The Cardinals continue to fly high. Even after getting down 3-0 early against the Orioles on Wednesday night, they kept fighting. They rallied to shave off the deficit and take the lead, and they never looked back, earning yet another series win and moving to a season-high eight games above .500.
The team hasn’t given us much hope in recent years, but in 2025, you never feel like this team is out of it when they get down early. It’s a very encouraging brand of baseball, and it’s one that few expected this year.
In my last several posts, I’ve talked a lot about the trade deadline. That won’t be the case today. How the Cardinals play will dictate what they do. The only question right now is whether this run is sustainable.
I’m sure one question remaining in people’s minds is whether the Cardinals have done enough to prove they’re legit. I’m wondering the same thing, but if I had to base it off of what I’ve seen lately, I would probably say that they have.
The reason people might still question it is because there is still a lot of season left. Things can certainly change, for better or worse. We all saw what happened last year after the Cardinals got back into contention. They fought their way into the race, only to fall out of it by mid-August, so it’s fair to have some skepticism.
Will Leitch of MLB.com recently listed three reasons to be optimistic and three to remain skeptical of this team. One of reasons he had to be skeptical was the pitching, and that’s a fair point.
Then again, everything is clicking right now. Aside from Wednesday’s outing, Miles Mikolas has really turned it around since his blowup start in Boston. Sure, Erick Fedde is struggling a bit, but his ERA is still under four, and he got unlucky in his last start due to some bad defense.
But you look up and down the roster, and guys are doing their jobs. The young guys don’t feel any pressure and are just having fun playing baseball. When you do that, good things will usually happen.
Also important to note is that the Cardinals have beaten some very solid teams. They won series against the Phillies, Royals and Diamondbacks, all three playoff hopefuls. Sure, they lost the series to the Tigers, but they have the best record in baseball, and even in that series, the Cardinals showed fight.
Another test is coming when they return home to face the Royals and Dodgers, so those series will be important indicators of what this team is capable of. The National League is also a juggernaut this year, so making the playoffs is going to be challenging for this team, no matter how well they play.
In short, I think it’s fair to still be skeptical to a degree, but at the same time, you have to like what you’re seeing from these guys. They’re giving us hope that we haven’t felt in quite some time, and that is great to see!