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What he did know is that challenges aren鈥檛 made 鈥渇or no reason.鈥�

Upon review, Herrera鈥檚 throw to second baseman JJ Wetherholt arrived in time and on target for Wetherholt to apply a tag on De La Cruz before the Cincinnati speedster reached the bag. The call was overturned, which put an end to the streak of stolen bases against Herrera that reached 62 consecutive steals. That streak dated back to Sept. 1, 2024.

The overturned call drew some smiles and laughs from Herrera and other Cardinals players and coaches. It provided Herrera with a moment and souvenir to hold onto as he looks to continue growing as a catcher.

鈥淭hat's just something you see and you look at 鈥� and just remember how hard you worked to get the things right and know that you're capable of doing everything you believe in and everything you work for,鈥� said Herrera, who saved the ball from his first caught stealing in nearly two years.

Herrera鈥檚 caught stealing came as part of a 1-for-4 game that included a solo homer to lead off the fourth inning. The homer gave the Cardinals their first run in a 6-5 loss in 10 innings in Cincinnati. The performance marked the first big league game of Herrera鈥檚 career where he threw out a base stealer and homered in the same game.

A first-time All-Star this year, Herrera saw 55 stolen bases on 59 attempts against him in 2024 and did not stop any of the 15 attempts against him in 2025, when he was kept mostly away from the catching position because of two separate leg injuries. Herrera acknowledged near the end of the 2025 season that he had played through pain in his right elbow over three seasons. He underwent surgery on his right elbow this past offseason and used his spring to continue his throwing progression following the surgery.

Herrera said the offseason surgery altered what a normal winter program would look like for him as it limited him in strength training and weightlifting, which he said he typically does through October. He鈥檚 continued during the season to find ways to improve in preventing stolen bases and even received recent tips from another big league player on finding an edge in stopping base stealers.

Herrera, the Cardinals鈥� primary designated hitter this year, saw base stealers go 36 for 36 in the first 45 games he started at catcher. The overturned call made De La Cruz the first base stealer Herrera nabbed since he threw out Juan Soto while Soto was a Yankee in September 2024.

鈥淔or me to show that I'm capable of doing that, it just gives me extra confidence in myself because, believe it or not, you doubt yourself,鈥� Herrera said late Monday after the doubleheader.

Mathews returned to Class AAA

The Cardinals returned left-handed starter Quinn Mathews to Class AAA Memphis ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 game vs. the Reds. Mathews was brought up as the 27th player for Monday鈥榮 doubleheader. He completed four innings on 95 pitches, allowed one run and struck out seven batters in his start during a 2-1 win in Game 1 of the doubleheader.

鈥淗e (Mathews) did a nice job of getting out of some innings and making some pitches and punching out seven,鈥� Marmol said Tuesday. 鈥淏ut ... staying on the attack and (throwing) first pitch strikes and limiting the pitch count, not allowing it to get as high as it does early in the game, is still going to be something that he continues to pay attention to.鈥�

In his four innings, Mathews issued three walks, had a first-pitch strike rate of 41% and a whiff rate of 30%, per Statcast.

Mathews said he didn鈥檛 do a 鈥済reat job鈥� in 0-0 counts, which he acknowledged 鈥渁dd up.鈥� He noted the frequent 1-0 counts cost innings, outs and lead to lengthy at-bats. Mathews鈥� lengthiest at-bat of the afternoon was an 11-pitch battle against Dane Myers that ended with Myers hitting a solo homer on a 2-2 slider, which Mathews said he 鈥渟hook to鈥� but learned from.

鈥淭here are probably other avenues I should have gone after specifically with him and what we had done to him up through that point in the game,鈥� Mathews said in between Games 1 and 2 of Monday鈥檚 doubleheader. 鈥淢aybe if I execute it doesn't go out, but you throw a bad pitch in a bad location and good hitters hit mistakes, and that's exactly what he did.鈥�

Prospects Condon, Padilla promoted up a level

Top Cardinals prospects Trevor Condon and Yairo Padilla were promoted to Class Low-A Palm Beach and Class High-A Peoria, respectively, it was announced on Tuesday.

Condon, the Cardinals鈥� first-round pick (13th overall) during this year鈥檚 MLB draft, joined Palm Beach鈥檚 roster with three weeks鈥� worth of games remaining in its regular-season schedule. Condon, 18, started in center field and batted second for Palm Beach on Tuesday. The start marked his first appearance in an official professional game.

Padilla, a 19-year-old switch-hitting shortstop prospect, hit .281 with an .828 on-base plus slugging percentage and nine doubles in 29 games with Class Low-A Palm Beach. He started at shortstop and batted eighth Tuesday for Peoria in his Class High-A debut.