photo: Quinn Mathews (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
In the second to last week of the 2026 season, the St. Louis Cardinals lost both home series to the Giants and Nationals. Rookie Quinn Mathews posted a 2.63 ERA in two starts. Our history feature highlights memorable happenings this week in team annals.
Game Recaps
Monday, September 14, 2026 – Cardinals 2, Giants 1
The St. Louis Cardinals edged the San Francisco Giants by the score of 2-1 on Monday at Busch Stadium.
Starter Quinn Mathews pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up one run on four hits, walked two and fanned eight to earn his second MLB win.
Justin Bruihl relieved Mathews and finished the seventh cleanly. Ryne Stanek hurled a scoreless eighth. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 37th save.
The Cardinals went up 2-0 in the fifth inning. Thomas Saggese singled and stole second. Iván Herrera walked. Alec Burleson singled to score Saggese. Jordan Walker drew a walk. Leo Bernal drove in Herrera on a single.
The Giants scored their only run in the sixth to reach the final score of 2-1.
The Cardinals scored two runs on eight hits. Bernal was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Burleson was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Saggese was 2-for-4.
Saggese stole his fourth base.
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 – Cardinals 3, Giants 10
The Cardinals were pounded by the Giants in a 10-3 loss on Tuesday.
Starter Andre Pallante pitched five innings, gave up eight runs, six earned, on eight hits, walked two and struck out two. Pallante took the loss, his seventh.
Brycen Mautz relieved Pallante and surrendered one run in 2 1/3 innings. Cade Winquest yielded one run in 1 2/3 innings.
The Giants went ahead 3-0 in the top of the first inning. The Cardinals answered with a run in the home first on a solo home run by Alec Burleson.
San Francisco added four runs in the top of the third increase the lead to 7-1.
St. Louis responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to shrink the lead to 7-2. Masyn Winn singled. José Fermín was hit by a pitch. Bryan Torres walked to load the bases. Winn came home on a sac fly by Iván Herrera.
The Giants made it 8-2 in the fourth.
In the top of the eighth, the Giants extended the lead to 9-2. The Cardinals added a run in the bottom frame to make it 9-3. Fermín doubled and scored on a single by Nolan Gorman.
San Francisco topped their lead with a final run in the ninth to win 10-3.
The Cardinals scored three runs on five hits. No Cardinal had multiple hits.
Winn made a fielding error. Bernal was charged with catcher interference.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 – Cardinals 5, Giants 6 (10 innings)
The Cardinals were edged by the Giants in the final game of the series on Wednesday as the visitors took the set two games to one.
Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched six innings, gave up one run on six hits, walked three and struck out two.
Luis Gastelum relieved Liberatore and surrendered two runs, one earned, in the seventh. Justin Bruihl yielded one unearned run in 2/3 of an innings. Gordon Graceffo threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien relinquished two runs, one earned, in the 10th and took the loss.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. In the top of the seventh, they added two more runs to lead 3 -0.
The Cardinals got on the board in the home seventh with two runs without the benefit of a hit to cut the lead to 3-2. Jordan Walker drew a walk. Thomas Saggese reached on an error. Nathan Church reached on an error and Walker scored. Pedro Pagés walked. Saggese came home on a wild pitch.
San Francisco increased the lead to 4-2 in the eighth.
St. Louis tied the game with a two run ninth. Nolan Gorman walked. Saggese singled. Iván Herrera walked. Gorman scored on a sac fly by José Fermín.
In the top of the 10th, the Giants regained the lead 6-4. The Cardinals managed only one run in the home 10th for the final score of 6-5. Alec Burleson was the tiebreaker runner. Bryan Torres walked. Gorman walked to load the bases. Burleson scored on a sac fly by Saggese.
The Cardinals scored five runs on five hits. Nathan Church was 2-for-5.
Walker stole his 20th base.
Walker made a throwing error. Church had a fielding miscue.
Thursday, September 17, 2026 – Off day
Friday, September 18, 2026 – Cardinals 1, Nationals 9
The Cardinals were beaten up by the Nationals in the first game of the weekend series at Busch Stadium.
Starter Kyle Leahy pitched three innings, gave up seven runs, six earned, on five hits, walked three and struck out one. Leahy took the loss.
Cooper Hjerpe relieved Leahy and surrendered two runs in four innings. Cade Winquest tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Nationals went up 3-0 in the first inning. They added four runs in the third, one run in the fourth, and one run in the sixth to lead 9-0.
The Cardinals finally got on the board with a run in the eighth to stave off a shutout. Nathan Church doubled and later scored on a ground out by Iván Herrera.
The Cardinals scored the one run on seven hits. Leo Bernal was 3-for-4.
