this series for Baltimore, with both of the other two coming in Tuesday’s prodigious fifth-inning outburst.

Hoppe, Josh Walker, Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram and Andrew Kittredge passed the baton amongst themselves after Bradish’s exit, buying time for the offense to scrape together one more run. The five relievers combined to allow just two hits and three walks, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings while dodging traffic in key spots.

“Early we saw Kyle’s pitch count getting up there a little bit, so we kind of knew we were going to get asked to work regardless of the score,” said Kittredge, who recorded his seventh save, one away from his career high in a season (2021). “Guys threw some really big innings, got some big outs and [I’m] glad we got the dub.”

That dub came by way of stellar ninth-inning defense, highlighted by Encarnacion-Strand knocking down a 108.7 mph line drive smashed by Alec Burleson and recovering to record an out at first. That was followed by a stellar diving stop at the back of the infield dirt by Holliday, with Encarnacion-Strand scrambling back to the bag to cover and nab Nathan Church by a step for a crucial second out.

“I’ve gotten to watch Christian, since college, do this,” Holliday said. “His demeanor and approach has always been very steady and very professional.”

Those plays came in Encarnacion-Strand’s first inning at first base in the big leagues this season, having spent his previous 30 games for Baltimore either at third base or as the designated hitter.

“I didn’t feel very crisp tonight, but the defense kind of stepped up,” Kittredge assessed. “I know [Encarnacion-Strand] knocking that ball down, that ball is a rocket. And then Jackson making the play really picked me up there.”

A night that started as a continuation of an offensive explosion ended as a well-rounded team game, coming up in crucial spots in all three phases. It was perhaps more wild than it needed to be, but it was also a useful reminder of the necessary level of competition for a team still fighting to be a part of the postseason picture.

“Sometimes you can kind of feel like the game feels over before it’s really started, but there’s so much game left, and credit to them for sticking to it and battling back and tying it up,” Kittredge acknowledged. “But yeah, just a crazy game, but that’s why you play nine, and glad we came out on top.”