Richie Palacios homered, rookie Drew Rom and four relievers combined on a three-hitter and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Baltimore 1-0 Wednesday night to trim the Orioles' lead in the division to two games.

In a game dominated by strong pitching and tight defense, Palacios provided the lone run with a solo shot over the right-field scoreboard in the fourth inning off Gibson (14-9). It was his fourth homer of the season and third in two nights.

Gunnar Henderson’s two-out triple off Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning gave the Orioles a chance to pull even, but Aaron Hicks popped out.

Making his fifth major league start since being traded from Baltimore to the Cardinals on Aug. 1, Rom allowed two hits over 5 1/3 innings and left with a 1-0 lead. Effectively changing speeds and using both sides of the plate, the lefty struck out six and didn't give up a hit until Jorge Mateo beat out a grounder with two outs in the fifth.

Rom, selected in the fourth round of the 2018 draft by Baltimore, was part of the multi-player deal that send Jack Flaherty to the Orioles.

Cardinals OF Nolan Gorman was placed on the 10-day injured list after straining his right hamstring on Tuesday night.

After an off day Thursday, the Cardinals and LH Zach Thompson (5-5, 4.06 ERA) take on the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.