Three takeaways from the Cardinals' series win in Baltimore

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The Cardinals pulled off yet another series win, this time against the American League-best Baltimore Orioles. With a 1-0 win on Wednesday, they secured their third consecutive series win and improved their record to 65-81 on the year, which obviously is still less than desirable, but at least there are signs of life.

Certain issues emerged during the series. Dakota Hudson had a bad start in the series opener, allowing seven runs in less than five innings. Nolan Gorman also got hurt and landed on the injured list for the second time in less than a month.

However, in the end, the Cardinals came out on top and beat yet another strong postseason contender, continuing their trend of playing the role of spoiler down the stretch.

Next up is a rematch with the defending National League champion Phillies, who come to St. Louis after they swept the Cardinals at home in August. But the series against the Orioles was certainly a step in the right direction for this team, especially as they start to look toward 2024 and potentially return to contention after a disappointing season.

But now is a good time to look back on this recent series with the Orioles and what went right for the Cardinals. We saw some truly incredible performances from certain players this week in Baltimore, and it may set the Cardinals up for a little more success as we move closer to the end of the season.

In this piece, we will discuss three major takeaways from the series between the Cardinals and Orioles.

Richie Palacios' power surge

When Nolan Gorman got hurt, it appeared that the Cardinals were in some trouble.

However, they turned to a viable weapon off the bench to take Gorman's place in Richie Palacios. With the Cardinals up 2-0 in the fourth, Palacios hit a missile to right field that got out of Camden Yards in a hurry. He poked another one out of the yard in the seventh as the Cardinals held on for a 5-2 win, which helped give Adam Wainwright win No. 199.

A home run from Palacios was the Cardinals' lone tally on Wednesday, but it was all they would need as they held on to pull away with a series win. Palacios drew the start at second base with Gorman out.

Waino moves closer to 200

Speaking of Adam Wainwright's 199th win, he pitched a solid game on Tuesday. The 42-year-old ran into a little bit of trouble early on, but he worked around it. There was also a little bit of traffic in the fourth and fifth innings, but the veteran righty bore down and made his way through five innings.

He struck out three and only allowed two runs on seven hits, while also walking three Orioles hitters. Giovanny Gallegos, Matthew Liberatore, John King, and Ryan Helsley made it stand up with four combined shutout innings.

Drew Rom's first win

Palacios also helped another Cardinals pitcher pick up an important win. In the series finale, Drew Rom made his first start against the Orioles since being sent to St. Louis for Jack Flaherty, who didn't pitch in the series.

Rom's first cup of coffee hasn't been such a smooth ride, as he owns an ERA of 5.96 on the year. But Wednesday was his best start of the year. He only allowed two hits in 5.1 innings and struck out seven batters while walking just three.

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He gave way to Casey Lawrence in the sixth, but the bullpen held on and helped secure Rom's first big-league win.

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