Bernal made a throwing error. Jordan Walker and Bryan Torres each had a fielding miscue
Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Cardinals 5, Nationals 8 (11 innings)
The Cardinals lost to the Nationals in the second game of the series by the score of 8-5 in the second extra inning defeat of the week.
Starter Michael McGreevy pitched just four innings, gave up two runs on five hits, walked one and struck out one.
Justin Bruihl relieved McGreevy and surrendered one run in 1 1/3 innings. Luis Gastelum threw 1/3 of a scoreless inning. Brycen Mautz hurled 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Ryne Stanek pitched 2/3 of scoreless innings. George Soriano threw a scoreless inning. Riley O’Brien gave up an unearned run in the 10th. Gordon Graceffo relinquished four runs, two earned, in the 11th and took the loss.
The Nationals went up 2-0 in the first inning. They added a run in the sixth to lead 3-0.
The Cardinals put up two runs in the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2. Winn reached on an error. Pedro Pagés singled to score Winn. José Fermín drove in Pagés on a single.
St. Louis tied the game in the ninth. Nathan Church doubled and scored on a single by Pagés.
Washington plated the tiebreaker runner in the top of the 10th.
The Cardinals pushed a run across in the home 10th to tie the game a second time. Leo Bernal was the tiebreaker runner. Masyn Winn plated Bernal on a single.
The Nationals posted a four-run top of the 11th to surge ahead 8-4. The Cardinals answered with one run to bring the final score to 8-5. Church was the tiebreaker runner, and he scored on a single by JJ Wetherholt.
The Cardinals scored five runs on 14 hits. Fermín was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Pagés was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Iván Herrera was 3-for-5. Church was 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Winn made a throwing error. Bernal was charged with catcher interference.
Sunday, September 20, 2026 – Cardinals 5, Nationals 3
The Cardinals prevailed in the final game of the series with the Nationals to avoid the sweep and end their home season on a high note.
Starter Quinn Mathews pitched seven innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out three.
Luis Gastelum relieved Mathews and threw a scoreless eighth for his fifth win. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 38th save.
The Cardinals took the lead on a first inning solo home run by Iván Herrera. The Nationals tied the game in the top of the second.
St. Louis took back the lead with a run in the third to make it 2-1. José Fermín doubled and scored on a single by JJ Wetherholt.
Washington went back on top with a two run sixth to go ahead 3-2.
The Cardinals surged to a 5-3 win with a three-run eighth on a solo home run by Herrera and a two-run blast by Leo Bernal.
The offense scored five runs on six hits. Herrera was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Fermín was 2-for-3. Bernal had two RBI.
Jordan Walker had and outfield assist at third base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals logged a 2-4 week, losing both series with the Giants and Nationals. The two wins were the culmination of a week of low scoring and extra inning failures.
The team remains in fourth place and were officially eliminated from a playoff spot during the week. They are 21.5 games back of the Brewers, three games behind the Pirates, and four games ahead of the last place Reds. The Cardinals play the Brewers and the Pirates in the final week of the season ahead.
The first half of promise turned into a second half of disappointment. What went wrong is likely multi-faceted but essentially may be simply a lack of stamina for a full season. This is a young team and the experience that comes with playing over many years teaches players how to prepare properly for a long season. The final assessment will tell us more perhaps.
The offense had its ups and downs but more downs in these last few weeks. The offense just could not put it together recently. The top offensive performers for the week by OPS are José Fermín (1.298) and Iván Herrera (1.131). The next closest was Leo Bernal (.870).
At the bottom were Thomas Saggese (.405), Masyn Winn (.398), Jordan Walker (.335), and Bryan Torres (.167).
The starting pitching had some struggles over the week. Andre Pallante, who recently returned from an IL stint, did not pitch well in his start, going five innings with an ERA of 10.80. Kyle Leahy was even worse, throwing three innings with an ERA of 18.00. Leahy has been limited to a pitch count for several weeks. Whether his struggles are a result of the pitch count or evidence of the reasons for said pitch count is unknown. Matthew Liberatore and Quinn Mathews pitched well. Michael McGreevy’s performance has suffered in the second half of the season but that doesn’t appear to be a concern.
The bullpen is the same as it ever was. It is this aspect of the team that needs rethinking and retooling the most before the next season begins.
The roster as a whole is slowly being reduced to its likely core. Ramón Urías was recently released. New bullpen addition Peter Strzelecki was outrighted and has elected free agency. Another late season addition, Everson Pereira, is on a rehab assignment and may end up with the same fate as Strzelecki.
Several others are out for the season with injuries, including Hunter Dobbins and Max Rajcic, who are both likely to miss the entire 2027 season. Blaze Jordan will heal up over the offseason and be back for spring training, whenever that may be. Joshua Báez is the victim of no time left as well.
