photo: Kyle Leahy (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals went 2-4 for the week, losing both series at home. Kyle Leahy allowed just one run in 11 1/3 innings. John Mozeliak has taken on a new assignment with the Angels. Our history feature revisits three-home run games by Cardinals.
Mozeliak joins Angels in a new temporary position
On Friday evening, the Los Angeles Angels fired general manager Perry Minasian and named former St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak as their Interim General Manager and Consultant. He reports to team president Molly Jolly.
Mozeliak, 57, was the top baseball executive for the Cardinals from 2009-2025. He announced his decision to step down at the end of the 2024 season but remained for a transition season. When his contract expired, he was replaced by Chaim Bloom as the new POBO.
Perry Minasian became the general manager of the Angels after the 2020 season. The Angels have missed the playoffs for the last 11 seasons, five of which were during Minasian’s tenure. As of Sunday, the Angels are in last place in the AL West with a record of 36-49.
Mozeliak’s job is to attempt to get the Angels back on a winning track and to lead the search for a long-term GM. No doubt it will be a challenging task.
He may or may not remain with the team long-term.
Game Recaps
Monday, June 22, 2026 – Cardinals 3, Diamondbacks 2
The Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 3-2 contest at Busch Stadium on Monday. Starter Andre Pallante pitched six innings, gave up one run on six hits and struck out two to earn his ninth win.
Ryne Stanek relieved Pallante and surrendered one run in 2/3 of an inning. JoJo Romero threw a scoreless inning. George Soriano retired his only batter faced. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 19th save.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Nathan Church singled and stole second. Iván Herrera walked. Alec Burleson singled to score Church.
St. Louis extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Lars Nootbaar walked. Masyn Winn singled. Nootbaar scored on a sac fly by Blaze Jordan. Church plated Winn on a single.
The Diamondbacks got on the board with single runs in the sixth and seventh to bring the score to 3-2.
The Cardinals scored three runs on seven hits. Church was 2-for-3 with an RBI. JJ Wetherholt was 2-for-4.
Church stole his fifth base of the season. Burleson was picked off first base.
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 – Cardinals 3, Diamondbacks 4
The Cardinals were edged by the Diamondbacks by a 4-3 score at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. Starter Kyle Leahy pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked two and struck out three.
Max Rajcic relieved Leahy and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Matt Svanson surrendered four runs, three earned, but secured just one out. Gordon Graceffo tossed the final 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
The game was a pitcher’s duel through eight innings. In the top of the ninth, Arizona put up four runs.
The Cardinals partially rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth for the final score of 4-3. Lars Nootbaar doubled. José Fermín singled. Alec Burleson doubled to plate Nootbaar. Fermín came home on a sac fly by Blaze Jordan. Jimmy Crooks singled to score Fermín.
The Cardinals scored three runs on seven hits. Jordan Walker was 2-for-4. Nootbaar was 2-for-3.
Crooks had a passed ball.
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 – Cardinals 4, Diamondbacks 9
The Cardinals fell to the Diamondbacks in what became the deciding third game of the series on Wednesday. Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up six runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out three. Liberatore took the loss.
Gordon Graceffo relieved Liberatore and surrendered two runs in 1 2/3 innings. Justin Bruihl yielded one unearned run in the final two innings.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. José Fermín walked and stole second. Blaze Jordan doubled to score Fermín.
The Diamondbacks put up six runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead. St. Louis answered with one run in the home fourth to cut the lead to 6-2. Fermín and Masyn Winn singled. The runners advanced on a wild pitch. Fermín scored on a sac fly from Blaze Jordan.
Arizona added two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth before the Cardinals plated two runs in the ninth to reduce the final score to 9-4. Fermín hit a solo home run. Lars Nootbaar tripled and scored on a single by Jordan.
St. Louis’ offense scored four runs on eight hits. Fermín was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Jordan was 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Fermín stole his third base of the season. Jordan made a fielding error.
