photo: Matthew Liberatore and Steven Matz (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
8-0 in their last eight games, the St. Louis Cardinals are just one game out of first place. Last week, the rotation averaged almost seven innings per start and the bullpen has a seven-game scoreless streak. We again remember notable MLB debuts during this week in team history.
Game recaps
Monday, May 5, 2025 – Cardinals 6, Pirates 3
The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first of a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Monday. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched five innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out one and walked three.
The bullpen contributed four innings of scoreless pitching. Gordon Graceffo threw the sixth to earn his second win. Kyle Leahy took the seventh, Phil Maton pitched the eighth and Ryan Helsley earned his sixth save with a clean ninth.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. St. Louis tied the game in the third on solo home runs by Jose Barrero and Alec Burleson.
The Pirates regained the lead with a one-run fourth. In the sixth, the Cardinals put up four runs to lead 6-3. Nolan Arenado walked and Willson Contreras followed with a two-run home run. Nolan Gorman, Pedro Pagés and Victor Scott singled. Barrero plated Gorman and Pagés on a ground rule double.
The offense scored six runs on 11 hits. Barrero was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Contreras was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Pagés was 2-for-3.
On defense, Barrero made a throwing error.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 – Cardinals 2, Pirates 1
The Cardinals won Game 2 with Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched seven innings, gave up one run on three hits, fanned eight and walked three to earn his third win.
Steven Matz relieved Liberatore and threw a scoreless eighth. Gordon Graceffo tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his first save.
The game was scoreless until the top of the sixth, when the Pirates scored their only run of the game. In the home half of the inning, the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead. Nolan Arenado singled. Willson Contreras walked. Alec Burleson doubled to score Arenado and Contreras.
This was St. Louis’ fourth win over Pirates ace Paul Skenes, the most of any team. The offense scored two runs on four hits. Burleson had two RBI and no Cardinal had multiple hits.
On the bases, Victor Scott was caught stealing for the first time.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 – Cardinals 5, Pirates 0
The Cardinals blanked the Pirates 5-0 to sweep the series in St. Louis on Wednesday. Starter Sonny Gray pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed two hits, fanned eight and walked one to earn his fourth win.
Kyle Leahy relieved Gray and threw a scoreless eighth. Chris Roycroft tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Cardinals went up 2-0 in the third inning. Victor Scott drew a walk. Lars Nootbaar singled and Scott scored from first. Masyn Winn plated Nootbaar on a double.
St. Louis added a run in the fifth. Scott singled and scored on a double by Winn. Two more runs came home in the eighth. Brendan Donovan singled. Luken Baker doubled. Jordan Walker drove in Donovan and Baker on a single.
The Cardinals scored five runs on 11 hits. Winn was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nootbaar was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Walker had two RBI.
On defense, Pedro Pagés was charged with catcher interference.
Thursday, May 8, 2025 – Off day
Friday, May 9, 2025 – Cardinals 10 at Nationals 0
The Cardinals blanked the Nationals by the score of 10-0 on Friday at Nationals Park. Starter Erick Fedde threw a complete game shutout over nine scoreless innings, with six hits allowed, no walks and eight strikeouts. It was Fedde’s first career complete game shutout.
The Cardinals began the scoring with two runs in the first inning. Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn walked. Nolan Arenado singled. Willson Contreras doubled to plate Nootbaar and Winn.
St. Louis added a run in the third. Brendan Donovan doubled. Arenado singled. Donovan came home on a sac fly by Iván Herrera.
In the fourth, the Cardinals increased the lead to 4-0. Pedro Pagés doubled, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sac fly by Victor Scott. The tally widened to 6-0 in the fifth. Arenado singled. Contreras singled. Herrera plated Arenado on a double. Contreras came home on a sac fly by Jordan Walker.
In the eight, St. Louis made it 9-0. Walker was hit by a pitch. Pagés walked. Scott walked. Winn singled to score Walker. Pagés came home on a wild pitch. Donovan walked to load the bases. Scott scored on a walk by Contreras.
