photo: Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire (USA TODAY Sports Images)
The St. Louis Cardinals returned to .500 after winning two series at home. Three Cardinals greats entered the team Hall of Fame. Our history feature returns to key events during this week in years past, including Big Mac’s home run no. 61 in 1998.
Cardinals Hall of Fame and 1985 Reunion
This past weekend as the San Francisco Giants were in town, St. Louis was packed with more than just baseball. The annual ceremony to induct new members to the Cardinals Hall of Fame took place, along with the 40 year reunion of the 1985 Cardinals team that made it to the World Series.
On Saturday, the annual Cardinals Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place, as two former Cardinals players and a former Cardinals general manager took their rightful place among team greats.
The induction ceremony was held in Ballpark Village as the 2025 class, former Cardinals Edgar Renteria and Al Hrabosky and the late Walt Jocketty, former Cardinals GM, were enshrined into the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Enshrined in Cardinal red.
Welcome to the Cardinals Hall of Fame, Édgar Rentería, Walt Jocketty and Al Hrabosky! pic.twitter.com/5nEO7eSlUf
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 6, 2025
Renteria, 50, played shortstop for the Cardinals from 1999 through 2004. He came to the Cardinals in a trade with the Miami Marlins in December 1998. During his six seasons in St. Louis, Renteria slashed .290/.347/.420 with 71 home runs and 451 RBI. He was selected for three All-Star Games and won two Gold Gloves.
Hrabosky, 76, nicknamed the “Mad Hungarian”, was a relief pitcher for the Cardinals for eight seasons, from 1970-1977. He posted a combined record of 40-20 with an ERA of 2.93 in 329 appearances for the Cardinals. Hrabosky followed with decades of service as a broadcaster and in representing the team in the community.
Jocketty, who passed away this April at the age of 74, was the general manager of the Cardinals from 1994 through 2006. During this period the team won seven NL Division titles, two pennants, in 2004 and 2006, and a World Series Championship in 2006. Jocketty was represented at the ceremony by his son Joey.
A brotherhood of legends pic.twitter.com/tE4QHrXKRA
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 6, 2025
This weekend was also a celebration of the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals team, which came together for their 40-year reunion at Busch Stadium. Former Cardinals present included pitchers John Tudor and Danny Cox, as well as position players Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee and Terry Pendleton.
The 1985 squad won 101 games that season, led by iconic Cardinals manager, the late Whitey Herzog. That team won the NL East and went on to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. They met the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, losing in seven games after a blown call at first base in the ninth inning by Umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6 cost them that game. The Cardinals were winning the game 1-0 and the correct out call would have given the team the victory and Championship title. The embattled team went on to lose Game 7 to the Royals.
Both manager Whitey Herzog and Don Denkinger have since passed away, but fences were mended 10 years after that series, when Herzog invited Denkinger to a reunion dinner.
All in all, the weekend was a success for Cardinal Nation, as fans not only enjoyed old favorites celebrating past victories, but watched their current Cardinals take two victories over the San Francisco Giants.
Game recaps
Monday, September 1, 2025 – Cardinals 3, Athletics 11
The Cardinals fell to the Athletics in the first of a three-game series on Monday. Starter Sonny Gray pitched six innings, gave up seven runs on 11 hits, fanned five and walked three. Gray took the loss.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Gray and surrendered three runs in 1 1/3 innings. Chris Roycroft yielded one run in the final 1 2/3 innings.
The Athletics went up 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning. The Cardinals answered in the home half with a solo home run by Iván Herrera to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Athletics added two runs in the top of the sixth to increase the lead to 5-1. St. Louis responded with one run in the bottom frame to shrink the lead to 5-2. Lars Nootbaar singled and later scored on a single by Masyn Winn.
In the seventh, the Athletics extended their lead to 7-2 and made it 11-2 in the eighth. The Cardinals added one run in the ninth as Thomas Saggese doubled and scored on a single by José Fermín.
The Cardinals scored three runs on eight hits. Nootbaar was 3-for-4.
On defense, Gray made an error on a pickoff attempt. Nathan Church had an outfield assist at second base.
