ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright allowed two runs in seven innings, Tyler O'Neill homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Indians 8-2 to stop a six-game losing streak.
O'Neill hit a 451-foot, two-run homer in the third off Phil Maton and a solo homer in the seventh against Trevor Stephan, helping the Cardinals (32-30) avoid what would have been their first seven-game skid since June 2017. O'Neill leads St. Louis with 15 homers and 32 RBIs.
Matt Carpenter drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double that chased Tribe starter Jean Carlos Mejia from the game after just two-thirds of an inning. Paul Goldschmidt also had a solo homer off Stephan.
The Indians (32-27) jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead thanks to RBIs by Eddie Rosario and Harold Ramirez. Unfortunately, the offense managed just one more hit the rest of the way, and Mejia struggled to finish off batters in just his second big league start.
Once seen as an ultimate strength, Cleveland's starting pitching has faltered in recent weeks thanks to injuries and inexperience. Other than Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale, no member of the rotation has registered a win since May 18.
Despite the loss, the Indians (32-27) remain four games behind the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. The Tribe will have Thursday off before welcoming the Seattle Mariners to Progressive Field Friday night for the start of a three-game series, in what will be Cleveland's first MLB contest without capacity restrictions in almost two years.