The Cardinals opened the second half of the 2026 season with a win that was far tighter than the final line suggested. St. Louis beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Friday, climbed back to six games over .500, and moved into the third National League wild card spot.
It was the kind of night that could have slipped away in a hurry. The Cardinals had to survive pressure in the late innings, and Masyn Winn helped keep them afloat with a key defensive play at shortstop in the seventh. Even then, the game stayed on a knife’s edge.
Arizona erased the lead in the eighth when Corbin Carroll launched a two-run homer to tie it up. St.
Louis answered to regain control, but the finish still wasn’t clean. Riley O'Brien got into trouble after that, though he managed to escape with some assistance from the Diamondbacks.
O'Brien walked former Cardinal Nolan Arenado, who was pinch-run for, then picked off Jorge Barrosa, a huge moment after Tim Tawa lined a two-out double. If Barrosa had remained on first with his speed, that hit could have brought in the tying run.
The biggest break for St. Louis came at the very end, and it came from Arizona’s own decision-making.
Ketel Marte passed on two called strikes that were out of the zone, even though the Diamondbacks still had both of their ABS challenges available. The final pitch of the game was also high, but Marte never challenged it.
That left the Cardinals stunned, and it left the Arizona dugout with a missed opportunity. If Marte had used that final challenge, the Diamondbacks likely would have had the winning run at the plate next in Geraldo Perdomo.
So yes, St. Louis escaped with one. But the Cardinals also did what they’ve done all season: they took a punch and answered back.
Now they’ll try to win the series on Saturday and keep pushing toward what could become a playoff spot by season’s end. For a club that entered 2026 in a rebuild after trading away all of its marquee players last offseason, the Cardinals have been one of the season’s surprises. On Friday, though, they got a little help from the other side.
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