photo: JoJo Romero (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals struggled to a 1-5 week including a sweep by Seattle. After heavy use, the bullpen is showing signs of wear with a tougher schedule ahead. Riley O’Brien blew two saves and took a loss. JoJo Romero allowed six runs in 2 1/3 innings. Our history section highlights recent sweeps of the Cardinals.
Game Recaps
Monday April 20, 2026 – Cardinals 3 at Marlins 5
The St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Miami Marlins in the opener of a three-game series at Loan Depot Park in Miami. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on five hits, walked two and struck out three. McGreevy took the loss.
Matt Svanson relieved McGreevy and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Fernandez surrendered one run in the eighth.
The Cardinals took 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Jordan Walker singled, stole second base, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Nolan Gorman walked. Masyn Winn plated Walker on a sac fly.
The Marlins tied the game in the home fourth, then added a run in the fifth to lead 2-1.
St. Louis scored one run in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Walker drew a walk. Winn singled. Walker came home on a wild pitch.
Miami answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and made it 5-2 in the eighth.
The Cardinals’ ninth inning rally fell short with one run scored. Winn tripled and came home on a sac fly by Ramón Urías.
The offense scored three runs on five hits. Winn was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Walker stole his fourth base of the season. Winn swiped his third bag. Victor Scott had an outfield assist at home plate. Walker had an outfield assist at third base.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026 – Cardinals 5 at Marlins 3
The Cardinals beat the Marlins in the second game of the series on Tuesday. Starter Dustin May pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up one run on six hits, walked one and fanned five to earn his third win.
Justin Bruihl relieved May and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Ryne Stanek surrendered two runs in 2/3 of an inning. George Soriano secured one out. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.
The Cardinals took the lead in the top of the first as JJ Wetherholt doubled and scored on a single by Alec Burleson.
The Marlins tied the game in the home first.
St. Louis regained the lead with a run in the third. Wetherholt walked. Iván Herrera singled. Burleson reached on a fielder’s choice and Wetherholt scored.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the fourth on a two-run home run by Nathan Church. They made it 5-1 in the fifth when Burleson doubled and scored on a single by Nolan Gorman.
Miami rallied for two runs in the eighth to shrink the lead to 5-3.
Burleson and Church were each 2-for-4 with two RBI. Winn was 2-for-4. Herrera was 2-for-5. Wetherholt scored two runs.
Church stole his third base of the season. Victor Scott was caught stealing. Masyn Winn made a throwing error. Jordan Walker had an outfield assist at first base.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 – Cardinals 1 at Marlins 4
The Cardinals lost the final game and the series to the Marlins on Wednesday. Starter Kyle Leahy pitched five innings, gave up four runs on eight hits, walked three and struck out two. Leahy took the loss.
Gordon Graceffo, Matt Svanson and Ryan Fernandez each tossed a scoreless inning.
The Marlins went up 2-0 in the second, then added single runs in the fourth and fifth to lead 4-0.
The Cardinals were held scoreless until the ninth inning, when they avoided the shutout on a solo home run by Iván Herrera.
The offense scored one run on four hits. No Cardinal had multiple hits. Herrera’s home run and a double by Gorman were the only extra base hits.
Ramón Urías made a fielding error. Nathan Church had an outfield assist at third base.
Thursday, April 23, 2026 – Off day
Friday, April 24, 2026 – Cardinals 2, Mariners 3
On Friday, the Cardinals were edged by the Mariners in the first of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Starter Andre Pallante pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up three runs on four hits, walked three and fanned eight. Pallante took the loss.
Justin Bruihl relieved Pallante and threw a scoreless inning. George Soriano hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Gordon Graceffo tossed the final two scoreless innings.
Seattle scored single runs in the second and fourth to lead 2-0.
St. Louis answered with two runs in the home fourth to tie the game. Alec Burleson walked but was eliminated on a force out by Jordan Walker. Nolan Gorman hit a ground-rule double. Masyn Winn plated Walker and Gorman on a single.