The final week of the regular season will be played on the road against two NL Central rivals, the Pirates and the Brewers.
St. Louis would have to go 5-1 just to salvage a .500 record for the season. Another 2-4 week would put the Cardinals at 78-84, which would be identical to their 2025 result.
Stay tuned as what is left of the season progresses.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB |
| Milwaukee | 98 | 58 | 0.628 | ||
| Chicago | 87 | 69 | 0.558 | 11 | |
| Pittsburgh | 79 | 77 | 0.506 | 19 | 7 |
| St. Louis | 76 | 80 | 0.487 | 22 | 10 |
| Cincinnati | 72 | 84 | 0.462 | 26 | 14 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 9/16 The Cardinals activated 2B JJ Wetherholt from the 10-day injured list.
- 9/16 The Cardinals activated RHP Peter Strzelecki from the 15-day injured list and designated him for assignment.
- 9/16 The Cardinals designated 3B Ramón Urías for assignment.
- 9/17 The Cardinals sent OF Everson Pereira on a rehab assignment to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 9/18 The Cardinals recalled 3B César Prieto from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 9/18 The Cardinals sent RHP Peter Strzelecki outright to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 9/18 The Cardinals released 3B Ramón Urías.
- 9/19 RHP Peter Strzelecki elected free agency.
Injury Report
- OF Joshua Báez was placed on the 10-day injured list on September 18, retroactive to September 17 with a left oblique strain. Báez will not return in 2026.
- 2B JJ Wetherholt was activated from the 10-day injured list.
- 3B Blaze Jordan was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 28. Left ankle sprain. Jordan will not return during 2026 season. He has been doing field work, but the team was not comfortable with pushing him to full game speed.
- OF Everson Pereira (left hand contusion) is currently on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds.
- RHP Hunter Dobbins (right flexor strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list on August 22. Dobbins underwent right elbow reconstruction surgery and will be out of commission for a minimum of 12 months.
- RHP Max Rajcic had right UCL reconstruction surgery (Tommy John) on July 23. Rajcic will likely miss all of the 2027 season.
Looking Ahead
The regular season concludes with the final road trip of three games each in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. The Pirates series begins on Tuesday, September 22. Andre Pallante is scheduled to make the Tuesday start, followed by Matthew Liberatore on Wednesday, and Kyle Leahy on Thursday.
The final series of the season begins on Friday, September 25 and ends on Sunday, September 27 in Milwaukee. No pitchers have been scheduled yet but will likely be Michael McGreevy, Quinn Mathews, and Andre Pallante.
The Cardinals will have an end of season press conference following the end of the regular season at a date and time to be determined.
The postseason begins on September 29 with the first games of the Wild Card Series. This series concludes on October 1.
Following the Wild Card Series, the Division Series begins on Saturday, October 3 and concludes in both leagues on or before October 10.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues with the series highlighting notable events during the history of the St. Louis Cardinals franchise for a relevant period. The final week of the regular season is upon us, and the post season will begin soon. This time of year brings events such as records being set or broken, roster changes to get ready for the offseason, and other notable events.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during the period September 14 through 20. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
September 14, 1941 – In a 6-5 win over the New York Giants at Sportsman’s Park, right-handed reliever Howie Krist earned the win and ended the season with a perfect 10-0 record. This perfect record establishes the NL record for most wins in a season without a defeat.
September 14, 2022 – Batterymates Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina broke the MLB record for most starts together with their 325th start as pitcher and catcher. The previous record was held by Bill Freehan and Mickey Lolich.
September 15, 1995 –SS Ozzie Smith participated in his 1,554th double play which was a new major league record for twin killings by a shortstop. Smith ended his major league career with 1,590 double plays turned.
September 16, 1966 –RHP Bob Gibson earned his 20th victory of the season and became the first pitcher in more than 40 years to have consecutive 20 or more win seasons. Gibson notched five 20 or more win seasons over his career, adding three more in 1968, 1969 and 1970.
September 17, 1941 –Stan Musial made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader against the Boston Braves. Musial started in right field, batting third. He went 2-for-4 with two RBI. His two hits were a double and a single.
September 18, 2023 – RHP Adam Wainwright reached a career milestone with his 200th career win in a 1-0 win over the Brewers at Busch Stadium. Wainwright pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out three.
September 18, 2013 – Yadier Molina broke the single season Cardinals’ franchise record for doubles with 41, breaking the franchise record set by Ted Simmons in 1978.
September 19, 2001 – Albert Pujols broke the rookie single season RBI record with his 120th RBI in an 8-2 win over the Brewers at Busch Stadium. The previous record was 119 by Wally Berger of the Boston Braves in 1930. Pujols ended his 2001 season with 130 RBI.
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