photo: Alec Burleson (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
In the final week of the season, the St. Louis Cardinals offense scored just 16 runs while going 1-5. The club finished eight games under .500, 26 games out of first place. Alec Burleson led MLB with 116 RBI. Our history feature highlights memorable happenings this week in team annals.
Game Recaps
Monday, September 21, 2026 – Off day
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 – Cardinals 0 at Pirates 2
The St. Louis Cardinals were blanked by the Pirates by a 2-0 score in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Starter Andre Pallante pitched six innings, gave up one run on three hits, walked two and struck out two. Pallante took the tough loss.
Justin Bruihl surrendered one run while securing two outs in the seventh. Cade Winquest tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Cardinals managed only one hit, a double by Nathan Church. The offense struck out 14 times and drew two walks.
Leo Bernal was charged with catcher interference.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 – Cardinals 5 at Pirates 1
The Cardinals defeated the Pirates by the score of 5-1 on Wednesday.
Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up one run on six hits and fanned six to earn his sixth win.
Luis Gastelum, Ryne Stanek and George Soriano closed out the final 3 1/3 innings in scoreless fashion.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Cardinals answered with three runs in the third. JJ Wetherholt singled. Iván Herrera walked. Alec Burleson singled to score Wetherholt. Herrera came home on a wild pitch. Leo Bernal singled to plate Burleson.
St. Louis added two runs in the fourth to lead 5-1. José Fermín singled. Masyn Winn doubled and Fermín scored. Wetherholt drove in Winn on a single.
The Cardinals scored five runs on 10 hits. Wetherholt was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Fermín was 2-for-4.
Jordan Walker stole his 21st base. Victor Scott swiped his 12th bag. Winn was caught stealing.
Thursday, September 24, 2026 – Cardinals 1 at Pirates 2
The Cardinals were edged by the Pirates by a 2-1 score on Thursday to drop the road series two games to one.
Starter Kyle Leahy pitched two innings, gave up one run on three hits and struck out three.
Cooper Hjerpe relieved Leahy and threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Gordon Graceffo hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Brycen Mautz tossed a scoreless seventh. Ryne Stanek yielded one unearned run in the eighth and took the loss.
The Cardinals took the lead in the top of the first inning on a solo home run by Alec Burleson. The Pirates answered in the home first with a run to tie the game.
Pittsburgh took the lead 2-1 in the eighth.
The Cardinals scored one run on five hits. JJ Wetherholt was 2-for-4.
Catcher Iván Herrera made two errors, a throwing error and a dropped foul ball.
Friday, September 25, 2026 – Cardinals 4 at Brewers 8
The Cardinals fell to the Brewers in the first game of the final series of the season in Milwaukee.
Starter Michael McGreevy pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on nine hits, walked two and struck out two.
Brycen Mautz relieved McGreevy and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Luis Gastelum surrendered one run in the seventh and took the loss. Justin Bruihl relinquished three runs, one earned, without recording an out. Cade Winquest finished the eighth in scoreless fashion.
The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals tied the game in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Iván Herrera.
Milwaukee responded with a run in the home fourth and added two runs in the fifth to increase the lead to 4-1.
In the seventh, St. Louis scored three runs to tie the game. Jordan Walker hit his 29th home run of the season, a solo shot. Leo Bernal singled and Alec Burleson followed with a two-run home run.
The Brewers put up four runs in the eighth to go ahead 8-4.
The Cardinals scored four runs on six hits. Bernal was 2-for-4. Burleson had two RBI.
Bruihl and Winquest each made a throwing error.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 – Cardinals 2 at Brewers 3
The Cardinals were topped by the Brewers by a 3-2 score on Saturday.
Starter Quinn Mathews pitched five innings, gave up three runs on five hits, walked two and fanned seven. Mathews took the loss.
Gordon Graceffo relieved Mathews and threw two scoreless innings. Cade Winquest tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Cardinals went up 1-0 in the second inning. Jordan Walker singled and stole second base. Nolan Gorman walked. Thomas Saggese singled to score Walker.
St. Louis added a run in the top of the third on a solo home run by Alec Burleson.
The Brewers answered with a run in the home third and put up two runs in the fifth to take the lead 3-2.
The Cardinals scored two runs on three hits. The home run by Burleson was the only extra base hit.
Walker stole his 22nd base of the season.
Leo Bernal made a throwing error.
Sunday, September 27, 2026 – Cardinals 4 at Brewers 6
The Cardinals were swept by the Brewers, losing 6-4 on Sunday in Milwaukee.
Starter Andre Pallante pitched five innings, gave up six runs on 10 hits, walked one and fanned four. Pallante took the loss, his ninth of the season.
Justin Bruihl relieved Pallante and threw two scoreless innings. Hancel Rincon tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Brewers went up 3-0 in the first inning, added two in the third and one in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-0.
The Cardinals got on the board in the eighth with four runs. César Prieto tripled. Pedro Pagés walked. Jordan Walker grounded into a force out. Prieto scored, and Pagés was out at second. Iván Herrera walked. Leo Bernal followed with a three-run home run.