The Mariners regained the lead 3-2 in the sixth and kept it.
The Cardinals scored two runs on eight hits. Winn was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Gorman was 2-for-4.
Saturday, April 25, 2026 – Cardinals 9, Mariners 11
The Cardinals suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Mariners on Saturday. Starter Matthew Liberatore lasted only 3 1/3 innings, gave up five runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out three.
Gordon Graceffo relieved Liberatore and surrendered one run in 2/3 of an inning. Justin Bruihl threw a scoreless inning. George Soriano yielded one run in the sixth. Ryne Stanek hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
In this contest, the usually reliable back end of the pen failed. JoJo Romero relinquished two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Riley O’Brien yielded two runs in an inning, his first runs allowed in 2026, and took the loss. Matt Svanson secured the final two outs.
The Mariners went ahead 2-0 in the first. The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom of the first on back-to-back solo home runs by JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera.
Seattle answered in the top of the second to regain the lead at 4-2. St. Louis made it 4-3 in the home second on a solo home run by Nathan Church.
The Cardinals scored four runs in the third inning to take a 7-4 lead. Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman singled. Masyn Winn singled to score Walker. Gorman came home on a sac fly by Church. Pedro Pagés hit a two-run home run.
The Mariners chipped away with single runs in each of the next three innings to tie the game. The Cardinals answered with two scores in the seventh to take back the lead at 9-7. Winn singled and Church followed with a two-run home run.
The lead was quickly erased as Seattle scored two to tie the game again. In the ninth, the Mariners put up two more runs to take the lead for the last time.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 14 hits. Church was 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI. Pagés was 3-for-3 including a long ball with two RBI. Winn was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Wetherholt was 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Pagés stole his second base of the season. Walker was caught stealing.
Sunday, April 26, 2026 – Cardinals 2, Mariners 3
The Cardinals lost the final game of the series with the Mariners and suffered their first sweep of the 2026 season. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched well, going five innings and giving up one run on five hits, no walks and six strikeouts.
Matt Svanson relieved McGreevy and surrendered one run in the seventh. Ryne Stanek threw a scoreless eighth. JoJo Romero gave up the winning run in the ninth and took the loss.
The Cardinals took the lead in the third inning on a solo home run by JJ Wetherholt. The Mariners tied the game in the fourth.
St. Louis regained the lead in the sixth on a solo home run by Nathan Church. Seattle tied the game again in the seventh.
The Mariners scored a run in the ninth to lead 3-2 and the Cardinals failed to answer.
The offense scored two runs on seven hits. Church was 2-for-4 including a home run.
Victor Scott had an outfield assist at second base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a terrible week, finishing 1-5. They lost two of three with the Marlins and were swept by the Mariners at home. The Cardinals are 14-13 and are tied with the Brewers for last place in the NL Central.
Despite the losing record, the Cardinals have had some good offensive performances for the week by OPS. They include Nathan Church (1.482), Pedro Pagés (1.155), Iván Herrera (1.129) and Masyn Winn (.931). Just below that is JJ Wetherholt (.816).
At the bottom are Victor Scott (.192), José Fermín (.222), Alec Burleson (.293), and Ramón Urías (.331). This is the first time this season Alec Burleson has had this low of an offensive performance by a regular in the lineup. Fermín and Urías are essentially bench players, though Urías plays more often than most.
The poor performance of the pitching is a broken record, but this past week it did not come from the usual suspects. Matthew Liberatore had his worst start so far, and the usual stalwarts in the bullpen, JoJo Romero, and Riley O’Brien did not pitch well either.
The closer blew two of three save opportunities, went 1-1 and had a 5.40 ERA. Romero also took a loss and yielded six runs in 2 1/3 innings.
The bullpen has been taxed, which perhaps is the reason. However, it is a shared responsibility as the starters are not going deep into games, which puts more pressure on the relievers. However, there is no relief in sight for the pen and the team is playing 17 games with no break. Hold on to your hats Cardinals fans, it could get ugly (more so than it has been already).