Tuesday, September 2, 2025 – Cardinals 2, Athletics 1
The Cardinals edged the Athletics by a 2-1 score at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched six innings, gave up one run on five hits and walked one to earn his seventh win.
Matt Svanson relieved Mikolas and threw two scoreless innings. JoJo Romero tossed a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
The Athletics took a 1-0 edge in the third inning. The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on a home run by Iván Herrera.
The lead held through nine and the Cardinals came away with their first win of the series.
The offense scattered five hits, including the home run. Nathan Church was 2-for-2. Herrera had two RBI.
On the bases, Church was picked off first base. On defense, Church made a fielding error.
Wednesday, September 3, 2025 – Cardinals 5, Athletics 1
On Wednesday, the Cardinals beat the Athletics by the score of 5-1 to take the series. Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed four hits, fanned seven and walked one to earn his seventh win.
Kyle Leahy relieved Liberatore and surrendered one run in two innings. JoJo Romero tossed the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his seventh save.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Masyn Winn singled. Iván Herrera walked. Willson Contreras singled to plate both runners.
St. Louis increased the lead to 3-0 in the seventh on a solo home run by Nolan Gorman. The Athletics scored their only run in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Cardinals added two runs in the home eighth to extend the lead to 5-1. Winn walked. Nootbaar was intentionally walked. Contreras drove in both on a triple.
The offense scored five runs on seven hits. Contreras was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Gorman was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Winn scored two runs.
Thursday, September 4, 2025 – Off day
Friday, September 5, 2025 – Cardinals 2, Giants 8
The Cardinals lost to the Giants in the first of a three-game series on Friday. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched four innings, gave up six runs on nine hits, struck out three and walked one. McGreevy took the loss.
Gordon Graceffo relieved McGreevy and threw two scoreless innings. Ryan Fernandez surrendered two runs in the seventh. Chris Roycroft hurled a scoreless eighth. Andre Granillo tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Giants went up 2-0 in the first inning and added four runs in the fourth.
The Cardinals scored one run in the fifth. Jimmy Crooks singled and later came home on a single by Victor Scott.
San Francisco extended its lead to 8-1 in the seventh. St. Louis made it 8-2 in the eighth on a solo home run by Iván Herrera.
St. Louis’ offense scored two runs on five hits. Herrera’s home run was the only extra base hit. The offense was 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
Saturday, September 6, 2025 – Cardinals 3, Giants 2
The Cardinals topped the Giants in a 3-2 walk off win at Busch Stadium on Saturday. Starter Andre Pallante pitched six innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out three and walked one.
Kyle Leahy relieved Pallante and threw two scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.
The Cardinal offense struggled until the ninth inning. Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn singled. Jimmy Crooks was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Garrett Hampson pinch ran for Crooks. Thomas Saggese singled to score Gorman. On an 0-for-25 skid, Jordan Walker doubled to plate Winn and Crooks to win the game in a 3-2 walk off.
The offense scored three run on seven hits. Walker’s double was the only extra base hit. No Cardinal had multiples.
On the bases, Victor Scott was caught stealing third base. On defense, Saggese made a fielding error.
Sunday, September 7, 2025 – Cardinals 4, Giants 3
The Cardinals beat the Giants by one run on Sunday to take the series. Starter Sonny Gray pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up three runs on two hits, fanned six and walked four to earn his 13th win.
Matt Svanson relieved Gray and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero hurled a scoreless eighth. Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his third save.
The game was a pitcher’s duel until the bottom of the fifth, when the Cardinals scored four runs. Jordan Walker, Nathan Church and José Fermín walked. Lars Nootbaar singled to score Walker. Iván Herrera singled to plate Church. Nolan Gorman walked and Fermín came home. Nootbaar scored on a double play by Masyn Winn.
In the sixth, the Giants came back to cut the lead to 4-3, but the Cardinals bullpen held on through the final three innings.
St. Louis’ offense scored four runs on eight hits. Herrera was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Church was 2-for-3.
On defense, Pedro Pagés had a passed ball.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals ended the week with a record of 4-2, winning two of three games from both the Athletics and the Giants. The Cardinals are back to .500 but remain in fourth place in the NL Central, 17 games back of the Brewers, and half game behind the third-place Reds. The team is 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card.
