最新杏吧原创

Observing from afar, it felt like athletic excellence defined the Cardinals tenures of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols. Extraordinary accomplishments, no doubt. Still, it just felt as though there must be something more that lifted them to their exalted status as sports paragons of 最新杏吧原创.

They鈥檙e unmistakably iconic figures, the type universally recognized by one name. If you just say 鈥淎lbert,鈥� it鈥檚 understood who you mean. Same with the name 鈥淵adi.'鈥� Include Adam Wainwright, 鈥淲aino,鈥� and it鈥檚 clear that trio are engrained into this area and its culture 鈥� not just the sports culture 鈥� in a distinct way.

When he faced the Giants on Monday night, marking his second look at San Francisco鈥檚 lineup in the span of a week, Cardinals rookie starter Quinn Mathews felt his slider and fastball, the two pitches he leaned on most over 6 2/3 innings, were not 鈥済reat early鈥� despite the quality results.

Mathews retired the first nine Giants hitters he faced. He recorded four strikeouts in that stretch, with two coming on his fastball and one via his slider. The two pitches combined for six whiffs as he worked through the first three frames on 34 pitches.

Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy remembers the conversation he had after a start near the end of the 2025 season at Wrigley Field that put into perspective the toll a full regular season in the majors takes and the prep needed for what may follow.

That day, McGreevy threw 4 2/3 innings to complete a rookie season that included 95 2/3 innings in the majors and 75 in Class AAA. The right-hander remembers talking with then-president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and being commended for his work in the start. He responded by telling Mozeliak his arm 鈥済ave it everything he had,鈥� which led Mozeliak to remind the young starter about the grind the Cardinals hope they get to after September.

Quinn Mathews started strong and Riley O'Brien rebounded from a blown save two days earlier to help the Cardinals secure a 2-1 series-opening win over the Giants on Monday.

Here's what manager Oliver Marmol as well as O'Brien, Mathews and catcher Leo Bernal had to say afterwards.

Caught in yet another close game on Monday night at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals and closer Riley O'Brien found themselves 90 feet away from seeing the slim lead they held over the Giants disappear.聽

Up 2-1 in the ninth, O'Brien allowed a one-out single and issued a walk to put the game-tying run on second base, and a wild pitch that bounced by catcher Leo Bernal allowed the runner to reach third base.

With just 12 games to play, the die is mostly cast on this Cardinals team: strong defense, middling hitting, surprisingly strong starting pitching and a sup-par bullpen.聽

But how does that bullpen stack up historically?

The final homestand of the regular season is winding to a close, and the wild-card chatter has cooled before the weather. So naturally the questions in the weekly Ask the Baseball Writer are starting to turn toward the winter, the offseason, and even slightly to the future.

Although, that鈥檚 harder to see with a lockout staring back at us.

I was not looking at the forest.

It was Aug. 25, the Cardinals鈥� first day back at Busch Stadium since the previous road trip鈥檚 brutal end.

The twist of the schedule brings Tony Vitello back to 最新杏吧原创 for his first visit as manager of the San Francisco Giants but for one of their last series. Instead of an early visit when the summer is warm with possibilities, Vitello arrives as fall approaches and the season鈥檚 chill has already been decided, the Giants , and his own learning curve continues as it reaches home.

Leaning against a railing outside the Giants dugout this past week at Oracle Park, he considered a question about how different he is for a late-season series where he grew up vs. one earlier in the season.

It was during the Cardinals鈥� trip to Atlanta, as the calendar was turning from June to July, when manager Oli Marmol spoke with first baseman Alec Burleson and made it clear the team would continue to count on him on days they faced lefties.

At that time, Burleson was batting .280 with an .824 on-base plus slugging percentage on the year but had a .183 batting average in 93 at-bats vs. lefties. The 2025 utility Silver Slugger Award winner in the National League was slugging .273 vs. lefties while he produced a .578 slugging percentage in 218 at-bats vs. right-handers in his first year as the Cardinals' starting first baseman.