A six-man rotation looks to be the plan through this stretch of games. Hunter Dobbins has pitched four rehab starts in Memphis and appears ready to join the Cardinals, which he will do on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals go on the road briefly for four games in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates have been playing well. The team will come back right after Pittsburgh to play the Dodgers and Brewers. It is not going to get easier any time soon.
Stay tuned as the season progresses.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Cincinnati | 18 | 10 | 0.643 | |
| Chicago | 17 | 11 | 0.607 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 16 | 12 | 0.571 | 2 |
| Milwaukee | 14 | 13 | 0.519 | 3.5 |
| St. Louis | 14 | 13 | 0.519 | 3.5 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
OF Lars Nootbaar (heel surgery) will continue his rehab for his Haglund’s Deformities surgery on both heels. Nootbaar was placed on the 60-day injured list on March 25. According to Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch, the plan is for Nootbaar to return to the roster when he is first eligible on May 24, 2026.
RHP Hunter Dobbins was placed on the 15-day injured list on March 25, retroactive to March 22. Dobbins was sent on a rehab assignment to the Memphis Redbirds on March 31. Dobbins made his most recent rehab start on Thursday, April 23 and is scheduled to make his first start with St. Louis one week later, on Thursday, April 30.
LHP Matt Pushard was placed on the 15-day injured list on March 31 retroactive to March 30 due to right knee patellar tendinitis. Pushard is on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds and has made four relief appearances to date.
C Pedro Pages left Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury. It was determined to be mild with Pages expecting to return to action in Pittsburgh after sitting out on Sunday.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals leave for Pittsburgh for a four-game series with the Pirates Monday through Thursday. Starters are scheduled to be Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante and Hunter Dobbins.
These will be the first games against a National League Central Division opponent for the Cardinals, a month into the 2026 schedule.
The team returns to St. Louis to begin May with a weekend series against the Dodgers. The homestand will continue with three against the Brewers.
The team follows the homestand with a six-game road trip in California that includes three at the Padres and three with the Athletics in Sacramento.
The Cardinals will return from the West Coast for a six-game homestand with the Royals and the Pirates.
Blast from the Past
The Cardinals were swept in three games by the Seattle Mariners over the weekend in Busch Stadium. The series did not include former Cardinal Brendan Donovan, who is on the injured list and did not travel to St. Louis.
The Cardinals lost two of the three games by the score of 3-2, on Friday and Sunday. They fell 11-9 on Saturday. They will play the Pirates in Pittsburgh for the next four games (this becomes relevant below).
Though historical data on sweeps of the Cardinals are difficult to come by, some information can be gleaned from an online search of notable sweeps of the Cardinals in recent years. Here some “sweep facts” on the Cardinals in recent seasons.
- The Cardinals were swept by the Mariners in 2025 in Seattle in three games on September 8-10. The scores were 4-2, 5-2, 4-2. Like last year, this year’s sweep included two losses by the same score.
- The Cardinals were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games from June 20-July 2, 2025 while not scoring a run in 27 innings. The Cardinals face the Pirates for the first time in 2026 in a four-game series starting on Monday.
- The New York Mets swept the Cardinals in four games from April 17-20, 2025. It was the first time that the Mets swept the Cardinals in a four-game series in their home ballpark.
- The Cincinnati Reds swept the Cardinals in four games on June 3-6, 2021 at Busch Stadium. It was the first time the Cardinals were swept by the Reds in a four-game series in St. Louis since 1990.
- The Cardinals have suffered several postseason sweeps. Here are a few:
- 2004 World Series – The Cardinals were swept in four games by the Boston Red Sox
- 2009 NLDS – The Cardinals were swept in three games by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- 2019 NLCS – The Cardinals were swept in four games by the Washington Nationals.
- In an oldie, the Cardinals were swept in four games by the New York Yankees in the 1928 World Series.
It seems like there have been more opponent sweeps in the last three or four years as the Cardinals have struggled to win consistently. The best that can be said is that the Cardinals are not unique in this regard over the history of the sport.
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