– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Richie Palacios needed a little time to warm up after coming into the game as a pinch runner and an injury replacement in the second inning.
But why stop at just warm?
Palacios’ bat proved to be red hot, smacking two home runs — his second and third of his career — as the Cardinals defeated the first-place Baltimore Orioles 5-2 to even the three-game series inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Tuesday. Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings of work, snapping a career-worst 10-game losing streak and earning his 199th career victory.
The Cardinals scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings to take a 3-0 lead, with Paul Goldschmidt opening the scoring with a solo home run in the first off Orioles starter John Means, who was making his first start in the big leagues since April 13, 2022, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Palacios, who came into the game replacing an injured Nolan Gorman in the second inning, homered in his first at-bat in the fourth to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead.
Those runs were just enough for the 42-year-old Wainwright, who allowed the Orioles to score two runs in the fifth to cut the Cardinals’ lead to one, but hunkered down late in the inning to qualify for the win. With the tying and go-ahead runs on second and third for the Orioles and two outs, Wainwright struck out Adam Frazier swinging on a curveball to maintain the lead. Four Cardinals relievers combined to shut out the Orioles the rest of the way, allowing just two hits. Ryan Helsley pitched a 1-2-3 ninth through the heart of the Baltimore order to earn his ninth save of the season.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday evening’s contest, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Phillip Peters. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 35 pictures in total.
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