Adam Wainwright finally gets his 199th win and the Cardinals beat the AL-leading Orioles 5-2

BALTIMORE (AP) — Adam Wainwright pitched five solid innings for his 199th win, and the St. Louis Cardinals spoiled John Means’ return for Baltimore by beating the Orioles 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Richie Palacios hit a home run in his first two plate appearances after entering the game as a pinch-runner for the injured Nolan Gorman in the second. It was such a night for the Cardinals. Wainwright (4-11) ended a streak of seven losses and a streak of 11 straight games without a win. The 42-year-old right-hander, who is retiring after this season, allowed two runs and seven hits.

It was a frustrating loss for the Orioles, who entered the AL East with a three-game lead over Tampa Bay, but the big question for Baltimore that night was how Means (0-1) would perform. He made his first appearance since Tommy John surgery in April last year.

The Centers allowed home runs to Paul Goldschmidt in the first and Palacios in the fourth, but he made it through five innings and allowed just four hits. He could be a game-changer for the Orioles as they look to address their inexperienced rotation.

The Cardinals are in last place in the NL Central, but they helped Wainwright move within one win of a major milestone. Giovanny Gallegos, Matthew Liberatore, John King and Ryan Helsley struck out in relief, with Helsley making his ninth save.

Wainwright took the mound with a 1-0 lead in the first and immediately walked the first two batters, but he escaped that jam. Jordan Walker added a sacrifice fly in the second period and Palacios scored in the fourth to make it 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth quarter, Wainwright got out of a bases-loaded one-out situation when James McCann hit a double play. In the fifth, Baltimore finally scored a few runs ahead when Anthony Santander hit an RBI single and Ryan O’Hearn hit Gunnar Henderson with a force out.

Palacios hit another home run in the seventh and Lars Nootbaar added an RBI single to make it 5-2.

The Orioles got their first two batters on base in the seventh, but Cedric Mullins grounded in a double play and it was pretty clear this wasn’t Baltimore’s night.

The Orioles went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

TRAINING ROOM

Cardinals: Gorman hit an infield single in the second and then immediately left the game with right hamstring strain. … C Willson Contreras left the game in the sixth with a bruised right hand.

NEXT

Baltimore sends RHP Kyle Gibson (14-8) to the mound against LHP Drew Rom (0-2) on Wednesday night. The Orioles traded Rome to the Cardinals last month as part of the deal that brought RHP Jack Flaherty to Baltimore.