The Cardinals scored four runs on four hits. Bernal had three RBI. The offense was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals’ season has concluded. They finished the final week 1-5 after winning one game in Pittsburgh. They were swept in Milwaukee by the division-winning Brewers in the final series of the season.
The team finished 77-85 and in fourth place in the NL Central Division, 26 games back of the Brewers, and two games better than the last place Reds.
The story of the second half of the season will be talked about for a while. Pitching, specifically relief pitching, was a weakness all season. The offense markedly declined and is the most likely reason for the slide in the standings. The offense in the last few weeks in particular was almost non-existent.
The top offensive performers in the final week by OPS are César Prieto (1.000 in 4 ABs), and Pedro Pagés (.933 in three ABs).
As you can see, most of the regulars in the lineup were not performing as evidenced by their meager 16 runs scored in six games. The next closest in OPS was Alec Burleson (.895). Eight players performed below .500 in OPS. They are Masyn Winn (.468), Jordan Walker (.447), Iván Herrera (.427), Nolan Gorman (.425), Thomas Saggese (.347), José Fermín (.334), Nathan Church (.278), and Bryan Torres (.222).
One bright spot in all this is Burleson, who finished the season leading all of MLB in RBI with 116. He did not play in the final game and neither did JJ Wetherholt. Masyn Winn was out with a thumb injury. Perhaps Burleson is in line to win another NL Silver Slugger award. Unfortunately for them, that could be the only award a Cardinal player may receive, as JJ Wetherholt’s chances at the Rookie of the Year have diminished given his recent injury and drop in performance.
As for the pitching, the rotation fumbled in the final week. Only Matthew Liberatore finished the week with an ERA below 4.00. Looking at it overall, however, the rotation was decent for the most part throughout the season. Quinn Mathews has made a good showing and made an impression. How the rotation will shake out next season (if there is one), remains to be seen.
The bullpen is the area that needs to be overhauled. Several homegrown pitchers, Luis Gastelum and Gordon Graceffo to name two, were the least of the bullpen’s problems. Those who were the problem will hopefully not be returning in 2027.
The postseason begins this week without the Cardinals participating for the fourth consecutive season. The Cardinals will hold an end of season press conference on Monday, September 28 at 3 pm to discuss the season and what is next.
Stay tuned for the offseason and beyond.
Final NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB |
| Milwaukee | 103 | 59 | 0.636 | ||
| Chicago | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | 14 | |
| Pittsburgh | 82 | 80 | 0.506 | 21 | 6 |
| St. Louis | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 26 | 11 |
| Cincinnati | 75 | 87 | 0.463 | 28 | 13 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 9/25 The Cardinals optioned LHP Cooper Hjerpe to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 9/25 The Cardinals recalled RHP Hancel Rincon from the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
- SS Masyn Winn was scratched from Saturday’s game in Milwaukee. Winn suffered a fractured left thumb in August and has since returned to play. Winn had discomfort in the thumb, and the decision was made to end his season.
- OF Joshua Báez was placed on the 10-day injured list on September 18, retroactive to September 17 with a left oblique strain. Báez did not return in the 2026 season.
- 3B Blaze Jordan was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 28. Left ankle sprain. Jordan did not return during 2026 season.
- OF Everson Pereira (left hand contusion). Pereira was on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds. Pereira’s status is unknown following the end of the Redbirds’ season.
- 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, 2026. Rajcic will likely miss the entire 2027 season.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals’ season has concluded. The Cardinals will have an end of season press conference on Monday, September 28 at 3 pm.
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.
The Championship Series will begin on Sunday, October 11 and will run through Tuesday, October 20 if necessary.
The World Series begins on Friday, October 23 and runs through Saturday, October 31, if necessary.
Further playoff details at The Cardinal Nation’s free forum.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues the series highlighting notable events in the history of the franchise for a relevant period. The final week of the regular season ended on Sunday, and the postseason will begin on Tuesday. 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 21 through September 27. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided
September 21, 1934 – Cardinal rookie pitcher Paul Dean, aka “Daffy”, became the fifth rookie to throw a no-hitter. The 3-0 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers occurred in the second game of a doubleheader. Paul Dean’s brother, Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean, threw a three-hit shutout in the first game of the twin bill.
September 22, 1948 –Stan Musial went 5-for-5 in an 8-2 win over the Boston Braves at Braves Field. This was the fourth time that season Musial had five hits in five at bats, which set a National League record and tied Ty Cobb for the MLB record.
September 23, 1930 – The Cardinals slugged 26 hits in a 19-16 win over the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. This set the franchise record. The Cardinals did not have this many hits in a game again until August 22, 2008, when the Cardinals had 26 hits in an 18-3 game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium III.
September 23, 2022 – Against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, Albert Pujols, in the final year of his MLB career, hit his 700th home run. This made Pujols only the fourth player in MLB history to reach 700 home runs in a career. Pujols hit a second home run in the same game.
September 24, 1922 –Cardinal 2B Rogers Hornsby hit two home runs in a 10-6 win over the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. The two home runs brought his season total to 42, a new National League record.
September 26, 2007 – Pujols drove in his 100th run to become the first and only player with 30 home runs and 100 RBI in each of his first seven seasons in the major leagues. This game was a 7-3 win over the Brewers at Miller Park.
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