Cardinals takeaways: 3 trends to watch after St. Louis is swept by Blue Jays

New York Times

a day ago

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol knew heading into the series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays that the next three days could present some difficulties for his ballclub.
'We said it before the series: 'This might be one of our toughest series,'' he said. 'This might be tougher, as far as matchups go, than even Los Angeles because of the amount of contact this group makes and what we do as a pitching staff. We knew there would be challenges to navigate, and (Toronto) is continuing to show why they're the toughest in the league to strike out.
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'It was going to be a challenge all three days.'
Indeed, it was. The Blue Jays swept the Cardinals, capped by a 5-2 win Wednesday afternoon. It marked the third time the Cardinals have been swept this season and dropped their record to 36-32.
'They found some holes on us,' Brendan Donovan said. 'I think it's important to learn from this series, evaluate it and ultimately flush it and move on to the next game. We have Milwaukee tomorrow — that's a big club. They've been playing well, so it's important for us to show up, attack each pitch and go from there.'
The Cardinals will happily flush their performance over the last three days and focus on their upcoming four-game division showdown with the Brewers at American Family Field. Here are some trends to monitor before the series.
🎼 Wake me up before you PozoBecause I'm planning on homering solo 🎵 pic.twitter.com/ubbSnCYHps
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 11, 2025
The Cardinals seemed to avoid a serious injury with Donovan, but they are preparing to be without him for at least a couple of games as he recovers from a sprained capsule in his left foot. Donovan was removed from Tuesday's 10-9 loss with left toe discomfort, and an MRI on Wednesday morning revealed the sprain in his left toe.
'I'm not concerned about (the injured list),' Donovan said Wednesday afternoon. 'That would be worst-case scenario. I'm feeling much better today. We did a bunch to it, so we'll see how it feels tomorrow and the next day.'
Donovan isn't sure when or how the injury occurred but had been dealing with the discomfort for several games. Because of the specificity of the injury, he'll be unable to be used off the bench, as the Cardinals want to ensure he is a full go before placing him back in the lineup. This points to Nolan Gorman seeing the bulk of time at second base in Donovan's absence, however long (or short) that may be.
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Other reinforcements should be on the way soon. Jordan Walker (left wrist inflammation) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday in Gwinnett. The Cardinals don't believe he'll need much time in the minors and could activate him off the 10-day IL as early as next Tuesday before their three-game interleague series against the Chicago White Sox.
As Andre Pallante works to establish himself as a major-league starter, he knows he'll have to continuously adjust to opposing hitters. After his last outing — in which he was tagged for seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings — he also knew those adjustments needed to come sooner rather than later. His start Monday (two earned runs, seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts over six innings) was a step in the right direction.
Pallante has worked extensively to find more consistent ways to retire right-handed hitters. He has struggled with reverse splits throughout his early career, and this year is no different. Opposing right-handers are hitting .301/.363/.497 (good for an .860 OPS) against Pallante this season, and left-handers are averaging .225/.275/.394. He went into Monday's start focused on mixing up his arsenal more, placing a heavy emphasis on his curveball usage.
'I came into the game wanting to throw my curveball more — that was my plan coming in,' Pallante said. 'It was the No. 1 thing I wanted to do more of, so doing that and having good results … that can help me feed off that and help make me a more dynamic pitcher.'
'It's the slowest pitch I offer, and it makes 95 miles per hour look that much harder when I'm able to do that,' he added. 'It's something I've pushed off for a lot of my career, landing pitches in the zone and challenging hitters with it. But I really had to take a look in the mirror and say, 'I can't do that anymore.''
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Results will matter, of course, but the Cardinals will evaluate Pallante more extensively on his pitch mix and overall success against right-handers. A priority throughout this development season is figuring out which players can successfully make adjustments at the major-league level. That's the next test for Pallante.
It was not a good homestand for closer Ryan Helsley, who blew three consecutive save opportunities, including a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning Monday, minutes after the Cardinals took an eighth-inning lead via a three-run home run from Iván Herrera.
That's pretty uncharted territory for Helsley, who blew just four saves all season last year.
Tired: Get on baseWired: ROUND THEM 😤 pic.twitter.com/9FBWbunzTR
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 10, 2025
'Knowing that my stuff is where I want it to be and that sometimes in this game, guys are going to clip you. I'm trying to do my best to not let that snowball effect the next day. I'm staying confident in my preparation and just being ready to go when my name is called.'
What has plagued Helsley lately is his fastball. Opposing hitters came into play Wednesday averaging a whopping .426 off Helsley's heater, compared to a minuscule .095 average off his slider. Some of this can be attributed to bad BABIP (the expected average off Helsley's fastball is down over 80 points at .343), but that still isn't an encouraging number.
Nothing about Helsley's underlying metrics suggests his fastball is off. The average velocity, spin and movement all mirror the same as last year. What has changed dramatically is the effectiveness of the pitch, and that's what Helsley is working to figure out.
'My metrics are good, but right now my BABIP is really high. It's almost twice as high as league average. At some point, it's got to even out. But I have to continue to trust my fastball and maybe just try to locate it a little better. I'm probably throwing more fastballs; I need to be closer to 50 percent so it can help both pitches play up and not let guys sit on one pitch.'
Helsley is still striking out more than 25 percent of the batters he faces, and his velo remains atop the league. But for the Cardinals to get back on track, they'll need their closer to find ways to slam the door once more.
(Photo of Andre Pallante: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)