Through the first 21 games of a new era, the Cardinals emerged as an early-season surprise, in part, by not being surprised by their ability to win baseball games. The external preseason expectorations did not match their internal expectations.
The outside perception: ah, a rebuilding team, youngest in the majors, limited talent, low payroll, shortage of impact players, and a pragmatic approach of a franchise willing to absorb painful short-term failure as a necessary sacrifice for a more successful future.
The view inside the St. Louis headquarters – especially within the clubhouse sanctuary cultivated by manager Oli Marmol, his coaches and the players: oh, bleep that. And bleep you. We can win. We will win.
As the Cardinals begin a three-game series in Miami at the most expensive, elaborate but nearly empty MLB ballpark on the continent, they own a 13-8 record for a .619 winning percentage that ranks fifth among the 30 teams.
As I type this the Cardinals possess a better winning percentage than both New York teams, the popular north-side Chicago team, the self-obsessed Boston team, the aging and rowdy Philadelphia team, the overhyped Canadian team, the ambush-plotting Milwaukee team – plus an assortment of tigers, birds, fish, space travelers, snakes, guards and a goliath.
The Cards’ 13-8 may not be what it seems to be. According to Clay Davenport’s third-order winning percentage – which bakes in run differential and schedule-strength factors – the Redbird record should by 9-12. Our Town’s team is either overachieving or still being overlooked. Or maybe a little of both.
All I know is this: the Cardinals are a winning team right now. And a potential bracket-buster team. Until and unless they aren’t. With 13 percent of the 2026 season part of the official record, the Cardinal shall be treated with the respect they’re busy earning. Until they stop earning it.
This Monday afternoon, I did a writeup on the 21 reasons why I like watching this team play ball. Twenty-one games does not make a season … but 21 games is enough to make an initial impression.
And the Cardinals are, among other things, tricky and resourceful escape artists and fearless late-round knockout punchers.
1. The Cardinals have won five of their first seven series. That hasn’t happened since 2022, when the roster featured high-performance talents that included Pujols, Molina, Goldschmidt, Arenado, Wainwright, Edman, Donovan, Helsley, Montgomery. Before that it happened in 2019. And before that 2015. Those three teams won at least 91 games and made the playoffs.
1a. The only other teams to have five series victories going into the new week are the Braves (6), Dodgers (5), Brewers (5), Padres (5) and Diamondbacks (5).
2. The Cardinals’ .619 winning percentage is well above the collective winning percentage (.470) of three teams that stand out for a reason: the Red Sox, Mariners and Diamondbacks acquired Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals this past offseason when Chaim Bloom did the expected offloading. I don’t know how or why the Cards are better than Boston (Gray, Contreras), the Mariners (Donovan) or Diamondbacks (Arenado.) But alas, that’s the case, and I did not expect it.
3. Nine comeback wins. Already. Only the Diamondbacks (10) have more. The Cardinals are 5-0 in one-run games. They are 9-1 in games settled by two runs or less. They are 5-0 in extra innings.
4. Why did I say the Cards were lethal late-inning knockout punchers? Well, take a look at this …
From the 5th inning until the end of the game, with all stats through Sunday:
– Most runs scored: St. Louis, 74.
– Most home runs: Cardinals and Dodgers, 19.
– Most RBIs: Cardinals 73, which is five more than the next team in the rankings.
– Cards hitters are 4th overall in slugging percentage (.450) and OPS (.801), and wRC+ (124) from the fifth inning on.
5. All of the above explains much of STL’s success in comeback wins, one-run wins, two-run wins, extra-innings triumphs. And all of the above is a big, big reason why the Cardinals have successfully gotten through so many late-inning emergencies that were created and mishandled by their bullpen. Despite the bullpen crises, the Cards have outscored opponents 73-60 from the fifth inning on in games.
6. Through Sunday, the Cardinals had won five consecutive games, and the fellers pulled it off without the benefit of a Jordan Walker home run, and only one Walker RBI. Many men contributed; the Cards were not overly dependent on Walker or any other hitter.
