Baltimore had its own attrition to manage — Ryan Helsley and Felix Bautista still working back from shoulder and elbow injuries, Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle both out for the year. But the Orioles had taken 2 of 3 from Tampa Bay before rolling into St. Louis, and Tyler O'Neill's shoulder scare, with an MRI pending as first pitch approached, didn't stop the lineup from doing plenty of damage without him.
The finale lived up to that setup fast. Baltimore broke through for 4 runs in the 3rd, then blew it wide open with 8 more in the 5th, finishing with 16 hits against just 7 for St. Louis. Liberatore had punched out 9 without a walk his last time out against Cincinnati — none of that swing-and-miss carried over here, and the Cardinals' bullpen never found a way to slow the bleeding.
Both clubs are sitting right around .500 with more than a month left, and nights like this one are exactly what separates the contenders from the pretenders down the stretch. For Baltimore, it's another data point that the lineup can mash even with O'Neill out and the bullpen shorthanded. For St. Louis, it's a fourth straight loss and further proof the pitching depth chart isn't holding.
The form cards tell the story from both directions — Baltimore riding momentum into the series, St. Louis scuffling through a stretch that included getting swept before this one. Nothing about Tuesday's final score breaks from either trend.