The team managed to win both series, though none of the wins were barnburners. In the two games they lost, both margins were by more runs than any of the games they won.
The offense was adequate, as demonstrated by the four wins. The top offensive performers for the week illustrate that the offense was not consequential by any means. Two of the three top performers by OPS for the week did not play in most of the games. They are Nathan Church (1.225 in 8 ABs), Iván Herrera (1.018) and Willson Contreras (.864 in 10 ABs). Contreras missed the entire Giants series due to a four-game suspension that was reduced from six games on appeal. Church played in only four games because Victor Scott returned from the injured list.
At the bottom were four: Thomas Saggese (.411), Jordan Walker (.325), Jimmy Crooks (.282), and Pedro Pagés (.200). Crooks and Pagés are sharing catching duties so their at-bats were limited to 10 each.
The pitching was similar to the offense in that it was not as impressive as the team record would suggest. Matthew Liberatore, Miles Mikolas, and Andre Pallante each had ERAs for the week under 4.00. Liberatore had the best outing of the bunch, with an ERA of 0.00. Sonny Gray made two starts for an ERA of 7.94. Michael McGreevy pitched a clunker (13.50) against the Giants on Friday.
The bullpen was good except for Ryan Fernandez (ERA of 19.29 in two appearances). The bullpen is in flux as it generally is this time of year. Chris Roycroft is up after being in Memphis for most of the second half of the season. John King is on the injured list for the second time recently.
The coming week is the first of two road trips in the next three weeks. The first is in Seattle with a good tea, but a slumping one in the Mariners. They end the week in Milwaukee to play the Brewers, only to face them again the following weekend in St. Louis. The Brewers feature the best record in MLB this season.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB |
| Milwaukee | 89 | 55 | 0.618 | ||
| Chicago | 81 | 62 | 0.566 | 7.5 | |
| Cincinnati | 72 | 71 | 0.503 | 16.5 | 4 |
| St. Louis | 72 | 72 | 0.500 | 17 | 4.5 |
| Pittsburgh | 64 | 80 | 0.444 | 25 | 12.5 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 9/1 The Cardinals recalled RHP Chris Roycroft from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 9/1 The Cardinals activated CF Victor Scott from the 10-day injured list.
- 9/5 The Cardinals optioned 2B César Prieto to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 9/5 The Cardinals activated C Yohel Pozo from the 7-day injured list.
- 9/5 1B Willson Contreras was suspended for four games.
In addition, on Sunday evening, Katie Woo of The Athletic disclosed the following moves to be announced on Monday.
- 1B/OF Alec Burleson off the 10-day injured list.
- UT Garrett Hampson designated for assignment.
- LHR Nick Raquet added to the 40-man roster and promoted from Memphis to St. Louis.
- RHR Andre Granillo optioned to Memphis from St. Louis.
What a difference 12 months makes! Last September, the #stlcards released LHR Nick Raquet. This September, he is getting the call to MLB, per @katiejwoo.
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) September 8, 2025
Injury Report
- LHP Zack Thompson (left lat strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 7. Latest report on Thompson as of September 3 is that he is still at the Cardinals’ spring training facility in Jupiter but has been shut down from throwing. There is no timetable for when he will return to pitching.
- 3B Nolan Arenado was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 1. Right shoulder strain. Arenado has returned to Louis and has taken part in pre-game drills. He is expected to begin a rehab assignment with the Springfield Cardinals on September 9. According to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat, Arenado is expected to return on September 15 for the beginning of the final homestand.
- 2B Brendan Donovan (left groin and foot). Donovan was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 18, retroactive to August 15 with a left groin strain. Donovan went through workouts beginning September 1. He is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon.
- CF Victor Scott (left ankle sprain) was activated from the 10-day injured list and has returned to the lineup.
- LHP John King (mid back strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list just days after returning from a previous IL stint for an oblique injury. King was absent from the team for the birth of his first child this past week. No further updates are available.
- C Yohel Pozo has been activated from the 7-day injured list. With the arrival of C Jimmy Crooks to the roster, Pozo is expected to be a pinch hitter for the foreseeable future.
