DETROIT (Interstat) — Iván Herrera’s two-run single capped a decisive four-run fifth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals, leaning on a bounce-back start from Kyle Leahy, salvaged the finale of a three-game series with a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night at Comerica Park.

The Cardinals, who had been shut out and outscored 15-6 in the first two games of the series, improved to 5-4. The Tigers fell to 4-5.

The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the top of the fifth inning, breaking a 2-2 deadlock and shifting momentum permanently to the visitors. The inning began against Detroit starter Keider Montero (0-1) with Nolan Gorman singling and Thomas Saggese walking. After a force out, Pedro Pagés lined an RBI single to left to score Gorman for a 3-2 lead. The next batter, Victor Scott II, laid down a sacrifice bunt, but reliever Enmanuel De Jesus’s throwing error allowed another run to score, moved Pagés to third and Scott to second. Following a fly out, Herrera delivered the critical blow, lining a 1-2 pitch into right field to plate both Pagés and Scott, stretching the lead to 5-2.

That outburst made a winner of Leahy (1-1), who provided five innings of steady work after a rough outing in his previous start. He allowed two runs on five hits, striking out four and walking one. The two runs came via a two-out, two-run homer by Kerry Carpenter in the third inning that gave Detroit an early 2-0 lead. Leahy navigated subsequent traffic, stranding a runner at third in the fourth and working a clean fifth.

The Cardinals’ bullpen, while occasionally precarious, sealed the win over the final four innings. JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek and George Soriano combined for two scoreless frames before Soriano allowed a run in the sixth on a Javier Báez sacrifice fly. Romero and Stanek were particularly effective, retiring all five batters they faced with three strikeouts.

Detroit threatened again in the sixth, loading the bases with one out after the sacrifice fly, but reliever JoJo Romero entered and induced an inning-ending force out from Gleyber Torres to preserve a 5-3 lead.

Riley O’Brien worked a perfect ninth inning, striking out one, to record his second save of the season.

The Tigers’ offense, which erupted for 11 runs on Saturday, was held in check outside of Carpenter’s blast. They managed six hits, drew six walks and left eight men on base, going 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Montero took the loss, charged with two runs on three hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Beyond Herrera’s key hit, the Cardinals received contributions from Pagés, Scott and Gorman, each of whom scored a run and drove in another. St. Louis matched Detroit with six hits but capitalized more effectively on its opportunities and a critical defensive mistake.

The game, played in 2 hours and 53 minutes, was witnessed by a crowd of 28,823. The result defied pregame projections, as Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 5-4 Detroit victory, and its ELO system gave the Tigers a 58% probability to win. Detroit had been installed as a 1.5-run favorite.

For St. Louis, the victory halted a two-game skid and provided a positive start to a 10-game road trip that continues Monday in Washington against the Nationals. The win also marked a positive turnaround for Leahy, who had surrendered four runs in five innings in a loss to the New York Mets on March 30.

Detroit, after taking the series, heads to Minnesota to begin a four-game set with the Twins on Monday, looking to climb back above .500.

The Cardinals’ victory was a textbook example of seizing a pivotal moment. After being stymied by Tigers pitching for much of the series and falling behind early, their patient fifth-inning approach against Montero and the subsequent exploitation of De Jesus’s error created the opening Herrera needed. His single through the right side not only provided crucial insurance runs but also underscored a night where St. Louis’s execution in the clutch outpaced Detroit’s, allowing them to depart the Motor City with a series split and momentum restored.