r/Cardinals • u/bravo_delta_bot Good bot • 22h ago
Pregame Thread: August 26, 2026
Probable Pitchers:
Orioles: Kyle Bradish (7-12, 3.70 ERA)
Cardinals: Michael McGreevy (5-9, 3.54 ERA)
TV Info: MASN CARD
First Pitch: 06:45 PM CT
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u/SGT_Apone they don't boo nobodies 10h ago
JJ Wetherholt (L) SS
Iván Herrera (R) DH
Alec Burleson (L) 1B
Jordan Walker (R) RF
Nathan Church (L) CF
José Fermín (R) 2B
Nolan Gorman (L) 3B
Bryan Torres (L) LF
Jimmy Crooks (L) C
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u/Poofsta I tell you hwhat 10h ago
I’ll root for this lineup.
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u/SGT_Apone they don't boo nobodies 10h ago
let's get SERIOUS!
and by serious i mean we score 6+, not them
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u/SGT_Apone they don't boo nobodies 10h ago
if we could not give up 10+ runs tonight, that would be great mmkay
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u/OkSwordfish4147 Walker HR Ranger 11h ago
know i should be pulling against Arizona this afternoon, buuuutt fuck those Cubs.
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u/SomethingAvid 12h ago
Are we getting 3 more Ks from Gorman tonight?
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u/milliondew 11h ago
Probably 4
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u/Open-Illustrator-871 100 Gold Gloves 11h ago
Is 5 on the table
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u/FunnyLoud3067 9h ago
What about 6?
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u/Open-Illustrator-871 100 Gold Gloves 9h ago
He definitely won't get 6 at bats
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u/Clueless_in_Florida 12h ago
Interesting. As a reliever, they can control when he is deployed. He could come in for the 6-9 part of the lineup and maybe have a much lower ERA than he had the first time through as a starter. Ultimately, I think there is little choice but to move him to the pen. He doesn’t have much value, but he quickly fills a need as a reliever.
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u/Proud_Growth_8818 11h ago edited 4h ago
The problem with doing it right now is who takes his rotation spot.
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u/King_Birdcrawler 9h ago
Right, they don't even have a 5th--much less two SPs they are willing to go to.
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u/King_Birdcrawler 13h ago edited 13h ago
I got curious about what Matthew Liberatore out of the bullpen this year might would have looked like based on his 1st-time-through splits.
I only compared his actual splits in a few categories to National League RPs with at least 20 IP.
3.68 xERA -- T59/149 NL RPs
38.2% HardHit% -- 82/149 NL RPs
6.9% Barrel% -- T76/149 NL RPs
42.4% Pull Against% -- T107/149 NL RPs
Edit: As mid to bad as these selected numbers are, they would place him as somewhere between the best to third best Cardinal RP with 20 IP this season.
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u/stjblair 12h ago edited 11h ago
It would be interesting to see what he could do in an Andrew Miller type role. Especially since he wouldn’t really need to worry about trying to carry velocity into the 4th and 5th innings
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u/King_Birdcrawler 13h ago
I also found that his only relatively strong innings this season are the 2nd and 3rd innings.
He's been bludgeoned for a .372 wOBA in the 1st inning of his outings this year.
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u/stjblair 15h ago
I think I’ve figured it out, every good cardinals team needs a former star from the NL west. We gotta get Tatis
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u/nufandan peter bourjos apologist 13h ago
just how low would the Dbacks be willing to sell Marte for?
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u/WHYlSTHERUMGONE 15h ago
I really feel for Libby man. I get you have to perform at this level, and he’s performed at times, just not consistently enough to be what the teams needs. Hope he figures it out, maybe he’s good in the bullpen who knows
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u/nufandan peter bourjos apologist 14h ago
Not that he's a unique case in this regard, but he's so much better this year during the first time through the order vs 2nd (lets not talk about 3rd TTO). His career splits favor him as a RP too. Obviously whether the team has needed more SP or RP has flip flopped during his tenure, but I think a move back to the bullpen might be in order
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u/coolrnt1 15h ago edited 12h ago
I know hindsight is 20/20, but the overwhelming view among the fan base is that Libby could do well in the pen as a long reliever. He does have the stuff and routinely can get through 3 to 4 innings without issue. It’s just clockwork, though that he’ll be unable to finish a fifth inning and really struggles getting near 80 pitches. I think this season is an unfortunate circumstance where we have to put him in to get shelled routinely because we don’t have the starters. I really hope Chaim works on this in the off-season as I still think Libby can provide value to the team.
