Cardinals beat Rockies with trio of two-run homers

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Marcell Ozuna, Paul DeJong and Dexter Fowler each recorded two-run homers for the St. Louis Cardinals only runs in a win against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium.

Ozuna's smash began the barrage. The Cardinals slugger smacked his 23rd bomb of the season, crushing a 1-1 German Marquez knuckle-curve over the left field fence in the fourth inning of the 6-5 win Thursday in St. Louis.

"[Fowler] was swinging the bat well and finally got one where they couldn't catch it," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told reporters. "It was obviously a big swing. He was all over pitches all night."

Ozuna's 105-mph blast tied the score at 2-2. Nolan Arenando answered for the Rockies with a three-run shot in the top of the next inning, giving Colorado a 5-2 advantage.

DeJong stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, helping spark a Cardinals rally. The Cardinals shortstop took a called strike from Marquez before ripping an 0-1 slider over the center field fence. DeJong's 422-foot bomb had an exit velocity of 105 mph, according to Statcast.

St. Louis trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the seventh frame. The Rockies pulled Marquez for relief pitcher Yency Almonte. Almonte walked Matt Carpenter to start the inning before Fowler came to the plate. The Cardinals outfielder took two consecutive balls to begin his exchange with Almonte before smacking a 96.8-mph fastball out of the ball park for a late lead in the game.

Fowler's 401-foot two-run shot had an exit velocity of 101 mph and left the field in 4.8 seconds. Both Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas and Marquez were roughed up in their outings, but the St. Louis bullpen was nearly flawless down the stretch. Cardinals relievers combined to hold the Rockies without a hit or a run over the final three innings.

Fowler was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a run scored and a strikeout in the win. Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Cardinals. Ozuna was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run scored and a strikeout. DeJong was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a run scored and a strikeout in the win.

The Cardinals host the Rockies at 8:15 p.m. EDT Friday in St. Louis.