The Cardinals came within two outs of pulling off a road sweep of the Dodgers, but Los Angeles found a way to flip the script before Riley O'Brien could finish the job. Teoscar Hernandez delivered the winning runs, and St. Louis walked away from Thursday night’s game with a loss that kept them from making history at Dodger Stadium.
It was a frustrating finish for a team that had already done enough in the series to leave with a win, even if the sweep never materialized. The Cardinals dropped back under .500 ahead of their series with the Colorado Rockies, and the late-inning collapse in Los Angeles left a handful of missed chances to sort through.
O'Brien’s rough patch has now stretched beyond one night. He gave up six straight runs to the Philadelphia Phillies on August 23, took a loss against the Baltimore Orioles shortly after, and then couldn’t close things out against the Dodgers.
He did earn the save Wednesday night, but Thursday was a different story. Over his last 30 games, he is 0-4 with a 4.55 ERA, and his season ERA has climbed to 4.18.
At this point, he doesn’t look like a clean answer at closer for St. Louis, which makes the bullpen a clear area to revisit after the season.
The Cardinals also let one of their best offensive openings slip away in the sixth inning. After they knocked Tarik Skubal out of the game, the Dodgers turned to right-hander Edgardo Henriquez against Pedro Pages. Oli Marmol responded by sending up Alec Burleson, who has become the first left-handed hitter to record 100 or more RBI for the Cardinals in a single season since Jim Edmonds in 2004.
St. Louis had a 2-1 lead and two runners on with two outs, but Burleson was called out on strikes.
That was probably the cleanest chance the Cardinals had to put the game away, and they couldn’t cash it in. From there, the bats went quiet, and the Dodgers stayed within striking distance long enough to seize it late.
Quinn Mathews gave St. Louis a start that was good enough to win, allowing one run over five innings.
The problem was how quickly the pitch count piled up. He was already well over 60 pitches before getting through the third inning, and with the Cardinals having used a bullpen game on Wednesday, the relief group was not exactly fresh.
The extra length from Mathews never really came, and that left the bullpen to absorb too much again.
In Other News...
Cardinals Trade Regret Keeps Growing At Their Biggest Weak Spot
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Instead, the focus now turns to recovery, with a Cardinals official saying he will face a 12-month rehabilitation period after his second surgery on the same right elbow. The timetable points to him missing the rest of the 2026 season and most of 2027, leaving St. Louis to rethink how it fills the innings it expected to get from him and how this move fits into the broader plan for the staff. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Deadline Trade Suddenly Looks Better Than Fans Expected
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Instead, the early returns have leaned the Cardinals way. May has labored through five starts with Milwaukee, and St. Louis has already added Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale to the farm system, giving the front office at least some reason to feel better about the deadline deal even as the big-league rotation continues to need help. For a team trying to balance present needs with future value, this one suddenly looks a little more favorable than it did in July. [Read more 🡒]