Orioles' Rally Falls Short, but Coby Mayo's 446-Foot Homer Keeps the Finish Loud

Coby Mayo celebrates with Orioles teammates after a home run in St. Louis.

The Orioles' rally falls short in a 7-5 loss to the Cardinals, but Baltimore refused to let a six-run hole turn Thursday's series finale into a quiet exit. Coby Mayo supplied the biggest swing, launching a three-run homer that briefly changed the shape of the afternoon.

St. Louis built a 6-0 lead before the Orioles found their footing. Baltimore's offense had spent the first part of the game chasing the damage, and Trevor Rogers could not give the club the stable opening it needed. The Cardinals added enough early pressure to make every later mistake expensive.

Jackson Holliday started the response with an RBI double, continuing to create opportunities from the top of the order. Then Mayo unloaded in the seventh. His 18th home run traveled an estimated 446 feet at 111.2 mph, clearing the wall with authority and pulling Baltimore within two runs.

The swing was more than cosmetic. Mayo has spent this season turning raw power into repeatable major-league damage, and the homer showed why Baltimore continues to build important at-bats around him. When he stays through the middle of the field, few hitters on the roster can change a game as quickly.

Baltimore pushed another run across and brought the tying possibility closer, but St. Louis protected the margin. The Orioles could not complete the comeback, settling for a 7-5 final and a 65-69 record. Still, the late fight kept the finale from erasing the offense shown earlier in the series.

The result also leaves a clear contrast with Kyle Bradish's start in the middle game: Baltimore needs cleaner innings before its power can matter. Mayo's homer made the finish loud, but the next step is pairing that force with enough early control to avoid spending nine innings climbing uphill.