photo: Ivan Herrera (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The Cardinals finished their disappointing 78-win season by being swept in Chicago. DH Ivan Herrera posted a 1.059 OPS the final week and a team-best .837 for the season. Our “Blast from the Past” feature highlights key events this week in team history.
Game recaps
Monday, September 22, 2025 – Cardinals 6 at Giants 5
On Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals edged the San Francisco Giants in the first of a three-game series at Oracle Park.
Starter Michael McGreevy pitched five innings, gave up five runs on six hits, struck out two and walked three and received his eighth win of the season.
The pen was strong. Ryan Fernandez relieved McGreevy and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. John King hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Kyle Leahy and JoJo Romero each tossed a scoreless inning. Romero earned his eighth save.
The Cardinals tied the game with a run in the third. José Fermin doubled and advanced to third on Victor Scott’s sac bunt. Iván Herrera walked. Alec Burleson singled and Fermín scored.
St. Louis added a run in he fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Jordan Walker drew a walk, stole second base and came home on a double by Fermín.
San Francisco put up three runs to regain the lead 4-2. The Cardinals answered with a four-run top of the fifth to take the lead again at 6-4. Lars Nootbaar singled. Herrera followed with a two-run home run. Burleson singled. Nolan Arenado doubled. Pedro Pagés reached on a fielder’s choice. Burleson scored on a throwing error. Arenado came home on a force out by Walker.
The Giants answered with a run in the home fifth to cut the lead to 6-5 but the scoring ended there.
The offense scored six runs on 10 hits. Burleson was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Fermín was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Herrera had two RBI.
Walker stole his ninth base. He and Nootbaar each had an outfield assist at second base. Arenado made a throwing error.
Tuesday, September 23, 2025 – Cardinals 9 at Giants 8
The Cardinals again beat the Giants by one run on Tuesday. Starter Andre Pallante pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up five runs, two earned, on three hits, fanned four and walked two.
John King relieved Pallante and threw a scoreless inning. Jorge Alcalá surrendered two runs in 1 1/3 innings. Chris Roycroft yielded one run in two innings. Matt Svanson hurled a scoreless eighth to earn the win. JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien combined to toss a scoreless ninth, with the latter receiving his sixth save.
The Cardinals took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Brendan Donovan doubled. Iván Herrera singled. Alec Burleson singled and Donovan scored. Herrera came home on a double play by Nolan Arenado. Lars Nootbaar doubled and scored on a single by Thomas Saggese.
The Giants put up five runs in the third to take a 5-3 lead. They added two runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth to increase their lead to 8-3.
St. Louis scored four runs in the seventh to cut the gap to 8-7. Jordan Walker doubled. Victor Scott walked. Herrera followed with a three-run home run. Arenado hit a solo long ball.
The Cardinals scored twice in the ninth to win the game, 9-8. Scott singled. Donovan plated Scott on a double. José Fermín pinch ran for Donovan. Alec Burleson drove in Fermín on a single.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 15 hits. Herrera was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Burleson was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Donovan was 4-for-5 with an RBI. Arenado was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Nootbaar was 2-for-5. Scott scored two runs.
Arenado stole his third base of the season. Scott was caught stealing. On defense, Arenado made a throwing error for the second consecutive game.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 – Cardinals 3 at Giants 4
The Cardinals failed to sweep the Giants by losing Game 3 by the score of 4-3. Starter Sonny Gray pitched six innings, gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits, fanned seven and walked two.
Kyle Leahy relieved Gray and threw a scoreless seventh. Riley O’Brien surrendered a run in the eighth and took the loss.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the top of the third to take the lead. Victor Scott singled. Brendan Donovan doubled and Scott scored. Donovan came home on a single by Iván Herrera.
San Francisco tied the score in the home third and took a 3-2 lead in the fourth.
In the top of the eighth, St. Louis tied the game at 3-3. Herrera singled. Alec Burleson doubled. Herrera scored on a sac fly by Nolan Arenado.
The Giants took the 4-3 win with a run in the bottom of the eighth as St. Louis was unable to score in the ninth.
The Cardinals scored three runs on seven hits. Herrera was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
On defense, Scott and Jordan Walker each made a fielding error. Burleson had a missed catch error.