Thursday, June 25, 2026 – Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks (postponed)
Thursday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather. It will be made up on July 23 at Busch Stadium.
Friday, June 26, 2026 – Cardinals 0, Marlins 4
The Cardinals were blanked by the Marlins, 4-0, at Busch Stadium on Friday. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched six scoreless innings, allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four.
JoJo Romero relieved McGreevy and threw a scoreless seventh. George Soriano surrendered two runs in the eighth. Max Rajcic yielded two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Justin Bruihl retired Miami’s final batter in the ninth.
The game was scoreless through seven innings. The Marlins broke through with two runs in the eighth and two runs in the ninth to win.
The Cardinals offense scattered three hits. A double by José Fermín was the only extra base hit. The offense was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
Jordan Walker was caught stealing for the fourth time this season. McGreevy picked a runner off first base.
Saturday, June 27, 2026 – Cardinals 1, Marlins 5
On Saturday, the Cardinals lost to the Marlins in the second game of the three-game weekend series at Busch Stadium. Starter Andre Pallante pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up five runs on 11 hits, walked one and fanned four. Pallante took the loss.
Matt Svanson relieved Pallante and secured the final out of the seventh. Justin Bruihl tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the first, added a run in the third and two in the fourth to lead 4-0.
The Cardinals scored their only run in the sixth. Jordan Walker drew a walk. Lars Nootbaar singled. Masyn Winn singled to plate Walker.
Miami added a fifth run in the seventh.
The Cardinals scored one run on seven hits. JJ Wetherholt was 2-for-4. Nootbaar was 2-for-3. The offense was 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.
Nootbaar had an outfield assist at second base.
Sunday, June 28, 2026 – Cardinals 2, Marlins 1
The Cardinals avoided being swept by edging the Marlins in the final game of the series on Sunday. Starter Kyle Leahy pitched five innings, gave up one run on two hits, walked three and fanned five to earn his sixth win of the season.
JoJo Romero relieved Leahy and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryne Stanek hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning. George Soriano pitched a scoreless eighth and Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 20th save.
The Cardinals took the lead in the second inning on a two-run home run by Bryan Torres. The Marlins scored their only run in the fifth to cut the lead to 2-1.
The offense scored two runs on six hits. JJ Wetherholt was 2-for-4. Torres had two RBI.
Wetherholt stole his ninth base of the season. Nathan Church was picked off third base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals finished the week with a record of 2-4. They won one game in each of the two series with the Diamondbacks and the Marlins. The fourth game of the Diamondbacks series was postponed and will be replayed in July.
The Cardinals have dropped into third place, seven games behind the Brewers and 1.5 games behind the Cubs. They also fell from the first wild card spot to a tie with the Padres for the third and final wild card spot.
The offense has been as ineffective as it has been all season. They scored only three runs over the three games with the Marlins. Seven of the 13 position players on the roster finished the week with an OPS under .500.
However, three players had an OPS over .900 for the week. They are Bryan Torres (1.000 in 5 ABs), Lars Nootbaar (.978) and José Fermín (.972). Three players had an OPS over .500, though not by a lot – Jordan Walker (.594), Alec Burleson (.540), and Pedro Pagés (.533 in 5 ABs).
Of those six players, the only regulars are Walker, Nootbaar and Burleson. Fermín plays more than the other bench players but is not a regular in the starting lineup.
The starting pitching was decent, except for Matthew Liberatore, who has struggled in his last several starts. Andre Pallante was not as good in his last start of two for the week. Dustin May did not pitch as he is suffering from minor back issues but is expected to make a start in Atlanta this coming week. Both Kyle Leahy and Michael McGreevy pitched well.
The bullpen was hit and miss. Justin Bruihl, JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien all had 0.00 ERAs for the week. The remainder of the bullpen had hiccups, especially Matt Svanson, who had been pitching better prior to this past week.
