masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgJ.J. Hardy belted his 11th home run to finally put the Orioles on the scoreboard in the eighth inning.

Hardy connected off Cardinals reliever Ryan Franklin, sending the ball an estimated 406 feet to left-center field.

And you thought the night was going to be a total loss.

You can’t judge a trade this early, but giving up minor league relievers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson for Hardy during the winter meetings seems like a good one for the Orioles.

Dare I say “steal?”

Too soon?

Adam…J.J. Hardy belted his 11th home run to finally put the Orioles on the scoreboard in the eighth inning.

Hardy connected off Cardinals reliever Ryan Franklin, sending the ball an estimated 406 feet to left-center field.

And you thought the night was going to be a total loss.

You can’t judge a trade this early, but giving up minor league relievers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson for Hardy during the winter meetings seems like a good one for the Orioles.

Dare I say “steal?”

Too soon?

Adam Jones doubled to score Nick Markakis and reduce the Cardinals’ lead to 6-2. Franklin is coming out of the game.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Norfolk’s Chris Tillman held Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to one run and five hits over seven innings. Nice recovery after he allowed six runs (five earned) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings in his previous start.

Jake Fox has homered twice, upping his total to six. He’s batting .281 with 15 RBIs.

Steven Bumbry hit his fourth homer for Single-A Frederick. Manny Machado is 1-for-3.

Update: Luke Scott made a leaping catch at the fence to rob Matt Holliday of a home run. He slammed his right knee against the padding and bent at the waist for a few seconds in obvious pain before jogging off the field with a limp.

Can you jog with a limp? If so, Scott was doing it.

Update II: Blake Davis is pinch-hitting for Scott. I’ll pass along an update after the game.