7. In going 5-0 against the Guardians and Astros during this streak, the boys produced their 34 runs in all sorts of ways. I charted it for you:
* 13 runs on seven homers.
* Nearly as many runs, 12, on seven singles.
* Five runs on three doubles.
* Two runs on two sac flies.
* One run scored on a wild pitch.
* Another scored on a bases-loaded walk.
* During this 5-0 blitz, St. Louis hitters had three home runs, two doubles,13 RBIs and 13 freakin’ walks on two-strike counts. I mean, seriously. Thirteen walks on two-strike counts? Quality at-bats right there.
* Over the five games the Cards plated 14 runs on two-out activities.
8. The Cardinals won five straight despite the bullpen troubles that included a 5.85 ERA and a 13% walk rate.
9. Despite the bullpen stressors, the Cardinals have avoided costly damage. For the season, the St. Louis bullpen ERA is 5.40 (27th) and the relievers have the worst strikeout-walk ratio among the 30 ‘pens. But this team has lost only one game to a blown lead/save so far. That’s tied for the fewest in the majors.
And for perspective consider this: 19 MLB teams have lost at least five games this season after blowing a lead. The Cardinals are truly fortunate to dodge most of the potential repercussions.
10. The Cardinals are 13-8 despite being only one of four teams ranked in the bottom 10 in both starting-pitching ERA and bullpen ERA. They are the only winning team among the four.
11: JJ Wetherholt is an absolute maniac. That’s high praise – 100 percent. This is what you want at the top of the lineup. Do you know what Wetherholt has done during the five-game winning streak?
This, in 24 plate appearances:
+ 5 for 15, .333 average
+ 4 walks
+ 4 hit-by-pitches
+ 13 times on base
+ .542 on-base percentage
+ 2 homers, 6 runs, 6 RBIs
+ .733 slugging percentage
+ 1.275 OPS
+ 1 sac fly, 1 steal
+ .905 OPS with runners in scoring position with two walks, three RBIs, three runs scored.
Maniac.
12. Tip o’ the cap to the Cards' starting pitchers. During the five-game winning streak each of the five starters took their scheduled turn. And Michael McGreevy, Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore combined for a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings. Well done, gentlemen.
13. Happy for Masyn Winn and his breakout weekend in H Town … his hometown. Winn went 5 for 15 with a team-leading seven RBIs and had several huge hits against the Astros. Winn had one RBI on the season before arriving in Houston. Hopefully. the homecoming will reignite his season after a slow start.
14. Kudos to Nolan Gorman for his offense and defense during the Houston sweep. The Cards third baseman had gone underwater offensively, and he had some awkward at-bats against the Astros, who made him eat changeups. But Gorman’s timing was outstanding. He went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position with a home run and five RBIs. And specifically in high-leverage spots, Gorman went 2 for 3 with that homer and the five RBIs. And man, the defense. It was special.
15. A display of team ball. During the five-game winning streak, the Cardinals have gotten hits from 11 different players, RBIs from 11 different players, and 12 different men have scored runs. The Cards have also received doubles from seven different hitters, homers from six different hitters, and stolen bases from five different runners.
16. Here’s the interesting thing about Nathan Church: the Cardinals are 10-3 this season when he’s in the starting lineup. Church plays good defense in left field and center. And though his overall offensive numbers for the season aren’t much to look at, he’s been perking up. In his last 10 games Church batted .318 with a .385 on-base percentage, .500 slug and .885 OPS. His menu of results also includes a homer, double, two steals and four RBIs.
17. The Cardinals departed Houston with the fifth-best winning percentage. Through Sunday, the only teams that have done better than St. Louis so far are the Dodgers, Braves, Padres and Reds.
18. After three games at Miami the Cardinals will encounter a gauntlet of opponents that will tell us more about their 13-8 start. Three at home vs. the Mariners, four at Pittsburgh, then a six-game home stay that brings in the Dodgers and Brewers. I like knowing the Cardinals will have an opportunity to gain at least some validation.
19. Here’s one of the things that cracks me up about this 13-8 new beginning for the Cardinals, a team that has the second lowest payroll in the majors.
Five of the teams on the Top 10 list of the MLB 2026 payroll rankings are getting slapped around.
