The St. Louis Cardinals battled the struggling Baltimore Orioles in a three-game set at Camden Yards, where the Redbirds took two of three games due to a faulty Baltimore bullpen.
The Cardinals came off a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend but failed to hit 41-year old Charlie Morton, Baltimore’s game one starter on Memorial Day, where he pitched 6 innings with 4 hits, 6K’s, and 2 runs by a lone Pedro Pages homer to the left field corner. Cardinals game one starter, Eric Fedde, gave the Redbirds a chance to get back into the game with 5 innings of 3 run ball, but The Cardinals ultimately dropped game 1 to the Orioles by a 5-2 loss.
Game two was an absolute soaker as the late May showers hooked northeast and dumped rain all throughout the evening matchup. But as the bottom fell out at Camden yards, so did the Cardinals offense, where the Birds returned to form with a massive 14 hit night. “Mr. Ground Ball” Andre Pallante took the hill and pitched a manageable night where he issued 3 walks, gave up 7 hits and 4 runs (1 unearned), but Pallante executed several huge pitches to wriggle out of some high traffic situations. The big mistake was a missed spot with a fastball, where Orioles DH Ryan O’Hearn hit a 405 ft. bomb to right center, making it a 4-3 Orioles ballgame.
But despite the cold Maryland gale, the wet and heavy infield dirt caking on their cleats, and downright miserable conditions, the Cardinals came back from an empty game one to rack hits up and down the lineup where shortstop Masyn Winn tied the game with a base hit in the Cardinal’s seventh 4-4. 3-time All-star Nolan Arenado smashed a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning. The bottom of the lineup executed excellent situational hitting where they scored two more unanswered in the eighth and ninth inning. Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar finished the game with a much needed 3-4 night. Closer Ryan Helsley sealed the deal to claim the save (11). Stephen Matz snatched the win of game 2, where the Redbirds tied the series with a 7-4 comeback victory.
In the weather-delayed rubber game of the series, Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas faced off with Cade Povich on another rain saturated evening on Wednesday. But the rain didn’t matter for a relentless Cardinals offense. The Birds on the Bat took advantage of the uncomfortable conditions and improvised a game plan when they were down 3-0 going into the fourth inning: Hit what Povich gives you. Right fielder Jordan Wlker cashed in a couple runs on a bases loaded knock to left in the third. But Donovan continued his incredible first half with a go-ahead two-run blast in the fifth, making it a 5-4 game. As Cardinals Broadcaster Chip Carry exclaimed, “Brendon Donovan, you are the father of Mr. Povich!”
Once again, the Cardinals have found a new way to win ball games. It doesn’t matter the conditions, it doesn’t matter the context. For this 2025 St. Louis team, the boys constantly figure out a way to get the job done through sheer determination, passion, and true grit. They won a series purely in comeback fashion and incorporated their isolated power in their barrage of situational offense. They are scrappy and have been fun to watch thus far.
The Birds continue their American League Road trip with a three-game set with the ice-cold Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas. First pitch at 8:05 EST.
I'm a writer trying to make his mark in the baseball journalism world. I graduated with a journalism degree from Union University where I pitched four years of D2 baseball.