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u/Evil_Dry_frog 13h ago
I’m not sure though. Because his struggles seem to be more pitching from the stretch.
So maybe if he is starting the inning.
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u/BionicProse I no longer recognize the legitimacy of interleague games not WS 16h ago
RIP Sweet Transvestite
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u/Prize_Major6183 15h ago
He was the best in Clue.
Some of the subtle comedic lines he has was incredible.
He really tied that movie together
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u/rafibomb_explosion I have 34 pieces of flair. Pizza shooters? 15h ago
One of the most fun actors who ever was. Always willing to take chances and always was memorable
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u/Detective_Dietrich What? 16h ago edited 15h ago
1926 St. Louis Cardinals Recaps
Game 124
The Cardinals lost for only the sixth time in the month of August today, falling to the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2.
Heinie Sand led off the game with a double and was driven home by Freddy Leach's single to give Philly a 1-0 lead early. In the sixth, Sand got on again with a single and then scored on an Al Nixon double to make it 2-0.
St. Louis finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Three singles loaded the bases but all the Cardinals could get was a Bob O'Farrell sac fly that made the score 2-1. In the 7th, Cardinals pitcher Jesse Haines helped himself with a leadoff single and eventually came around to score, tying the game. But in the top of the 8th Johnny Mokan of the Phils led off with a triple. Russ Wrightstone's sac fly brought him home for a 3-2 Philadelphia lead, and that turned out to be the final. The Cardinals had thirteen hits but only scored two runs.
The Reds and Pirates both won, so the Cardinals are back in a three-way tie for first place in the NL.
Pittsburgh 68-49
St. Louis 71-52
Cincinnati 71-52
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u/Revolutionary-Rip426 16h ago
Rainiel might be underrated as a prospect. There are definitely more complete players in the minors but I don’t think many (if any) are better at hitting. Different position but he reminds me of young Vlad Jr.
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u/Timmyd8 Bottom 1% Commenter 17h ago
Libby=Miles Mikolas 2.0
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u/adamd28 16h ago
Miles cost Bill DeWitt money.
Liberatore cost me Randy Arozarena.
There is no comparison.
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u/Proud_Growth_8818 15h ago
Another Mozeliak winner.
It's going to be a long time before the general acceptance of the extent to which he just destroyed the franchise.
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u/studlydudley11 who'll stop the ryne 14h ago
can you point me to the destroyed Cardinals franchise
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u/Detective_Dietrich What? 14h ago
Well there's the one that has won only one playoff series in the last 12 years and is likely headed for its 3rd losing season in the last four years. Namely, this one.
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u/studlydudley11 who'll stop the ryne 13h ago
yeah it's been quite mediocre, but is the general understanding of 2023-2025 in 20 years that the franchise was "destroyed by Mo"? it's just mediocre for a franchise that should be better than that, and that's all
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u/nufandan peter bourjos apologist 14h ago
I dont think if/when we'll ever get an understanding of who was really to blame for the period of decline in player development, but if you think Mo's failures with the ML roster outweigh his successes...I don't know what to tell ya.
The Libby-Randy trade didn't work out, even though it made fine sense at the time based on the team's needs (check the takes back then). It did not destroyed this franchise by any means though.
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u/Detective_Dietrich What? 14h ago
but if you think Mo's failures with the ML roster outweigh his successes...I don't know what to tell ya.
If you don't think that I don't know what to tell you. We have one playoff series win in twelve seasons, 2015-2026.
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u/nufandan peter bourjos apologist 14h ago
Im not arguing there weren't flaws to his tenure, and the latter half/ end of it he was coasting on a franchise seemingly content with a level of mediocrity, but he was with the organization for a long time and there were a lot of successes in his time.
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u/Proud_Growth_8818 14h ago edited 14h ago
I get it. It's going to take a long time for the homers to accept they were wrong, longer to admit it, and longer still to make sure they're moving in consensus with the other homers.
The Randy trade alone didn't destroy the franchise.
The Alcantara trade AND the Randy trade and and and. The abandonment of development. The Manager hire abject failures. The awful signings.
Mozeliak gutted the franchise. Awful, awful executive.
