The Cardinals have spent two nights making life miserable for the Dodgers, and Thomas Saggese has been right in the middle of it.
St. Louis opened its three-game set at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday and has already grabbed the first two.
The Cardinals won the opener 13-8, then followed it up Wednesday with an 8-6 comeback victory in extra innings. With one game left Thursday, the young, battered roster has somehow kept rolling despite being without Andre Pallante, Hunter Dobbins, Blaze Jordan, JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, and Everson Pereira, all of whom are on the Injured List.
Even with those absences, St. Louis is back at .500 at 70-70.
A big reason the Cardinals have stayed afloat is that production has come from everywhere, and Saggese has delivered in a major way. The 24-year-old utility man is back in the majors, and this stretch is looking a whole lot better than the start of the 2026 season. Against Los Angeles alone, he has gone 4-for-7 with three homers, six RBIs, one walk, and five runs scored over two games.
That’s a huge burst for a player who entered the series with just four home runs in 36 big league games this season. Three of those four have come in the last two days.
St. Louis needed a jolt, and Saggese gave it to them.
He also slid into a little Cardinals history along the way. Cardinals team reporter Dani Wexelman shared on X that Saggese became the first Cardinal to hit at least three homers against the Dodgers in a season since Scott Rolen in 2003.
"Per Cardinals PR: The last time a Cardinal hit more than 3 HR in a single-season against the Dodgers was Scott Rolen with 4 in 2003, since then 17 times a Cardinal have hit 3 including Saggese," Wexelman wrote.
What makes the run even more striking is how quickly it all came together. Saggese wasn’t even back in the majors a week ago.
He was recalled on Aug. 28 in place of Jordan after not appearing in a big league game since June 3. A week later, he’s one of the hottest bats in the Cardinals’ lineup and a big reason they’ve taken control of the series.
That’s baseball for you: the next man up can turn into the difference-maker in a hurry. And right now, Saggese is giving St. Louis exactly what it needs.
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