Thursday, September 25, 2025 – Off day
Friday, September 26, 2025 – Cardinals 1 at Cubs 12
The Cardinals were blown out by the Cubs in a 12-1 rout at Wrigley Field on Friday. In what may be his final start as a Cardinal, Miles Mikolas pitched five innings, gave up four runs on four hits, fanned four and walked one. Mikolas took the loss.
John King threw a scoreless sixth. Gordon Graceffo surrendered five runs in 1/3 of an inning. Chris Roycroft yielded three runs in the final 1 2/3 innings.
The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. They added two runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth to lead 4-0.
The Cardinals scored their only run in the top of the seventh. Nolan Gorman doubled. Thomas Saggese singled. Jordan Walker singled and Gorman scored.
The Cubs put the final nails in the coffin with a seven-run bottom of the seventh and made it 12-1 in the eighth.
The offense scored one run on five hits. Gorman was 2-for-4. The offense was 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
Saturday, September 27, 2025 – Cardinals 3 at Cubs 7
On Saturday, the Cardinals fell to the Cubs in the second game of the series by the score of 7-3. Michael McGreevy pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up three runs on six hits, struck out three and walked two. McGreevy took the loss.
John King relieved and threw 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Fernandez surrendered two runs in the sixth. Matt Svanson hurled a scoreless seventh. Jorge Alcalá yielded two runs in the eighth.
The Cubs went up 1-0 in the first inning. The Cardinals tied the game in the fourth on a solo home run by Nolan Arenado.
Chicago scored two runs in the fifth to regain the lead 3-1. They made it 4-1 in the sixth.
St. Louis put up two runs in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-3. Jimmy Crooks singled and Jordan Walker followed with a two-run home run.
The Cubs answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh to increase the lead to 5-3. They extended their lead to 7-3 with a two-run eighth.
The Cardinals scored three runs on seven hits. Arenado was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Crooks was 2-for-4. Walker had two RBI.
On the bases, Walker stole his 10th base of the season. Iván Herrera was picked off and caught stealing.
Sunday, September 28, 2025 – Cardinals 0 at Cubs 2
The Cardinals were blanked by the Cubs 2-0 on Sunday in the final game of the season and were swept in the series. Bullpen starter Kyle Leahy pitched three scoreless innings, allowed one hit and struck out one.
John King relieved Leahy and surrendered one run in 1 2/3 innings. Matt Svanson threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Fernandez yielded one unearned run in the seventh. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless eighth.
In the fifth, the Cubs took a 1-0 lead and added a run in the seventh to win 2-0.
The Cardinals scattered six hits. Thomas Saggese was 2-for-4. Victor Scott was 2-for-3.
On the bases, Scott stole his 34th base of the season. On defense, Jimmy Crooks had a passed ball.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals finished the final week of the season with a 2-4 record. They took two of three from the Giants but were swept by the Cubs in Chicago. They finished the season with a record of 78-84 for fourth place in the NL Central.
The NL Central is sending three teams to the postseason, as the Reds attained the final Wild Card spot with a Mets loss on Sunday.
St. Louis’ offense was mostly absent during the Cubs series. The Cardinals had been formally eliminated from the postseason with the final loss to the Giants, which may have played a part in their lackluster performance at Wrigley Field. In any event, the team now heads to wherever they go in the offseason.
The top performers for this final week by OPS are Brendan Donovan (1.667 in nine ABs) and Iván Herrera (1.059). Next closest was Nolan Arenado (.838). At the bottom were Pedro Pagés (.385) and Yohel Pozo (.000 in four ABs).
For the entire season, no Cardinal had an OPS of .900 or better. The top hitters were Herrera (.837) and Alec Burleson (.802).
On the starting pitching side, only Sonny Gray (3.00) had an ERA for the final week under 4.00. Matthew Liberatore was shut down early and did not make a start. His spot was taken by Kyle Leahy, who pitched three scoreless innings in Sunday’s loss to the Cubs.
For the season, the best ERA among starting pitchers was posted by Sonny Gray (4.28). The highest was Andre Pallante (5.31).
The bullpen in the final week was okay except for clunkers by Gordon Graceffo (135.00) and Jorge Alcalá (15.43). For the season, the bullpen, with some exceptions, performed better than the starting rotation.
