photo: Sonny Gray (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Despite selling at the deadline, the Cardinals won series over the playoff contending Dodgers and Cubs. Sonny Gray pitched like an ace, allowing just three runs in 14 innings on six hits, two walks and 15 strikeouts. Our history feature is debuts during this week in team history.
Game recaps
Monday, August 4, 2025 – Cardinals 3 at Dodgers 2
The St. Louis Cardinals edged the Los Angeles Dodgers by a 3-2 score on Monday at Dodger Stadium. Starter Sonny Gray pitched seven innings, gave up one run on one hit, fanned eight and walked one.
Riley O’Brien surrendered one run in the eighth and earned the win. JoJo Romero tossed a scoreless ninth for his second save.
The Cardinals took the lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Masyn Winn. The Dodgers tied the game in the fourth.
St. Louis regained the lead in the eighth on a solo home run by Iván Herrera. Los Angeles tied the score again with a run in the home eighth.
The Cardinals added a run in the ninth to lead 3-2. Willson Contreras singled. Garrett Hampson pinch ran. Lars Nootbaar singled. Yohel Pozo singled and Hampson scored.
The Cardinals put up three runs on seven hits. Herrera was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Herrera stole his fourth base of the season.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 – Cardinals 6 at Dodgers 12
The Cardinals fell to the Dodgers by a 12-6 score on Tuesday. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched three innings, gave up five runs on seven hits, struck out one and walked one. Mikolas took the loss.
Matt Svanson threw two scoreless innings of relief. Gordon Graceffo hurled a scoreless sixth. Ryan Fernandez surrendered three runs in 1/3 of an inning. Andre Granillo yielded four runs in the final 1 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers went up 2-0 in the first inning. The Cardinals tied the game in the second. Willson Contreras reached on an error. Nolan Gorman followed with a two-run home run.
Los Angeles posted a three-run third to take the lead at 5-2. In the top of the seventh, St. Louis added a run to cut the lead to 5-3. Nolan Gorman and Yohel Pozo singled. Brendan Donovan grounded into a force with Pozo out at second. Iván Herrera singled to score Gorman.
The Dodgers responded with five runs in the home seventh to expand their lead to 10-3. The Cardinals scored a run in the top of the eighth on a solo home run by Contreras to shrink the lead to 10-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Dodgers went up 12-4. In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals rallied for two runs to bring the final score to 12-6. Pozo walked. Thomas Saggese was hit by a pitch. Herrera drew a walk. Pozo scored on a wild pitch and Saggese and Herrera advanced. Alec Burleson plated Saggese on a sac fly.
The offense scored six runs on nine hits. Gorman was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Contreras was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Lars Nootbaar was 2-for-4.
On the bases, Brendan Donovan was caught stealing.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 – Cardinals 5 at Dodgers 3
The Cardinals beat the Dodgers to take the three-game series on Wednesday. The Cardinals also won the season home and away series over the Dodgers. Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched four innings, gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits, struck out one and walked one.
Kyle Leahy relieved Liberatore and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero hurled a scoreless inning to earn the win. Riley O’Brien tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his first save.
In the top of the third, the Cardinals took a brief 1-0 lead. Jordan Walker singled, stole second base and scored on a single by Brendan Donovan.
The Dodgers took the lead with a two-run frame third. They added a run in the fourth to increase the lead to 3-1.
The Cardinals cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth. Iván Herrera walked. Alec Burleson singled and Herrera advanced to third. Herrera scored on a ground out by Lars Nootbaar.
St. Louis scored two runs in the eighth to take the lead 4-3. Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn singled. Jordan Walker plated both runners on a single with a throwing error.
The Cardinals added an insurance run in the ninth to win 5-3. Donovan singled. Herrera was hit by a pitch. Nootbaar drove in Burleson a on double.
The Cardinals scored five runs on 12 hits. Walker was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Donovan was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Burleson was 2-for-5. Winn was 2-for-4. Pedro Pagés was 2-for-3. Nootbaar had two RBI.
On the bases, Walker stole his fifth base of the season. Winn swiped his seventh bag.
On defense, Pagés had a throwing error and a passed ball. Burleson had a fielding miscue.
Thursday, August 7- 2025 – Off day
Friday, August 8, 2025 – Cardinals 5, Cubs 0
The Cardinals blanked the Cubs 5-0 in the opener of a weekend series at Busch Stadium. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched six scoreless innings, allowed six hits, struck out three and walked one to earn his fourth win.
Matt Svanson, JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless inning each.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Alec Burleson singled. Masyn Winn doubled. Jordan Walker plated Burleson on a single.