The Cardinals have a tough schedule in the coming week, playing at the Braves and the Cubs. The offense must improve, or the team is likely to fall even further behind in the standings.
Stay tuned as the season progresses.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Milwaukee | 50 | 31 | 0.617 | |
| Chicago | 46 | 38 | 0.548 | 5.5 |
| St. Louis | 43 | 38 | 0.531 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh | 42 | 42 | 0.500 | 9.5 |
| Cincinnati | 39 | 43 | 0.476 | 11.5 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 6/23 The Cardinals traded RHP Chris Roycroft to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later or cash considerations. He had been designated for assignment.
Injury Report
- 3B Ramón Urías was placed on the 60-day injured list on June 12. He has elbow lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) in both elbows.
- RHP Ryan Fernandez (low back pain) is currently on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds.
- RHP Dustin May (back tightness) did not make his regular start against the Marlins on Saturday, June 27. Due to the Thursday rainout, May was skipped and Andre Pallante made the start instead on regular rest. May is expected to make his next start in Atlanta.
Looking Ahead
After Monday’s day off, the Cardinals go to Atlanta for a three-game series beginning Tuesday, June 30. The road series ends in Chicago at Wrigley Field for a weekend set with the Cubs.
St. Louis returns home for a seven-game homestand heading into the All-Star break. They play four with the Brewers, followed by a weekend series versus the Braves.
Following the break, the Cardinals will begin the second half on the road in Phoenix for three with the Diamondbacks. The road trip will end in Los Angeles for a three-game set with the Angels.
The final homestand in July will open with a makeup game with the Diamondbacks on Thursday, July 23. This game was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday, June 25 at Busch Stadium, but was postponed due to rain. Following the make up game, the Cardinals will play a weekend series hosting the Reds.
The final series of the homestand will be four games with the Cubs.
Blast from the Past
The Cardinals were scheduled to face the Diamondbacks in a four-game series this past week at Busch Stadium. However, the final game was postponed by rain.
The Diamondbacks, along with the Tampa Bay Rays, are the two youngest franchises in Major League Baseball, added in the expansion of 1998. There has been no expansion since then. Where there is general agreement to expand to 32 teams continues, it will not be implemented until after the next CBA is negotiated.
The Cardinals’ first-ever game against the Diamondbacks took place on April 14, 1998, at the current Busch Stadium. St. Louis routed Arizona, 15-5.
A rare feat occurred in that game as Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire hit three home runs. There have been many prior instances of Cardinals hitting three or more home runs in a game, but these three home runs were the first trio hit at the new Busch Stadium III.*
McGwire hit the first home run in the third inning off Diamondbacks pitcher Jeff Suppan (who became a Cardinal in 2004, and again in 2010). The long ball was a two-run shot to left field.
The second home run, a solo blast, occurred in the fifth, again off Suppan.
The third and last home run came in the eighth against reliever Barry Manuel. It was another two-run home run.
Since that rare feat occurred in 1998, it was repeated at Busch Stadium by none other than Albert Pujols. He did it twice in 2006, on April 16 against the Reds, and again on September 3 versus the Pirates.
All other instances of a Cardinal hitting three or more home runs in a game since 1998 occurred on the road. McGwire did it two more times, against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium in 1998 and 2000. Pujols did it for the first time in 2004 at Wrigley Field.
Matt Carpenter hit three home runs in a game in 2018 at Wrigley Field. Paul Goldschmidt did it in 2019 at Miller Park. The most recent instance of this rare feat was by Paul DeJong in 2019 at PNC Park.
Prior to that 1998 game, Mark Whiten hit four home runs in a game on September 7, 1993, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He is the only player in team history to hit four home runs in a game.
* Sportsman’s Park was renamed Busch Stadium in 1953, but the history of the new stadium began in 1966 when the former Busch Memorial Stadium (also known as Busch Stadium II) opened. Stan Musial hit three home runs at the renamed Sportsman’s Park on May 2, 1954, in a game against the New York Giants.
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