DENVER — Don’t let the elevation fool you: Few things can pump lots of air into a deflated team and its flat offense better than a visit to Coors Field.

Sparked first by a solo home run by Willson Contreras that jolted the lineup out of a stupor, the St. Louis Cardinals peppered Colorado with a 15 hits to rally and then run away with 6-2 victory Monday night. Contreras went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, and shortstop Masyn Winn added three hits as the Cardinals scored four consecutive innings to back a superb start by rookie Michael McGreevy.

Back for a fifth time from Class AAA Memphis – and perhaps this time to stay – McGreevy pitched a season-high seven innings and stymied the Rockies through the middle of the game as the Cardinals’ offense stirred.

After a misspent weekend in Arizona that included a whole lot of deficits and zero wins, the Cardinals emerged from the All-Star break and the desert parched for runs.

The series went so poorly against the Diamondbacks that it nudged the team closer to selling at the trade deadline on July 31.

The first few innings against Austin Gomber, the lefty starter they long ago traded to Colorado in the Nolan Arenado deal, didn’t give any indication the Cardinals were close to shaking loose from the funk. The game began with a pair of singles only to screech to scoreless first with three flyouts. The Cardinals pressed on later – with nine more hits against Gomber and a mathematical dissection of the Rockies’ early lead.

The Cardinals produced a run in every inning from the fourth through the seventh but never more than two runs for a tidy series on the line score: 2-1-2-1.

McGreevy makes firm bid to stay

Hours before the young right-hander threw a pitch, manager Oliver Marmol made it clear how he wanted the next few days to go: “I hope it’s not a spot start.”

For the first 100 games of this season that has been exactly McGreevy’s role. He spot-started as the No. 6 starter. He spot-started for a doubleheader. He spot-started when the Cardinals needed to build-in a break for the other starters. His appearance Monday at Coors Field — ostensibly to buy lefty Matthew Liberatore a break this turn through the rotation — was McGreevy’s fifth spot start of the regular season.

He made a strong case for it to be his last.

McGreevy (2-1) pitched through the seventh inning and limited the Rockies to two runs on seven hits. The runs came on a series of bloops and bounders that McGreevy quickly quelled with a double play. That double play started McGreevy’s streak of retiring 11 consecutive Rockies. That coincided with the Cardinals generating the rallies that took the lead, added to the lead, and ultimately secured the win.

McGreevy needed 91 pitches to complete seven innings.

Nine of the outs came on the ground.

Situationally sound hit collecting

With so few home runs this season to nourish the offense, the Cardinals need innings exactly like they got in the sixth inning to cook.

A mix of singles ready to mingle with situational hitting added to the lead.

The Cardinals first seized that lead in the top of the fifth when Contreras’ brought home Brendan Donovan to snap the 2-2 tie. To that point in the game, every Cardinals’ rally had involved an RBI from Contreras. The lineup cobbled together the breakaway runs without his help — but help from so many other corners.

Arenado singled — and stole second.

Jordan Walker singled — and took third on a base hit.

Pedro Pages fell behind 0-2, eventually singled, and brought home Arenado.

Victor Scott II? He bunted and outran the throw for a base hit that loaded the bases.

When the inning got back around to Donovan, the Cardinals’ All-Star and leadoff hitter skied a ball to deep center field that assured Walker would score on the sacrifice fly. The two-run jag that pushed the Cardinals out to a 5-2 lead included four singles, a steal, a bunt, that sacrifice fly and a tag up from first. Two of the singles were Walker and Scott outrunning throws to first base. The inning ended with a groundout, but the scoring did picked back up in the seventh.

Contreras got back involved.

He led off with a double and scored on Walker’s RBI.

Third times the charm for Rockies

Having bunted and then run their way out of potential rallies in the first two innings, Colorado managed to take advantage of some fortune in the third inning.

For the third time in as many innings, the Rockies got their leadoff batter on base against McGreevy. In the first inning, Mickey Moniak singled only to have the inning come apart when a teammate gave up an out to bunt him into scoring position. In the second inning, Ryan McMahon singled to right to begin the second inning. He was thrown at home, and teammate Brenton Doyle was caught stealing for two outs on the bases in the inning.

Take 3: No. 9 hitter Adael Amador flared a single to left to start the third.

The Rockies didn’t exactly drill any of McGreevy’s pitches in the inning, but they flipped and threaded enough bases hits in the third inning to pair with an error for a 2-0 lead. Amador scored when center fielder Victor Scott II misplayed a base hit to center. Two batters later, Moniak scored from second on a base hit that slipped through to center field.

Masyn Winn backhanded a blistering grounder to start the double play that got McGreevy out of the inning and kept Colorado from adding to its 2-0 lead.

Contreras muscles Cardinals back

One pitch into the top of the fourth, the Cardinals began their answer.

Contreras catapulted Gomber’s first pitch for a 443-foot home run that immediately cleaved Colorado’s lead in half and set the theme for the Cardinals’ outburst to tie the game. Contreras’ 13th homer of the season did what the Cardinals could not all weekend in the Arizona — answer before a game got away.

Teammates Arenado and Winn then followed with back-to-back doubles to knot the game, 2-2. Arenado poked his double down the first-base line, and Winn pulled his down the third-base line. Winn’s 20th double of the season brought Arenado home for the tying run.

Like the Rockies, the Cardinals had squandered an earlier chance. The game began with back-to-back singles for the Cardinals before Gomber got three consecutive flyouts to keep the first inning scoreless. The next chance the Cardinals had with a runner in scoring position they got an extra-base hit to level the score.

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