In the fifth, St. Louis increased the lead to 3-0. Pedro Pagés singled. Garret Hampson sac bunted Pagés to second base and was safe at first. Brendan Donovan followed with a sac bunt to move the runners up. Pagés scored on a sac fly by Iván Herrera. Willson Contreras drove in Hampson on a single.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 5-0 in the sixth. Walker hit a solo home run. Thomas Saggese doubled and scored on a single by Pagés.
The Cardinals scored five runs on 13 hits. Walker was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Pagés was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Burleson was 3-for-4. Winn was 2-for-4. Saggese was 2-for-4.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 – Cardinals 1, Cubs 9
The Cardinals were routed by the Cubs by a 9-1 score on Saturday. Starter Andre Pallante made what he described as the “worst start of my career”. The right hander pitched 1 2/3 innings, gave up six runs on seven hits, and walked one. Pallante took the loss.
Gordon Graceffo relieved Pallante and surrendered two runs in 2 1/3 innings. Ryan Fernandez yielded one run in three innings. Roddery Muñoz tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Cubs scored early and often, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning and adding four runs in the second. In each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings the Cubs put up one run to extend the lead to 9-0.
The Cardinals scored their only run of the game in the sixth. Lars Nootbaar doubled, advanced to third on a fly out by Iván Herrera and scored on an Alec Burleson ground out.
The offense scored one run on seven hits. Doubles by Nootbaar and Herrera were the only extra base hits. The offense went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.
On defense, Jordan Walker and Yohel Pozo each made a throwing error.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 – Cardinals 3, Cubs 2
The Cardinals edged the Cubs in a 3-2 win on Sunday evening at Busch Stadium to take the series. Starter Sonny Gray pitched seven innings, gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits, fanned seven and walked one to earn his 11th win of the season.
Riley O’Brien relieved Gray and threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning. JoJo Romero tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his third save.
The Cardinals took the lead in the third inning on a two-run home run by Pedro Pagés. The Cubs tied the game in the fifth.
The Cardinals regained the lead with a run in the seventh to lead 3-2, a lead that they did not relinquish.
The offense scored three runs on four hits. Pagés had two RBI.
On the bases, Jordan Walker stole his sixth base of the season. On defense, Nolan Gorman made a throwing error. Gray picked a runner off second base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had their best week in quite a while. They took two of three from both the Dodgers and the Cubs for a 4-2 record, pulling just over .500 again for the season. The team remains in fourth place in the NL Central, 14 games back of the Brewers and 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card berth.
The Brewers apparently are unable to lose, and the Division has been out of reach for some time. The Cardinals are currently two games back of the third place Reds, an achievable target, and eight games back of the second place Cubs, an unlikely goal.
The offense has improved some, though its mercurial nature could place them back where they had been prior without much effort. That is a pessimistic outlook no doubt, but one that is backed up by evidence. Nevertheless, one can remain hopeful.
To keep things in perspective, however, the last time the Cardinals swept a series, and in fact the last time they won any three games in a row, was late June in Cleveland. St. Louis’ last sweep at home was Memorial Day weekend vs. Arizona.
So, stringing together any kind of winning streak, even a modest one, would be a welcome change in course.
The top offensive performers for the week by OPS are Pedro Pagés (1.250), Nolan Gorman (1.012), and Jordan Walker (.950). Close behind is Willson Contreras (.889). At the bottom are Alec Burleson (.457) and Brendan Donovan (.450). Donovan has been in a slump for the last month and missed the final two games of the Cubs series with a left groin issue. Burleson continues to get everyday playing time over other outfielders, ostensibly because manager Oliver Marmol believes he has earned it. His recent numbers do not bear that out (.686 OPS since the break), so the manager’s reasoning is a little puzzling.
The pitching has demonstrated its usual inconsistency again this week. Sonny Gray (1.29) and Michael McGreevy (0.00) had the best outings. Miles Mikolas (15.00) and Andre Pallante (32.40) had the worst. Matthew Liberatore (4.50) was okay.
The bullpen has been fine, other than a couple of hiccups from Andre Granillo (21.60) and Ryan Fernandez (10.80). It appears the closer role after the departure of Ryan Helsley has fallen to Riley O’Brien and JoJo Romero, at least in the short term.
The coming week brings series with the Rockies and the Yankees to end the homestand. While the struggling Rockies, the worst team in MLB, may seem like a pushover, they were definitely not when the Cardinals lost their recent series in Denver. The Cardinals have had some success against the Yankees the last few years, but this offense has been so unpredictable and the pitching has not been strong, so anything can happen.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB |
| Milwaukee | 73 | 44 | 0.624 | ||
| Chicago | 67 | 50 | 0.563 | 6 | |
| Cincinnati | 62 | 57 | 0.521 | 12 | 1.5 |
| St. Louis | 60 | 59 | 0.504 | 14 | 3.5 |
| Pittsburgh | 51 | 68 | 0.429 | 23 | 12.5 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 8/4 The Cardinals claimed LHP Anthony Veneziano off waivers from the Miami Marlins and optioned him to Memphis.
