The Cardinals are on a roll. Tonight, everything was clicking. The offense busted out for 10 runs. Everyone in the lineup except for Jordan Walker picked up a hit, and even Walker drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Willson Contreras opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first, and the Cardinals never looked back. He also had an RBI walk in the eighth. Erick Fedde had a lead before he even took the mound. Victor Scott II had two RBI, one on a sac fly in the fourth and another on a fielder’s choice and throwing error in the ninth. Even Masyn Winn drove in a run with a base-hit to start the eighth. The Cardinals beat the Nationals in the series opener 10-0 and won their sixth straight game. Let’s break this one down, shall we?
Fedde shoves against his old team
The main takeaway from this game was the way Erick Fedde pitched, and you can’t help but feel good for him after tonight’s game. The veteran right-hander came back to his old home of Nationals Park, facing his old club and pitched the game of his life.
Fedde pitched the first complete-game shutout for the Cardinals since Jordan Montgomery accomplished the feat on August 22, 2022 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
He allowed just six hits and didn’t walk any batters while also striking out eight Nationals hitters.
This had to feel good for Fedde. He had struggled in his last two starts. He’s been mostly good this year, save for a start against the Red Sox and one against the Brewers. Tonight, he brought his ERA down from 4.78 to 3.86, earning his third win of the year.
This is also good for Fedde as it pertains to his trade value. The deadline is still months away and we don’t know what approach the Cardinals will take, though I’ve made my opinion clear several times. I have to believe that after tonight, the Cardinals may have some contending teams calling about Fedde leading up to the deadline. He’s on an expiring contract, and if he can keep pitching like this, the Cardinals could fetch a few solid prospects for him.
But more than anything, you can’t help but feel happy for him. He’s been through so much and even had to go overseas to revitalize his career. He’s done just that and dominated tonight against his former team that gave up on him all those years ago.
Herrera returns
Another big storyline from tonight was the return of Ivan Herrera. While the Cardinals offense has been a lot better this year than it was in 2024, you could tell that without Herrera, especially on the road, the offense was missing something.
It was also easy for me to tell tonight that the offense benefitted from his return. He had a sac fly in the top of the third to make it a 3-0 game. Then he drove in a run with a double in the fifth to make it 5-0. It may have only been one hit, but he contributed big-time tonight.
I also like that Oli Marmol made him the designated hitter. I think that should be his role going forward. His defense behind the plate hasn’t gotten much better, but you need his bat in the lineup. This allows the Cardinals to keep rolling with Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo, who are superior defenders, while also keeping Herrera in the lineup. When healthy, he’s been arguably the Cardinals best hitter, save for maybe Brendan Donovan.
Back over .500
For the first time since before their doubleheader against the Red Sox, the Cardinals are over the .500 mark. Like I mentioned at the start of this recap, they have now won six in a row, which is pretty impressive compared to where they were when I wrote my last recap.
After that game, the Cardinals were 14-19 and mired in fourth place in the NL Central, and all seemed lost. But the Cardinals haven’t lost a game since then. Something may have awoken in them after that loss to the Mets.
Regardless of the state of the team, it’s great to see them on a win-streak and get back over the .500 mark. Life is better when the Cardinals win.
They’ll go for a series win tomorrow and send Andre Pallante to the mound. The game starts at 3:05.