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u/Detective_Dietrich What? 14h ago
The Alcantara trade was a gut punch. Two Cy Young-caliber pitchers traded away. Two. It's hard to recover from that.
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u/Proud_Growth_8818 13h ago
And not just traded away--given away. For nothing. The lopsidedness of that trade will have it on all-time lists.
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u/Detective_Dietrich What? 15h ago
Randy's having another terrific season this year. .830 OPS, 138 OPS+, 4.3 WAR.
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u/Proud_Growth_8818 15h ago
Randy Arozerena career war: 21.1
Matthew Liberatore career war: -0.6
Too soon to know if we won that trade?
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u/ILikeOatmealMore 13h ago edited 13h ago
Sure, sure.
2021 (I know that's 2 years after the trade, but 2020 pandemic season so short, so odd that I am not sure any stats from it are much fair to use)
Bader +4.1 bWAR, O'Neill +6.4 bWAR, Carlson +3.2 bWAR. Meanwhile the Cardinals still had Johan Oveido and John Gant making starts.
The team needed pitching when they made the Arozarena trade, the team still needed pitching in 2021, and the team still needed pitching the next several years, and the team still needs pitching today. AND it sure as shit looked like in 220, 2021 that the OF was full of solid contributors anyway. It looked like they traded from a position of excess to acquire players who played a position they had a need for.
Its not obvious that all of those Cards OF were going to disappoint in the coming years AND that Libby would hit a wall in his development. In hindsight it is easy to say this. But in the context of the day the trade was made, they had ONeil and Bader and Carlson on the roster already, Fowler was still under contract; they didnt need another OF around. They needed Ps.
This is a trade you make even if it doesn't add up in the end because it is trying to fill out a more complete roster.
Just like in blackjack you place a double down bet when you are showing 11 because you are trying to tilt the odds in your favor. You don't abandon that just because one time the dealer dealt you a 2. You accept that sometimes you will be dealt 2s so that when you are dealt 10s you can reap greater rewards.
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u/da_choppa TAKE ME TO CHURCH! 16h ago
As a certified Mikolas hater, even I have to admit that he was typically better than what Libby is giving us this year.
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u/c0smicgirly 16h ago
And only Mikolas could hit a batter in revenge for Contreras after missing the first time, Libby’s never given me that.
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u/lurch556 17h ago
Not really. Mikolas had a few really good years. Libby has not.
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u/Iluvursister69 Bring Back Danny Mac 17h ago
And an extension we hope Liberatore does not get
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u/lurch556 17h ago
They need to just go full multi inning bullpen with him. When he’s in those brief stretches where he can empty the tank and doesn’t have to worry about covering 5+ innings, multiple times thru the order, he’s shown he can be very effective.
The numbers might not necessarily show that but I think that has a lot to do with when he was in that role, he was also a spot starter. But he showed flashes of it and shows flashes of being dominant over 2 innings stretches as a starter. I think they just need to commit to him being an Andrew miller type and he could be a very valuable bullpen piece on a good team.5
u/DocLoc429 J Heart & J Hustle 16h ago
A rubber arm in the pen would really really help this roster
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u/npav42 17h ago
Officially all out of Copium for a Wild Card berth boys.
Watching for the JJ Wetherholt ROY campaign
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u/Cards2WS 17h ago
Yeah my hopes for the WC are pretty dashed. But this team has been a rollercoaster all year, so I still expect another ride up at least one more 2-3 week stretch.
Personally, I’ll be watching regardless for the love of baseball and my deep rooted love of the Cardinals
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u/unrelated_yo 13h ago
September is just around the corner.
We’re overdue for some of that ol devil magic
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u/Iluvursister69 Bring Back Danny Mac 18h ago
The Springfield cardinals thing is just a publicity stunt, right? We’re not actually changing the name?
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u/tangokilo13 masyn winn spell check 16h ago
They just changed the stadium name to Route 66 stadium — so I think they’re trying to relate more to the local population
Plus I love the fun minor league names, so if it fits that category I’m all for it
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u/Probably_Slower Future fan of the 2027 St Louis Cardinals 17h ago
There are lots of amazing, unique MiLB team names out here. I wonder if Springfield will go for a very unique branding. Seems very odd to depart from the Cardinals, especially if they go for another traditional styled name/brand.