- 8/4 The Dodgers claimed 1B Luken Baker off outright waivers.
- 8/7 The Cardinals claimed RHP Jorge Alcalá off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
- 8/10 The Cardinals optioned RHP Gordon Graceffo to the Memphis Redbirds as they activated Alcalá.
Injury Report
- LHP Zack Thompson (left lat strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 7. Thompson has had several setbacks in his rehab. It was reported several weeks ago that Thompson was set to resume his throwing program. When Thompson may return to the big league roster is unknown.
- LHP John King was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 30. Left oblique strain. King sustained the injury on July 29. King threw a bullpen on August 7 at 70% intensity and threw a full effort bullpen on August 9. His rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds will begin on Tuesday, August 12 assuming no setbacks.
- 3B Nolan Arenado was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 1. Right shoulder strain. The third baseman has been bothered by shoulder pain for some time. Arenado has reported to the Cardinals spring training facility for a strengthening program expected to last 7-10 days. Following that Arenado will attempt baseball activities at full speed. The timing of his return to the roster is to be determined.
- 2B Brendan Donovan was a late scratch from Saturday’s lineup with the Cubs due to left groin tightness. He was not in the lineup for Sunday’s game, either.
In the 18 games since his All-Star Game appearance, Donovan has been struggling, with a line of .188/.260/.261/.521.
Looking Ahead
The homestand continues with three games against the Rockies beginning Monday. Miles Mikolas is the probable pitcher for Monday’s game followed by Matthew Liberatore on Tuesday, and Michael McGreevy on Wednesday.
The homestand ends with a weekend series with the Yankees.
The Cardinals leave for a road trip to Florida, beginning with three at the Marlins beginning Monday, August 18, and ending with three at the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays series begins on Thursday, August 21, and ends on Monday, August 24, with an off day in the middle on Sunday, August 23. The game was moved off the Saturday date due to a conflict with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers pre-season football game, which will be played at the same complex on that day. The Buccaneers play their games at Raymond James Field across the street from Steinbrenner Field.
The team returns briefly to St. Louis after the road trip to play four with the Pirates beginning Monday, August 25. They end the month of August with three games in Cincinnati with the Reds.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past returns to the Debut Series, a series that started last season and continues periodically.
Here, we showcase notable major league debuts that occurred during a relevant period in franchise history. For this week, August 4 through August 10 is covered.
For each player, the date of his debut, the game, his performance that day and any other interesting/relevant details of the debut are noted.
August 6, 1983 – On this day, RHP Danny Cox made his major league debut with the Cardinals. Cox started against the Phillies at Busch Stadium in a game that went 11 innings. The Cardinals lost, 1-0.
Cox pitched 10 scoreless innings but received a no-decision. He allowed seven hits, struck out eight and walked two. Cox opposed Phillies starter Steve Carlton, who pitched one fewer inning than Cox.
August 8, 2018 – On this date, OF Adolis Garcia made his major league debut with the Cardinals in a 7-1 win over the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.
Garcia started the game in center and hit eighth. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and moved to right field in the eighth inning.
Garcia collected his first major league hit two days later, on August 10 in a 7-0 win over the Royals at Busch Stadium. Garcia pinch hit in the sixth inning and remained in the game in right field. Garcia’s hit was a single to center in the eighth inning.
August 9, 2005 – On this day in 2005, RHP Anthony Reyes made his major league debut in 10-3 win over the Brewers at Millier Park. Reyes pitched 6 1/3 innings, gave up two runs on two hits, struck out five and walked one. One of two runs was a solo home run by Bill Hall.
Reyes was replaced with one out in the seventh by Randy Flores. Reyes’ last season in St. Louis was 2008, when pitched out of the bullpen, was optioned to Triple-A in May and traded on July 26 to the Cleveland Indians.
August 10, 2016 – On this date, RHP Alex Reyes made his major league debut in an 11-9 loss to the Reds at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals’ long-time number one prospect pitched out of the bullpen and entered in the ninth inning. Reyes struck out his first hitter, Adam Duvall, then retired the next two batters on ground outs.
Reyes’ once-promising career was derailed by frequent injuries. He never threw a pitch in 2022, as he went on the injured list in spring training and subsequently had season-ending shoulder surgery. In 2021, he gave up the game winning home run to the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor in the NL Wild Card game, ending the Cardinals postseason hopes. That was his last official pitch thrown as a professional.
Ironically, the Dodgers signed Reyes to a one-year contract for 2023. He once again required shoulder surgery and did not appear in a game for the Dodgers at any level.
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