JJ Wetherholt smacked a two-run homer and Jose Fermin added a two-run double to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Ivan Herrera joined Wetherholt with two hits as St. Louis ended a two-game slide and won for the 10th time in the past 14 games.
Shea Langeliers hit his 100th career homer and also had a two-run double for the Athletics, who lost their second straight game.
Andre Pallante (4-3) gave up three runs and four hits over five innings for the Cardinals. Ryne Stanek and JoJo Romero pitched scoreless innings before George Soriano served up Langeliers’ homer in the eighth.
Riley O’Brien worked the ninth for his 12th save. He walked Lawrence Butler to start the frame before inducing pinch hitter Jonah Heim to bounce into a double play.
O’Brien then retired Jeff McNeil with a comebacker to match San Diego’s Mason Miller and Cleveland’s Cade Smith for the major league lead in saves.
The Athletics’ Jeffrey Springs (3-3) allowed four runs and seven hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked three.
The Cardinals jumped all over Springs at the outset with a four-run first inning.
Wetherholt started the game with a walk, moved to third on a single by Herrera and scored on Jordan Walker’s RBI single.
Springs retired the next two batters before Fermin ripped a two-run double to center. Yohel Pozo followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0.
The Athletics answered with three runs in the bottom of the second after Pallante retired the first two hitters.
Darell Hernaiz was called out on a grounder, but the A’s successfully challenged and he was ruled safe for an infield single. McNeil followed with a single before Nick Kurtz delivered an RBI single to stretch his on-base streak to 35 consecutive games.
Langeliers then delivered a two-run double to left-center to pull the Athletics within one.
Joel Kuhnel was on the mound in the sixth for the A’s and he gave up a one-out single to Nolan Gorman before Wetherholt slammed a full-count slider over the fence in right to give St. Louis a 6-3 lead on his eighth homer.
Langeliers led off the bottom of the eighth and jumped on the second pitch from Soriano, sending it 448 feet to left for his 12th homer to bring the A’s within two.
Hernaiz played shortstop in place of Jacob Wilson, who was placed on the 10-day injured with a dislocated left shoulder earlier in the day.
–Field Level Media
