ST. LOUIS – Seattle standout pitcher Bryan Woo, who hadn’t allowed a home run in 2026, surrendered four of them to the Cardinals in just three innings of work on Saturday.

Cards closer Riley O’Brien, who came into Saturday having not given up a run over 13 appearances, was shelled for four hits, two earned runs and two more runs that went to fellow reliever JoJo Romero.

Yep, it was that kind of odd offensive assault at Busch Stadium where there were eight homers, 20 runs scored, 33 hits, 17 runners left on base and no errors. The game was tied at 2, 7 and 9 and the Mariners wiped out a three-run deficit and a two-run deficit in a downright zany 11-9 defeat of the Cardinals in one of the wildest, back-and-forth games of the 2026 MLB season.

“Today was a weird game and I’ve haven’t ever been a part of many games like this,” admitted Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero, who was tagged for two hits and two earned runs while retiring just two hitters. “The best thing you can do with a game like this is wash it and show up to compete (on Sunday).”

Incredibly, there were runners on base in all 18 half innings. The eight homers from the two teams tied for the high in MLB in 2026 and it was one long ball short of the all-time high at Busch III. The combined 33 hits were the most in MLB this season and three shy of the Busch III record of 36, set in 2008 in a game between the Braves (10 hits) and Cardinals (26 hits).

“We executed our plan and put up nine hits and seven runs (against Woo) and got into their ‘pen,” Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol said. “But unfortunately it was the worst day for the other side of the ball club (the pitching staff).”

The day was tough one to digest for Cardinals’ outfielder Nathan Church, who enjoyed the first multi-homer game of his MLB career – and his first Busch Stadium curtain call – and he also went high above the wall to rob a potential homer by Mitch Garver to open the seventh inning. The result ultimately soured what should have been a glorious day for the 25-year-old Church.

“It was a good day for our offense, and we put up a lot of runs, but the outcome just didn’t happen for us the way that we wanted it to,” Church, who drove in a career-best four runs and has now reached base safely in seven straight games. “WE did a really good job of scoring right away and getting a bunch of hits off Woo. So, it was a good day for the offense.”

It wasn’t such a good day for a Cardinals pitching staff expected to be put to the test over the next 2 ½ weeks in series against the Pirates, Dodgers, Brewers and Padres. On day two of a daunting stretch where they will play 17 games in 17 days, the Cardinals’ pitching staff had to scramble when starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore was hammered for eight hits, five earned runs and three homers in 3 1/3 innings. Liberatore, the team’s Opening Day starter, has now surrendered eight homers in six starts.

O’Brien, who had thrown 13 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball coming into Sunday, was forced to throw a season-most 39 pitches after yielding four hits, a walk and two earned runs. Pinch-hitter Connor Joe hit O’Brien’s first pitch – a 100.1-mph sinker in the heart of the plate – for a two-run single to knot the game at 9. O’Brien’s last pitch of the day – a 99.5-mph sinker in the heart of the plate – was also clubbed for a two-run single in the top of the ninth to give the Mariners their first lead since the second inning when it was 4-2.

“I’m going to take a little bit of time and try not to think about the game and then (Sunday) morning I’ll watch the game and go over it again and be ready to go,” said O’Brien, who dropped to 3-1 on the season and saw his previously unblemished ERA jump to 1.26. “I’ll take what I can from it, not stew too long from it and don’t overthink it. I’ll just take what I can from it and use it for the next outing.”

With hitting coach Brant Brown proudly describing Saturday as “National Fastball Day,” the Cardinals offense seemed very prepared to turn around Woo’s four-seam fastballs. They used homers from rookie JJ Wetherholt, DH Ivan Herrera, Church and Pedro Pagés to build a seemingly safe 7-4 lead.

Unfortunately for them, the Mariners offense was just getting warmed up on this day.

Church, the hero of the game most of the day, came up with a chance to tie the game again with a third homer in the bottom of the ninth, but he tapped into a double play to end the 3-hour, 16-minute slugfest.

“We were just trying to look for something good to hit and we did a pretty good job of that today.”

Pedro Pagés, who had three hits, two RBI and a homer that curled around the left field foul pole, exited the game in the bottom of the seventh after legging out an infield single. The catcher was shelved by left hamstring tightness, per the club. Jimmy Crooks, one of the club’s top prospects after making his MLB debut in August of 2025, could be recalled from Triple-A Memphis if a roster move is necessary.

Shortstop Masyn Winn delivered his fifth straight game with at least two hits. Also, he has 11 RBI in the past seven games – the first for a Cardinals shortstop since Paul DeJong in 2023.

A Mariners team sans Brendan Donovan (groin strain) and one that has had trouble scoring runs all season showed no signs of letting up despite falling down 7-4. A Cole Young homer made it 7-5, and RBIs by Randy Arozarena (sac fly) and Dominic Canzone (single) knotted the score at 7.

Superstar centerfielder Julio Rodriguez had three hits and a first-inning home, while Young added three hits and an RBI. Four Mariners had at least two RBI.

“I mean I’ve pitched in every ballpark, and I’ve not seen a day like this,” said Romero, whose ERA rose to 3.55. “It seemed like everything in the air was going very far and hit very hard. I’ve never been a part of a game like this in my career.”

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