The Baltimore Orioles escaped Busch Stadium with an 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, handing St. Louis a gut-punch one-run defeat in nine innings. Leody Taveras drove in three runs and went deep for Baltimore, while Pete Alonso added a two-run homer to give the Orioles enough cushion to hold on. The Cardinals put up seven runs and got multi-hit games from Iván Herrera and Bryan Torres, but starter Michael McGreevy could not keep Baltimore off the board early, and reliever Riley O'Brien took the loss after surrendering the decisive run in the ninth.

Cardinals Offense Shows Life But Falls Short

St. Louis was not quiet at the plate. Herrera went 3-for-4 and Torres matched him with three hits in three at-bats, giving the Cardinals plenty of traffic on the bases throughout the night. Nolan Gorman provided the biggest individual moment for the home side, going deep for his solo shot in 3 at-bats to keep St. Louis within striking distance. Kyle Bradish, who started for Baltimore, was not sharp — he surrendered seven earned runs on nine hits across just 4.1 innings — but the Orioles bullpen slammed the door the rest of the way, with Grant Wolfram earning the win and Andrew Kittredge notching the save despite allowing a hit and a walk in his inning of work.

McGreevy Unable to Keep Baltimore Quiet

Michael McGreevy had a rough night on the mound. The Cardinals starter gave up 10 hits and seven earned runs over five innings, walking two and striking out three. That kind of start puts a team in an immediate hole, and while the St. Louis offense clawed its way back to make it a one-run game, the deficit McGreevy created proved too steep to fully overcome.

The Cardinals bullpen provided some relief — literally and figuratively. Luis Gastelum was sharp, posting a perfect inning with three strikeouts. Ryne Stanek tossed a clean frame with a strikeout. George Soriano worked a scoreless inning. But O'Brien, who drew the ninth-inning assignment, allowed two hits and a run, and that one run made all the difference on the final scoreboard.

Orioles Lineup Spread the Damage

Baltimore's offense did not rely on one hero. Christian Encarnacion-Strand was the Orioles' most consistent bat, going 4-for-5 with two RBI. Taveras hit his home run and drove in three total. Alonso contributed a two-run shot. Colton Cowser and Samuel Basallo each had two-hit nights. Dylan Beavers added an RBI. It was a collective effort that gave the Orioles offense plenty of ways to put runs on the board, and they needed most of them against a Cardinals lineup that kept fighting back.

Turning Point

The ninth inning was where this game was decided. With St. Louis trailing by one and Baltimore's bullpen holding, O'Brien came on and could not hold the line. The Orioles tacked on a run — their eighth of the night — and that extra cushion proved to be the margin. Kittredge closed it out, and the Cardinals were left stranded.

Key Performances

  • Iván Herrera: 3-for-4 for St. Louis
  • Bryan Torres: 3-for-3 for St. Louis
  • Nolan Gorman: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI for St. Louis
  • Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 4-for-5, 2 RBI for Baltimore
  • Leody Taveras: 1-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI for Baltimore
  • Pete Alonso: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI for Baltimore
  • Luis Gastelum: 1.0 IP, 3 K, 0 ER out of the Cardinals bullpen

What's Next for the Cardinals

St. Louis drops this one at home and will need to bounce back quickly. The Cardinals generated enough offense Wednesday night to win a baseball game — seven runs against an Orioles starter who did not have his best stuff — but the pitching, particularly early, did not hold up its end of the bargain. The Cardinals will look to regroup and even things up in their next outing.