The next time we will see a Cardinals team will be in February for Spring Training. The team may look substantially different, with some members moving on to other teams and others arriving.
Almost certainly, Miles Mikolas will not be a Cardinal. It’s quite possible neither Nolan Arenado nor Sonny Gray will return. Willson Contreras may or may not be as well, though his movement off the team is the least likely of the three veterans.
Others who may move on are unknown at this time. Led by Chaim Bloom, the new regime taking over will make that decision.
As for the organization itself, there may be changes in the front office and coaching staff as well; only time will tell.
Final NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB |
| Milwaukee | 97 | 65 | 0.599 | ||
| Chicago | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | 5 | |
| Cincinnati | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 14 | |
| St. Louis | 78 | 84 | 0.481 | 19 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh | 71 | 91 | 0.438 | 26 | 12 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
- LHP Zack Thompson (left lat strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 7. Latest report on Thompson as of September 3 is that he is still at the Cardinals’ spring training facility in Jupiter but has been shut down from throwing.
- SS Masyn Winn (right knee torn meniscus) was placed on the 10-day injured list on September 13. Winn had surgery on Thursday, September 25 and it went as expected. Winn expects to be working out at full speed by January and be ready for Spring Training.
- 1B Willson Contreras was placed on the 10-day injured list on September 17, retroactive to September 16. Contreras is suffering from a right shoulder strain and was shut down for the season.
- DH Iván Herrera will have offseason surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow. Herrera was not placed on the injured list and continued to play.
- 2B Brendan Donovan (groin) was effectively shut down for the final series but was available to play in an emergency.
Looking Ahead
The regular season has ended, and the Cardinals will not play in the postseason. The offseason will officially begin once the postseason is over, but the Cardinals will now head home and prepare for Spring Training.
Outgoing President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak will meet with the media on Monday, with his replacement Chaim Bloom doing the same on Tuesday.
The Wild Card Series will begin on Tuesday, September 30, and end on Thursday, October 2.
The Wild Card series winners will play in the Division Series, which are best of five games that run from Saturday, October 4 through Saturday October 11, if necessary.
During this period, the Arizona Fall League opens on Monday, October 6 and will continue through Wednesday, November 12. The Cardinals are sending eight players to the AFL, who will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. They are RHP Chen-Wei Lin, RHP Darlin Saladin, RHP Tyler Bradt, RHP Randel Clemente, RHP D.J. Carpenter, C Graysen Tarlow, OF Miguel Ugueto, and OF Travis Honeyman.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past will again highlight notable events that occurred in the franchise’s past during a particular period.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during September 22 through 28 and focus on such things as records set or broken or other notable player accomplishments, transactions, and any other unique event.
For each event, its date, the individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are noted.
September 22, 1948 – On this date, Cardinal icon Stan Musial recorded five hits in five at-bats in an 8-2 win over the Boston Braves. Musial tied Ty Cobb’s major league record and set the NL record with this feat. His five hits included a double, a home run, and three singles. He went 5-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.
September 23, 1930 – On this date, in a 19-16 win over the Phillies, the Cardinals collected 26 hits to set a franchise record. The Cardinals would not again have 26 hits in a game for another 78 years.
September 23, 1941 – On this date, Stan Musial recorded his first career home run in a 9-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field.
September 23, 2022 – On this date, Albert Pujols hit his 699th and 700th career home runs in a 11-0 rout of the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He hit number 700 off Dodgers relieved Phil Bickford in the fourth inning.
September 24, 1926 – On this date, the Cardinals won their first ever NL Pennant in a 6-4 win over the New Giants at the Polo Grounds. The team went on to win their first World Series title against the Yankees on October 10.
September 26, 1983 – On this date, Cardinals pitcher Bob Forsch threw his second career no-hitter in a 3-0 shutout of the Montreal Expos at Busch Stadium.
September 28, 1924 – On this date, Cardinals’ 2B Rogers Hornsby finished the season with a .424 batting average to win the NL batting title.
September 28, 1930 – On this date, Cardinal Dizzy Dean threw his first career complete game against the Pirates. The Cardinals won the game 3-1 as Dean allowed only three hits.
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