ST. LOUIS — Michael Siani caught a break, and he took advantage of it.
During his at-bat in the fourth inning of the Cardinals game against the Orioles on Monday night, Siani took an 0-2 pitch which appeared to be strike three but was called a ball by home plate umpire Laz Diaz.
Two pitches later, Siani launched his first career home run, a three-run shot, that increased the Cardinals lead to 5-0 and carried them to the win at Busch Stadium.
Siani, known more for his defensive ability than his offense, had driven in the first Cardinals run with a single in the second inning. Prior to Monday night’s game, Siani had driven in only two runs all year, just one in his last 41 plate appearances.
The home run was the first of the season out of the ninth spot in the batting order for the Cardinals, who have now homered in each of their last eight games.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Siani’s homer followed an RBI double from Masyn Winn, extending his hitting streak to 11 games … Winn also drove in the final Cardinals’ run in the seventh with a slow roller to the right side of the infield, when nobody covered first base … Alec Burleson also had two hits, raising his average to .301 … The Cardinals tied their season high with four stolen bases.
On the mound: Sonny Gray allowed only two baserunners through the first five innings, both via walks … In the sixth, Winn committed errors on consecutive plays to begin the inning, having a popup go off his glove and then kicking a ground ball, before Gray surrendered a three-run homer to Gunner Henderson … The Orioles got two more singles off Gray before JoJo Romero relieved and stranded both runners … Romero, John King, Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley combined to hold the Orioles hitless over the final three and 1/3 innings. Helsley earned his 14th save.
Key stat: The Cardinals’ ninth-place hitters had combined to drive in only five runs in the season’s first 46 games, which had been tied with the Orioles for the fewest in the major leagues.
Worth noting: Reliever Ryan Loutos was recalled from Memphis to give the Cardinals a fresh arm in the bullpen. When Loutos makes his major-league debut he will become the first graduate of Washington University to play in the majors since former Cardinal Dal Maxvill’s career ended in 1975. Loutos said he expected to have about 40 family members and friends at Monday night’s game … Chris Roycroft was optioned to Memphis in the corresponding move, and Alfonso Rivas III, playing at Memphis, was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster … Manager Oli Marmol said the Cardinals will keep their rotation in order after Thursday’s day off, giving the starters an extra day off, which means they will need a starter for Saturday night’s game. “It’s a tough situation,” Marmol said. “We’re thinking through it. We have a need in the rotation that at the moment we can’t fill.”
Looking ahead: Lance Lynn, who has won only one of his nine starts, will get the start in the second game of the series on Tuesday night. The win came in the only game in which Lynn pitched past the fifth inning.
