Blake Jordan hit a three-run homer and made the defensive play of the game when he changed directions to snag a wild throw from reliever George Soriano. Jordan, who tagged out Gunnar Henderson at third, left with a badly sprained left ankle as the Cards beat the Orioles 7-5 to end a five-game skid.
After an offseason where the Cardinals traded away former All-Stars Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan to begin a rebuilding cycle, the club knew that it was going to need power to come from some surprising sources to keep the offense afloat in 2026.
While Jordan Walker blossoming into an All-Star and a Home Run Derby champion certainly qualifies as a major surprise, the power surge that the Cards have gotten from their rookies has been a major key in the organization staying in the playoff chase all season.
Blaze Jordan, one of six Cardinals rookies to homer in 2026, drilled a three-run homer and veteran infielder Ramon Urias added a two-run shot as St. Louis beat the Orioles 7-5 to break a season-long five-game losing streak on Thursday. Jordan also made the defensive play of the day, but badly sprained his ankle in the process and is expected to land on the Injured List by Friday.
"I don't have anything just yet (on Jordan's injury), but it didn't seem like a good thing," Marmol said of the third baseman, who has hit .247 with a .658 OPS in his rookie season. "I mean, he's going to miss some time, most likely."
The Cardinals have played an MLB-most 73 games decided by two runs or fewer, and they improved to 38-35 with Thursday's narrow victory.
When Jordan crushed a 1-0 changeup from Trevor Rogers some 416 feet and onto the grassy berm in center field, it gave the Cardinals 42 homers from their rookie class in 2026. That ranks first in the National League and second in MLB only to the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, it was Jordan’s first homer of his young MLB career at Busch Stadium, a stadium he grew up traveling to while rooting for the Cardinals fan as a native of Southaven, Miss.
Jordan sprained his left ankle in the eighth inning when he had to change directions to snag a wild throw from reliever George Soriano and apply a tag on Gunnar Henderson at third base. Jordan was unable to put any weight on his left foot and had to be helped off the field by trainer Chris Conroy and Marmol.
Urias, who is finally healthy after struggling with pain in both of his elbow most of the season, also smashed a two-run homer against his former team. Urias's two-run shot off Rogers in the fourth inning gave the Cards a 5-0 lead.
"I was looking for a fastball the whole game and simplify things," said Urias of his third homer with the Cards. "(Rogers) has a good fastball, so I was just looking to hit that. I'm just excited to be back. It took me a long time to get back, but I am finally pain-free and I'm so happy about that."
Reliever Gordon Graceffo got the second start of his MLB career – and the first since 2024 – and pitched three perfect innings for a Cardinals team short on starting pitching after putting Andre Pallante (right elbow inflammation) and Hunter Dobbins (right forearm tightness) on the 15-day Injured List.
Justin Bruihl, Luis Gastelum (4-3), Caleb Ferguson, Soriano and Riley O'Brien followed in relief as the Cardinals leaned on their bullpen to get them through the series finale against an Orioles team that won 13-1 and 8-7 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Bruihl allowed two hits and an earned run while recording five outs. Gastelum, a rookie who has allowed just one earned run over his last 10 2/3 innings of work, struck out two in 1 1/3 innings of scoreless innings of work on Thursday.
Ferguson, who came over from the Reds just before the MLB Trade Deadline to give the bullpen another veteran left-handed pitcher after the departure of JoJo Romero, yielded a towering three-run shot to Colby Mayo in the seventh inning to make it a 6-4 game. Mayo’s 18th homer of the season left the bat at 111.2 mph, and it traveled 446 feet – just four feet shorter than the 450-foot shot that teammate Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit on Tuesday for Busch Stadium’s longest long ball in 2026.
Soriano struck out red-hot slugger Pete Alonso in the eighth inning after Jackson Holliday led off with an infield single. However, a batter later, Gunnar Henderson drilled an elevated changeup into the left-center gap to make it a 6-5 game.
Soriano got a big break when Samuel Basallo hit a comebacker and he threw wildly to third base only to see Jordan snag the throw and tag out Henderson while spraining his ankle. Unable to put any weight on his left ankle, Jordan could be headed to the Injured List where Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn already occupies a spot because of a fractured left thumb.
O’Brien factored heavily in two recent losses, blowing a 4-0 lead with two outs in the ninth inning on Sunday in Philadelphia and after surrendering an earned run in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. On Thursday, he had no trouble closing out his National League-leading 34th save.
The Cardinals won for the first time in a week after getting swept by the Phillies over the weekend and in the first two games of the series against Baltimore.
Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson drove in a run to push his RBI total to 99 – one short of MLB leader Sal Stewart of the Reds. Also, he is close to becoming the first Cardinals’ left-handed-hitting first baseman since Keith Hernandez in 1979.
Walker, who went 2 for 4 with two singles on Thursday, leads Burleson in homers (27-21), but he trails his lineup mate in RBI (99-97), doubles (33-29) and hits (149-146).
