After Tommy Edman’s 425-foot leadoff homer off Atlanta left-hander A.J. Minter had tied the game in the eighth, O’Neill picked up both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, who had struck out with two runners on.
O’Neill did it by turning around a 97 mph fastball — same as Edman — except this one landed 423 feet away in the center-field greenery and provided a 6-3 victory. This second comeback win in two nights against the defending World Series gave the Cardinals the upper hand in the showdown three-game series.
O’Neill’s 10th homer followed a walk to Lars Nootbaar and an error on Brandon Donovan’s sacrifice bunt.