Cardinals 18, Brewers 1.
Here’s a reaction from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
You could almost hear the shouts coming from almost 400 miles away in Milwaukee over the reserved crowd at Busch Stadium.
Don’t let the Cardinals get hot.
Well, it might have happened.
What a night. Your Redbirds have streaked to four consecutive wins and are 7-1 in their last eight games. Their pitching is trending in a positive direction. The offense is absolutely ballistic. The Cardinals have rallied for ninth-inning comeback triumphs. They’ve rallied around catcher Willson Contreras. Their unity has been matched by a collective energy. Lethargy has been replaced by urgency. A lifeless season has come alive. Their cold-sweat anxiety is fading and replaced by cool confidence.
That’s my narrative and I’m sticking to it – at least as long as the Cardinals give me reasons to do so. And that’s the only meaningful question: Can they do this? Can they make it last? Can they continue to play winning baseball?
I don’t know the answer. But baseball in St. Louis is fun again, and that’s what winning can do for their teams and their loyal fans.
And things are getting interesting …
Are the Cardinals back in the NL Central race? I know, I know … they still have a yucky 17-25 record. But the Cardinals don’t play in the AL East; they compete in the NL Central. And even with the change in the scheduling format – with all 30 teams playing fewer games inside the division – the Cardinals have a cleaner pathway.
In winning only 10 times in their first 34 games, the Cardinals were an imposing 10 games out of first place in the NL Central before play began on May 7. And now, even though the Cardinals are still in last place, they’re a workable 6½ games behind the first–place Brewers. That happened quickly, but that’s what a 7-1 splurge can do for your team.
STL’s playoff odds at FanGraphs have improved.
— After losing to Detroit on May 6, the Cardinals had a 12.6 percent chance of winning the division and an 18.6% shot of making the playoffs.
— After their 7-1 surge, the Cardinals have a 26% probability of winning the division and a 38% crack at reaching the postseason.
Do we trust the Cardinals? I can only speak for myself, and this is how I feel at the moment: not yet, but but I’m getting there. I think we’ll know a lot more at the end of the week, after the Redbirds complete their seven-game home stay against the Brewers and the Dodgers. At don’t forget that’s followed by a stretch in which they’ll play 13 of 15 games on the road. That ends June 7.
So I’m not on the bandwagon just yet. First of all, there is no bandwagon. The Cardinals haven’t attained superpower status just by going 7-1 during a span that’s a small percentage of the overall schedule.
I’m more confident in the offense but I’ll need to see more consistency from the starting pitching … a lot more consistency. The team defense is getting firmer but still has soft spots. I like the recent return to baserunning aggressiveness.
Jack Flaherty had a great start against the Brewers on Monday, doing his part to establish a stronger and more confident connection with Contreras. It was a pleasure to watch. It was a positive sign of a Cardinal starting pitcher taking leadership by working closely with the catcher instead of blaming the catcher.
The Cardinals are trying to straighten out, snap up wins, and become recognizable again after a horrendous start to 2023. And that should be acknowledged and praised. And we don’t have to tell anyone in the St. Louis clubhouse the Cardinals must pass an extensive credibility test. But their entertaining 7-1 stretch certainly is an uplifting twist in what had been a season of losing and torment.
Thanks for reading.
I’ll return later this afternoon with The Redbird Review
–Bernie
Bernie invites you to listen to his sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS-AM. It airs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and Friday from 4-6 p.m. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the show podcast at 590thefan.com or the 590 app.
Follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz
Listen to the “Seeing Red” podcast on the Cardinals, featuring Will Leitch and Miklasz. It’s available on your preferred podcast platform. Or follow @seeingredpod on Twitter for a direct link.
All stats used in my baseball columns are sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Baseball Savant, Bill James Online and Baseball Prospectus.
For the last 36 years Bernie Miklasz has entertained, enlightened, and connected with generations of St. Louis sports fans.
While best known for his voice as the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch for 26 years, Bernie has also written for The Athletic, Dallas Morning News and Baltimore News American. A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie has hosted radio shows in St. Louis, Dallas, Baltimore and Washington D.C.
Bernie, his wife Kirsten and their cats reside in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood of St. Louis.