The tenth and final scored in the ninth. Walker walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Pagés drew a walk. Scott plated Walker on a force out with a throwing error.
The Cardinals scored 10 runs on 11 hits. Contreras was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Arenado was 3-for-5. In his first game off the injured list, Herrera drove in two.
Saturday, May 10, 2025 – Cardinals 4 at Nationals 2
The Cardinals defeated the Nationals in the second game of the weekend series on Saturday. Starter Andre Pallante pitched 7 1/3 innings, gave up two runs on five hits, and fanned seven to earn his third win.
JoJo Romero relieved Pallante and threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning of relief. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save.
The Cardinals scored all four of their runs in the second inning. Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch. Alec Burleson walked. Nolan Gorman grounded into a force out, eliminating Burleson at second. Pedro Pagés drove in Contreras on a single. Gorman scored on a single by Victor Scott. Lars Nootbaar plated Pagés and Scott on a double.
The Nationals cut the lead to 4-2 in the eighth.
The offense scored four runs on seven hits. Burleson was 2-for-3. Nootbaar drove in two.
Burleson stole his third base of the season.
Sunday, May 11, 2025 – Cardinals 6 at Nationals 1
The Cardinals completed the sweep of the Nationals with a 6-1 win on Sunday. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up one run on four hits, fanned five and walked one to earn his second win.
Steven Matz relieved Mikolas and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Phil Maton hurled a scoreless eighth and John King tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Cardinals got on the board in the first inning on a solo home run by Lars Nootbaar. Willson Contreras thumped a solo home run in the second to increase the lead to 2-0.
The Nationals scored their only run in the fourth.
St. Louis added two runs in the seventh to widen the lead to 4-1. Nolan Arenado doubled. Iván Herrera walked. Yohel Pozo singled to score Arenado. Herrera came home on a single by Victor Scott.
The lead increased to 6-1 in the eighth on a two-run home run by Arenado.
The Cardinals scored six runs on nine hits. Arenado was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Contreras and Pozo were both 2-for-4 with an RBI.
On the bases, Nootbaar was caught stealing for the second time.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a very good week, going 6-0 by sweeping the Pirates and Nationals in three-game series. St. Louis has won eight games in a row and have moved up in the standings to second place, one game behind the Cubs.
The offense is still churning out the hits and runs. The run differential for the team has improved to +24. The top performers for the week by OPS are Jose Barrero (2.000 in four at-bats), Willson Contreras (1.222), Pedro Pagés (1.067), Nolan Arenado (1.008), and Alec Burleson (.972). At the bottom is Jordan Walker (.333).
The starting rotation had a fantastic week. All five starters ended the week with an ERA below 4.00. Erick Fedde and Sonny Gray had ERAs for the week of 0.00. The final two starters were Matthew Liberatore (1.29), Andre Pallante (2.45), and Miles Mikolas (3.48 over two starts).
The bullpen was also superb. Amazingly, the relievers did not allow a run the entire week. Including last Sunday’s Game 2 win over the Mets, the pen has a seven-game scoreless streak. Steven Matz has been particularly effective.
This has been the Cardinals’ best team performance in a long time, but it helped that they played two subpar teams in the Pirates and Nats. The eight-game winning streak does include two wins against the New York Mets, however, which are one of the best teams in baseball.
The coming week will be more difficult, as they face two good teams, the Phillies and the Royals. Both series are on the road, beginning with three in Philly and ending with a weekend set in Kansas City.
