The game turned on one swing in the eighth inning. Ryan Kreidler doubled to center, scoring Luke Keaschall with what proved to be the winning run as Minnesota defeated St. Louis 5-4 at Target Field.
Kreidler went 2-for-2 with an RBI, providing the decisive blow after the teams had traded leads throughout the afternoon. JJ Wetherholt paced St. Louis with a 2-for-5 performance that included a home run and three RBIs, while Victor Caratini answered for Minnesota with a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
The Cardinals struck first when Alec Burleson homered to right in the fourth inning, but Caratini's two-run blast to right center immediately put Minnesota ahead 2-1. Wetherholt's two-run homer in the sixth gave St. Louis a 3-2 lead, then his RBI single in the seventh extended it to 4-2. Minnesota answered with two runs in the seventh - Byron Buxton's RBI single made it 4-3, then Royce Lewis tied the game with another RBI single.
George Soriano took the loss for St. Louis, allowing three hits and one run over 1.2 innings. The reliever suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 3-1. Taj Bradley worked 6.2 innings for Minnesota, allowing four runs on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Minnesota snapped a one-game losing streak to improve to 32-40, while St. Louis fell to 38-30 despite the strong offensive showing. Byron Buxton is nine doubles away from 200 career doubles, while Taj Bradley sits 10 strikeouts from 500 career strikeouts.