In total cash payroll spending as tabulated by Spotrac, the Mets, Phillies, Blue Jays, Astros and Giants have funded payrolls for 2026 that amount to a combined $1.44 billion dollars.
As for the early returns on those investments, the Mets, Phillies, Blue Jays, Astros and Giants have a combined record of 40 and 69 for a .367 winning percentage. And those 5 big-spending teams have collectively won only 10 of their first 35 series played.
Including luxury-tax penalties and deferred salaries the Mets are spending $360 million on player talent this season. They have a 7-15 record and an 11-game losing streak to show for it. In losing the 11 straight, the Mets have been outscored 62-19.
Hey, the Cardinals have an active-cash 26-man payroll of $47.7 million, and their total-cash payroll is $113.1 million.
Through Sunday, here’s what each team has spent per win so far in 2026:
– Mets: $51.4 million per win.
– Cardinals: $8.7 million per win.
– MLB average: $19.1 million per win.
20. How about the NL Central? Every team has a winning record after the first three weeks of the season. But how has each NLC team fared in games played outside the division?
Reds … 13-6, .684
Cardinals … 13-8, .619
Cubs … 11-7, .611
Brewers … 12-9, .571
Pirates … 9-7, .563
21. What do I like most about the 2026 Cardinals? They play with a seemingly endless amount of energy, supported by their belief in each other. These men get their uniforms dirty and may lead the majors in laundry detergent.
They live by Yogi Berra’s words: it ain’t over till it’s over. That’s why the boys have nine comeback wins already. The managers, coaches and players love being the underdogs. The Cardinals were at their feverish best on Sunday, completing a sweep with a superbly intense 7-5 win in 10 innings. They had several chances to give that game away but refused to yield.
I also appreciate, very much, the many ways this team can score runs. Oli Marmol is running a “spread” offense … as in spreading out an attack that can go in multiple directions based on the game situations. It’s just a matter of picking the approach that fits the challenge at the moment. Or maybe we should borrow another football term and call this the “option” offense.
Let me offer a few small examples of how many ways the Cardinals can go:
They are 5th overall in home runs per game, at 1.19 … and yet they lead the majors in sacrifice fly rate, and are No. 1 in the average number of overall sacrifice hits per game.
The Cardinals have made a concentrated effort to draw more walks this season – and it’s working. Over the 2024-25 seasons the squad ranked 24th in the majors with a 7.8 percent walk rate. This year, the Cards are 9th among MLB teams by walking just under 11% of the time.
As a result, St. Louis has the sixth-most plate appearances with runners on base, and are third for most PA with men in scoring position. So the Redbirds are increasing their run-scoring opportunities – and that would pay off in a more prominent way if they can do a more effective job of strumming a higher count of base hits with runners in position to score.
The Cardinals’ home-run capability has increased in a meaningful way – but so has their percentage of productive outs, percentage of extra bases taken. And the offense has moved up to the No. 11 ranking in average stolen bases per game.
“You want to be a club that has the ability to win a lot of different ways,” Marmol said during the Houston series. “You don’t want to be just dependent on one thing. I think we showed the ability yesterday with a couple homers [but also] to manufacture runs, be aggressive on the bases, be smart while being aggressive and then playing good defense. We’re going to find a way every night to put pressure on you and peek up after nine to see where we’re at. The club has done a really nice job of that.”
OUTSIDE VIEW
Observations from the excellent CBS Sports baseball columnist Matt Snyder, who moved the Cardinals up 10 spots, to No. 12, in his weekly MLB Power Rankings.
“The one team pretty much everyone agreed that definitely wouldn't be a contender in this division this season was the Cardinals,” Snyder wrote. “They were in a transition phase throughout the offseason and even if it wasn't a radical rebuild or anything, there was a youth movement settling in that could, at bare minimum, be described as a retooling at the big-league level.
“The funny thing is, as a fan, when you enter a season with low expectations, the highs can feel so much higher. The Cardinals are 13-8 and Jordan Walker has looked like one of baseball's best sluggers.”
Thanks for reading …
Please pardon my typos …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.