A model of consistency for so long, the St. Louis Cardinals are suddenly struggling to stay relevant.
Even after taking two of three against both the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox, the Cardinals were six games under .500 entering Monday. They’ve rebounded from a seven-game losing streak earlier this month, winning five of their last seven through Sunday, but they were seven games out of first place and their minus-49 run differential was by far the worst in the National League Central.
The Cardinals went 71-91 last year, snapping a streak of 15 straight winning seasons. If they finish with a losing record two years in a row, it would be the first time they’ve done that since the strike-shortened 1994 and 1995 seasons. You have to go all the way back to 1958-59 to find the last time the Cardinals were under .500 for two consecutive non-shortened seasons.
This is the franchise that let Albert Pujols leave and kept right on contending. The team that turned an 83-win season in 2006 into a World Series title. It’s hard to write off the Cardinals, but it’s also getting harder to see a particularly bright future.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs currently are battling for the division lead. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are under .500 with the Cardinals, but the Pirates have several years of Paul Skenes to look forward to. The same with the Reds and Elly De La Cruz.
The Cardinals have only one top-50 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s ranking — and that’s right-hander Tink Hence, who is ranked 49th and currently in Double A. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman and Dylan Carlson were top St. Louis prospects over the past few years. Carlson is batting .130, and Walker was sent back to the minors after a 9-for-58 start to 2024. Gorman is batting .200.
Masyn Winn, the team’s 22-year-old infielder, has been a little better, but only the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox have fewer runs this season than the Cardinals. And that’s after the St. Louis offense finally showed some signs of life this past week, twice scoring 10 runs and twice scoring seven.
On their way back?
The Houston Astros dug themselves quite a hole early this season, but the worst may be over. After sweeping the Oakland Athletics and taking two of three from the Brewers, the Astros had won nine of their last 11 through Sunday. Although they were still 21-26 and in third place in the American League West, FanGraphs gave them a 56% chance to make the playoffs.
Line of the week
Skenes threw six no-hit innings for the Pirates against the Cubs on Friday, striking out 11 before being pulled after 100 pitches. It was only his second big-league start, and the 2023 No. 1 draft pick already has made history. His 11 strikeouts were a franchise record for a starter at Wrigley Field, where the Pirates have played more than 1,000 games.
Comeback of the week
Down by four in the bottom of the ninth, the Miami Marlins came back to tie it against New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz thanks to an RBI single by Jazz Chisholm and a three-run homer by Josh Bell. Otto Lopez then gave the Marlins a 10-9 win with a 10th-inning single.
The Mets had a 98.8% win probability in the ninth inning, according to Baseball Savant. It was that kind of week for the Mets, who dropped three of four to the first-place Philadelphia Phillies before losing two of three to the last-place Marlins.
