The Cardinals’ latest setback didn’t just ding their playoff hopes. It put a spotlight right back on the messiest part of the roster.
St. Louis went into its three-game set with the San Francisco Giants needing a few wins to keep its slim postseason chances breathing.
Instead, the Cardinals got swept by the 62-85 Giants and dropped to 72-75 with 15 games left. It was a rough series for a team that has made progress in 2026, even if the final stretch now feels like it’s slipping away.
There have been real positives this season. The lineup has moved in the right direction thanks to Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, and Alec Burleson, while Leo Bernal and Joshua Báez have been hot lately. The rotation has also delivered in spots, with Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy and Michael McGreevy standing out for most of the year, and Quinn Mathews showing well recently too.
But the bullpen has been the drag.
George Soriano blew a save in Wednesday’s series finale against San Francisco, and that pushed the Cardinals to 28 blown saves on the season, the third-highest total in baseball. Only the Washington Nationals, with 38, and the Detroit Tigers, with 31, have more.
The saves column tells its own strange story. Riley O'Brien leads the National League with 36 saves, while Mason Miller is next among NL pitchers with 34.
That kind of total says plenty about how many tight games St. Louis has played.
O'Brien also has seven blown saves, which ranks as the seventh-most in baseball. Soriano’s eight blown saves are the third-most in the majors.
The frustrating part for St. Louis is how little margin there has been.
If the Cardinals were merely average in this area, the whole conversation would look different. The Los Angeles Dodgers are 16th in the league with 20 blown saves, and the Cardinals sit at 72-75.
Cut St. Louis’ blown saves down to 20 instead of 28, and that record would look like 80-67, right in the playoff mix.
That’s why this winter has to be about the bullpen. The Cardinals’ relief corps carries a 4.58 ERA, which ranks 24th in Major League Baseball, and that simply won’t get it done. Chaim Bloom’s hands are going to be forced.
In Other News...
Jordan Walkers Exit Looked Scary But Cardinals Avoided More Bad News
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Oli Marmol helped calm things afterward by saying Walker was not seriously concerned about the injury, which is the kind of update St. Louis needed after a shaky-looking scene on the field. Walker had already turned in a strong performance before leaving, and with his season still trending in a productive direction, the bigger question now is simply how he responds in the next game or two. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Gray Is Making Cardinals Fans Revisit What Went Wrong
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For Cardinals fans, the contrast invites a fresh look at what went wrong during his time in St. Louis, where the fit never quite matched the expectations. Weather, adjustments to his pitching mix and the general challenge of adapting to a new environment all seemed to matter, and Gray has even said he would be open to returning home if his family wanted that. The Cardinals eventually dealt him after the 2025 season, adding pitching prospects in the return, but his resurgence elsewhere has kept the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Scott II Suddenly Faces A Brutal Cardinals Reality
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Scott has been used primarily as a pinch runner and defensive replacement since his recall, without getting a start or an at-bat to work with. With Nathan Church now favored in center, the bigger question is no longer how Scott fits into the lineup right now, but whether he still fits into St. Louis plans at all. [Read more 🡒]