ST. LOUIS _ The Minnesota Twins, who set a big league record with 307 homers last season, predictably won the home-run battle Tuesday, homering five times to one for the Cardinals in a doubleheader.
But while three of the Minnesota homers accounted for six runs in a 7-3 first-game victory for the Twins at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals played the smallest of small ball in the nightcap, scoring five runs on just two hits in the third inning to provide for a 6-4 win in the second game.
It was the first game out of four in which the Cardinals had beaten the Twins this season.
The Twins slugged their fourth home run of the day in the second inning of Game 2 when rookie Brent Rooker cracked his first big-league homer, a two-run drive off Cardinals right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon. Miguel Sano had opened the inning with a single.
But the Cardinals combined two hit batters, three walks, a fielder's choice and their two singles for the five runs in the third to take a 5-2 lead. Matt Carpenter started the inning with a single to center off Randy Dobnak, who was kayoed during the inning. Matt Wieters and Tommy Edman were both hit by pitches, Harrison Bader bolted from third and beat first baseman Sano's throw on a grounder and Rangel Ravelo drove in a run with a single past a drawn-in infield.
Carpenter, batting for the second time in the inning, accepted a full-count walk from reliever Caleb Thielbar to force home the fifth run.
The highlight of the inning came on a non-scoring play. After Carpenter walked, Wieters worked a 19-pitch at-bat, fouling off 14 of them, before flying to center to end the inning. That is believed to be the longest at-bat by a Cardinals hitter since at least 1940.
Twins pitchers tossed 54 pitches to get the three outs in the inning.
After Ponce de Leon, returning as the 29th man to pitch in the doubleheader, left the game, Genesis Cabrera, John Gant, Andrew Miller and Giovanny Gallegos finished up for the Cardinals. Gallegos gained his fourth save, though he allowed Nelson Cruz's 15th homer, tying for the major league lead, in the seventh and final inning.
Kolten Wong had given Gallegos a bit more cushion by singling in a run in the Cardinals' sixth.
