Orioles 13, Cardinals 1: Alonso Goes 4-for-4 in an Eight-Run Fifth

Four runs, then eight more

August 25, 2026 – St. Louis – Matthew Liberatore got through two quiet innings. The third was the warning. The fifth was the game.

Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer in the third, his 31st of the year. Christian Encarnacion-Strand followed with a solo shot. By the time Baltimore finished the fifth, the Baltimore Orioles led 12-1 and the St. Louis Cardinals were already looking at tomorrow.

The final was 13-1. Baltimore piled 16 hits. St. Louis scored once, on Nathan Church's homer in the third, and never got another run across.

Liberatore never got a clean inning back

Alonso's homer scored Leody Taveras and Jackson Holliday. Encarnacion-Strand made it 4-0 before Church cut it to 4-1. That was the Cardinals' entire night.

Liberatore lasted four innings: eight hits, eight runs, one walk, seven strikeouts. He was not nibbling. Baltimore just kept putting the ball in play hard. Peter Strzelecki inherited the fifth and made it worse (four hits, four runs, one-third of an inning).

The fifth inning ran like a relay that nobody dropped. Coby Mayo singled home Holliday. Encarnacion-Strand singled home Alonso and Gunnar Henderson. Dylan Beavers walked in a run. Taveras singled in two more. Holliday singled in Beavers. Alonso doubled in Taveras. Eight runs. Twelve-one. Beavers doubled home another in the sixth for 13-1.

Alonso finished 4-for-4 with a homer, a double, four RBI, and two runs. Encarnacion-Strand had two hits, a homer, and three RBI. Holliday had three hits. That is a middle-of-the-order night, not a cheap eight-run inning on walks and errors. St. Louis had one error. Baltimore did the damage with the bats.

Bassitt made one run look expensive

Chris Bassitt threw 6 2/3 innings, six hits, one run, zero walks, five strikeouts. Church's homer was the only Cardinals run. Yennier Cano got the last out of the seventh. Anthony Nunez struck out five in two innings of mop-up.

A 13-1 road win does not need a gem. Baltimore got one anyway. Bassitt never let the game get interesting after the fifth.

St. Louis used five pitchers. Ryan Fernandez was the only one who looked comfortable (two innings, one hit, no runs). By then the scoreboard was already a problem, not a contest.

AthX Engine and a 28-point night

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Baltimore at 28 team fantasy points, the high on Tuesday's slate. Alonso's 14 hitting fantasy points sat near the top of the daily hitter board. St. Louis finished at minus-12 team fantasy points. That is what a 13-1 home loss looks like when the starter does not get out of the fourth.

Fantasy points measure the night. They are not share price.

What's next

The same clubs play again Wednesday. Kyle Bradish starts for Baltimore. Michael McGreevy starts for St. Louis. One night like this does not reset a season. It does tell you which lineup cashed traffic and which staff ran out of answers in the fifth.

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*Sources: MLB Gameday, MLB schedule, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*