The Orioles just kicked off a crucial nine-game road trip with an absolute 13-1 beatdown of the Cardinals in St. Louis on Tuesday night. It was their most dominant win of the season by run differential, topping a 12-1 victory over the Dodgers back in June. But hold up a second, because first baseman Pete Alonso, who led the charge, had to leave the game early with a calf injury flare-up. You know that’s got fans everywhere holding their breath.
The Cardinals Got Absolutely Rocked in St. Louis
This game was a masterclass in how to pile on runs. O’s starter Chris Bassitt was solid through 6.2 innings, and then Anthony Nunez came in and just overpowered the Cardinals’ hitters in the late frames. The Orioles scored all their runs between the third and sixth innings, starting with some serious power before the rest of the lineup just peppered the ball all over Busch Stadium. Alonso got things rolling in the fourth with his 31st home run of the season, a massive 435-foot bomb to left-center that brought Leody Taveras and Jackson Holliday home. A few batters later, Christian Encarnacion-Strand went even deeper, launching a 450-foot solo shot to make it 4-0. The Birds ended the day with 16 hits and two walks for those 13 runs, going 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Efficient is an understatement.
That Wild Eight-Run Fifth That Blew It Open
The fifth inning was where the Orioles truly broke the Cardinals. They sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs on seven hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch. Get this, six of those seven hits were singles! It was station-to-station baseball at its absolute finest, and it was the most productive frame of the entire 2026 Orioles season, believe it or not. Holliday and Alonso opened the inning with back-to-back singles, then Gunnar Henderson walked to load the bases. Coby Mayo singled into left field to knock in Holliday, which forced Cardinals manager Oli Marmol to pull starter Matthew Liberatore for Pete Strzelecki. That didn’t help. Encarnacion-Strand greeted the new pitcher with a two-run single, scoring Alonso and Henderson. After a Samuel Basallo strikeout, Christian Franklin got hit by a pitch to reload the bases. Dylan Beavers walked in a run, Taveras singled in two more, Holliday poked one up the middle for another RBI, and then Alonso capped it all off with an RBI double. That’s how you put a game completely out of reach.
Concerns Amidst the Carnage
As awesome as that win was, the cloud hanging over it is Pete Alonso’s calf injury. He left the game with a flare-up, and you know that’s going to be the main topic of conversation until we hear more. Beyond that, even in a 13-1 blowout, there were a couple of guys who struggled. Samuel Basallo and Gunnar Henderson combined to go 0-for-9, with Basallo looking especially lost, striking out four times against pitchers his teammates were teeing off on. This road trip is crucial for the Orioles, and while the win is huge, keeping their slugger healthy for the rest of this stretch is what matters most.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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