Their road record has improved to 7-13 with the three-game sweep of the Nationals in Washington. Winning series in Philly and Kansas City would go a long way to relieve the early season sting of a bad road record and perhaps elevate the Cardinals into the division lead.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Chicago | 23 | 18 | 0.561 | |
| St. Louis | 22 | 19 | 0.537 | 1 |
| Milwaukee | 20 | 21 | 0.488 | 3 |
| Cincinnati | 20 | 22 | 0.476 | 3.5 |
| Pittsburgh | 14 | 27 | 0.341 | 9 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade and acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 5/5 The Cardinals optioned RHP Michael McGreevy to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/5 The Cardinals optioned RHP Roddery Muñoz to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/5 The Cardinals recalled RHP Gordon Graceffo from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/8 The Cardinals optioned 1B Luken Baker to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/9 The Cardinals activated C Iván Herrera from the 10-day injured list.
Injury Report
- LHP Zack Thompson (left lat strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list on March 24. Thompson missed most of spring training. There has been no update on Thompson for more than a month.
- C Iván Herrera (left knee bone bruise) was activated from the 10-day injured list and returned to the lineup.
Looking Ahead
The road trip continues with three games with the Phillies. Matthew Liberatore is set for the Monday start, followed by Sonny Gray on Tuesday and Erick Fedde on Wednesday.
The Cardinals finish the road trip with a weekend series versus the Royals in Kansas City.
The team then returns to St. Louis to begin a homestand starting with three with the Detroit Tigers beginning Monday, May 19. The homestand continues with a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals end the month on the road with three in Baltimore, followed by a weekend set in Texas with the Rangers.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast of the Past continues the series that began last season, the Debut Series. In this series, we chronicle the major league debuts of notable current and former Cardinals during a relevant period in franchise history.
This week the installment looks at Cardinals who made their major league debuts during the period May 5 through May 11. The name of the player, the date he debuted, how he performed, and other important details are included.
May 7, 2009 – Shane Robinson made his major league debut in a 5-2 win over the Pirates at Busch Stadium. Robinson entered in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter for reliever Blaine Boyer and grounded out to shortstop.
Robinson earned his first major league hit on May 10, 2009 in an 8-7 win over the Reds at Great American Ballpark. Robinson was again a pinch hitter, replacing reliever Dennys Reyes in the eighth. Robinson hit a ground rule double to left CF but was stranded.
May 7, 2024 – On this date last season, current Cardinals reliever Chris Roycroft made his major league debut.
In a 7-5 loss to the Mets at Busch Stadium, Roycroft entered in the ninth inning, replacing Ryan Fernandez. Roycroft struck out Francisco Lindor but then gave up a solo home run to Pete Alonso. He followed that with a strikeout of Harrison Bader, gave up a single to J.D. Martinez, and got the final out on a ground out to second by Brett Baty.
May 8, 2005 –Brad Thompson made his major league debut. Fans know Thompson as a color analyst for FanDuel Sports Midwest, doing game broadcasts along with Chip Caray.
RHP Thompson debuted in a 15-5 Cardinals blowout of the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium on May 8, 2005. Thompson entered in the seventh inning in relief of starter Jason Marquis. Thompson pitched three innings, gave up one run on two hits, struck out two and walked one. One of the two hits was a home run.
Thompson’s first major league strikeout victim was Miguel Ojeda. He also struck out Xavier Nady in the ninth. The home run was a solo shot by Robert Fick in the ninth.
One interesting tidbit about this debut is that one of the batters he faced was Mark Sweeney, who is his counterpart as a color analyst for the Cardinals. Thompson induced a popout to shortstop from Sweeney in the eighth. He also faced current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who grounded out to first base.
May 10, 1982 –Willie McGee made his major league debut in a 3-1 loss to the Reds at Busch Stadium. McGee entered in the eighth inning, replacing starter Dane Iorg in left field. In the bottom of the eighth, McGee struck out.
McGee’s first major league hit came on May 13 in Atlanta in a 10-9 win over the Braves. McGee pinch hit for Tito Landrum and stayed in the game as the center fielder. He faced Braves reliever and former Cardinal Al Hrabosky in the fifth inning and singled to left, scoring Keith Hernandez.
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