- OF Alec Burleson was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 29 with right wrist inflammation. Received an injection on August 29. Burleson went through an outfield routine on September 6 without any pain. He is expected to return to the lineup on Monday in Seattle.
- RHP Riley O’Brien (right shoulder soreness) an MRI on O’Brien came back clean, so the right hander had been rested several days to avoid an IL stint. O’Brien returned to pitch against the Giants on Saturday.
Looking Ahead
A road trip begins on Monday, September 7 in Seattle for three games against the Mariners. The road trip ends in Milwaukee for a weekend set.
The Cardinals will return to St. Louis for a three-game series with the Reds, which will be the final time the two teams play this season.
After an off day on Thursday, September 11, the homestand continues with a weekend set with the Brewers for the final time in 2025.
The team ends the regular season on the road starting with a series in San Francisco with the Giants beginning Monday, September 22, and ending in Chicago against the Cubs. The regular season ends on Sunday, September 28.
The postseason begins with the Wild Card Series on Tuesday, September 30. The Cardinals are currently 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card slot, but the likelihood of a postseason berth is very low (1.1% per Fangraphs). St. Louis would not only have to win big over some good opponents ahead but also leapfrog over four teams.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past will feature a look at events in franchise history that took place during the period September 1 through September 7.
The events featured include records made or broken, special feats from players, transactions, or other events that mark the rich history of the franchise. These events will be detailed by date, player or other personnel involved, and as much information as possible to give the reader a sense of the significance of the event.
September 2, 1962 – On this date, the great Stan Musial, who was in his 21st season with the St. Louis Cardinals, got his 3,516th hit, surpassing Tris Speaker on the all-time hits list. This pinch hit single in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss the Mets in St. Louis, moved Musial into second place.
Musial finished his career in 1963 with a total of 3,630 hits. At that time, first place on the list was held by Ty Cobb, with 4,191 hits. Musial was eventually passed by Pete Rose and Hank Aaron.
September 2, 1998 – LHP Kent Mercker, who played for nine teams over 18 years in the majors, hit the only home run of his career while playing for the Cardinals on this date. Mercker pitched for the Cardinals for two seasons, 1998 and 1999.
The home run, a grand slam, came in the fourth inning in a blowout win over the Florida Marlins in Miami. Mercker hit the grand slam off Marlins starter Jesús Sánchez, scoring Ron Gant, Fernando Tatis, and Placido Polanco.
September 3, 2001 – On this date, rookie LHP Bud Smith pitched the only no-hitter of his short major league career. The no-no was in a 4-0 win over the San Diego Padres at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
Smith struck out seven Padres and walked four in the complete game shutout. Smith spent only two seasons with the Cardinals and did not play in the major leagues again for another team. Smith was part of the trade to the Phillies for Scott Rolen on July 29, 2002. Due to injuries, Smith never pitched for the Phillies major league team.
September 4, 2012 – Cardinals C Yadier Molina had his 1,000th hit of his major league career against the Mets at Busch Stadium. It was infield single in a 5-1 win over the Mets.
September 4, 2013 – On this date 1B Matt Adams hit two extra inning home runs in a 5-4 win over the Reds in 16 innings. Adams became only the seventh major leaguer to hit two home runs in extra innings of the same game.
The long balls were solo shots in the 14th and 16th innings.
September 7, 1993 – On this date, Cardinals center fielder Mark Whiten hit four home runs in the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. The four long balls, and 12 resulting RBI, tied two RBI records at the time. The first record was established by Jim Bottomley in 1924 for most RBI in a single game. The second record was for the most RBI in a doubleheader, a 21 year old record set by Nate Colbert.
September 7, 1998 – On this date, 1B Mark McGwire hit his 61st home run of the season, tying the MLB record for most home runs in a single season set by Roger Maris. It was a Labor Day game against the Cubs at Busch Stadium that the Cardinals won 3-2.
McGwire went on to hit 70 home runs in a race with the Cubs Sammy Sosa to break the single season home run record. McGwire hit home run no. 62 the next night, September 8. Sosa ended the season with 66.
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