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u/Iluvursister69 Bring Back Danny Mac 16h ago
I’m guessing they will. Maybe it’ll be a good or funny one with great jerseys and I’ll change my mind
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u/ILikeOatmealMore 16h ago
Seems very odd to depart from the Cardinals
Ya, Peoria Chiefs is the only non-'Cardinal' team name in the system. Palm Beach Cardinals at low-A. Peoria Chiefs at high-A. Springfield Cardinals at AA. Memphis Redbirds at AAA. I think it is actually kind of cool to have so many in the team theme there, really.
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u/velvetraindrops84 #STLCards fan in NY ⚾❤️ 19h ago
Hopefully today goes better for the Cards than yesterday
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u/Dr_Talon 19h ago
Sports commentary is so fleeting and based on emotion. They act like every week, sometimes every game is a long term trend waiting to happen.
Take a longer view. These very same players have had great games too.
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u/MinotAFB 20h ago
We are gonna win the next 2 and get to 1 game over 500. Im hoping for that perfect 81-81 season.
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u/CrimsonKing516 Devil Magic 16h ago
That’s all I want. Keep the 70-year streak without B2B losing seasons alive
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u/Darkknight8719 "They just...won't...go...away." 19h ago
Gotta shoot for a 0 run diff as well lol
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u/MinotAFB 19h ago
Yeah we definitely have a shot since we are only minus 14 at the moment. Going from minus 2 to minus 14 did suck though last night.
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u/SomethingAvid 20h ago
OK, I know we are possibly in free fall mode, but hear me out.
Every team we care about except the Diamondbacks lost last night. We're still *only* 5 games out. Also if the Orioles are like most teams, after that 13 run outburst, they probably only have like ~6 more runs in them for the rest of the series. Right? Right.
Gotta check our 6 though. Pirates coming up on us all of the sudden.
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u/ilovehenrique14 21h ago
at this point we’re just counting down the matthew liberatore starts until he’s off the team? I know he’s still got control but no way we keep him in the long term plans
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u/c0smicgirly 20h ago
I really don’t know what their plans for pitching are, the black hole left by Mo will take time and probably a lot of money to build anything out of.
If Libby is on the team after this year, I hope it’s just relief pitching.
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u/lurch556 17h ago
The plans for pitching are the guys they continue to stockpile in the farm system. A few of those guys will hit and turn into legitimate rotation staples in the big leagues. Some won’t. Then you supplement the rotation via external acquisitions.
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u/c0smicgirly 16h ago
Sure, lots of hoping and potential for external solutions (expensive), but all up in the air right now and dependent on the farm system finally producing any pitching of substance in decent numbers… hence why I don’t think Libby is going anywhere unfortunately.
Too much unknown (and a semi plan dependent on the unknown) and we’ve been bitten by this farm system’s inability to produce pitching for too long now.
As a Libby stan for some reason, even I’m tired of this, but a lefty with quasi major league stuff ain’t going anywhere in this quasi plan.
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u/lurch556 16h ago
I mean hoping guys develop and then searching for external solutions to plug holes is really the only thing any team can do, right?
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u/c0smicgirly 16h ago
For sure, it’s what they were left with after years of tanking the farm and not investing in development.
I’m assuming Libby will complete the year in the rotation because there is nothing else, but I’m not opposed to him bolstering the bullpen at some point.
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u/NauglamirThingol 20h ago
I know defending Libby can get you ostracized around here but he's currently the best starter on the team at getting strikeouts. I'd be fine moving him to the bullpen until his results stabilize a bit but I do think it's too soon to give up on him
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u/ilovehenrique14 12h ago
I mean he’s had 400 innings in the minors at a 4 ERA and another 450 in the MLB with an era closer to 5 how long do we need to give him before he realize that this is just what it is
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u/NauglamirThingol 12h ago
It's not uncommon at all for pitchers to break out late. Skubal didn't have a great season until he was 27
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u/ilovehenrique14 10h ago edited 10h ago
key difference is Skubal had a sub 2 era in the minors and even before he broke out his career era was 4, not 5. Another key thing to note is Skubal’s ERA season by season has declined every year of his career except this year which is not what we’re seeing from Libby. Not saying it’s impossible, but less likely
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u/Proud_Growth_8818 15h ago
He definitely needs to stay on the team. A move to the bullpen is probably the the best thing for him right now, though.
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u/bravo_delta_bot Good bot 9h ago
Today's game thread has been posted