Cardinals takeaways: 3 trends to watch after a series loss to Royals

New York Times

06-06-2025

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals knew June would be a tough test, and their latest series against the Kansas City Royals provided early proof.
After inclement weather rained out Wednesday's game, the Cardinals played their fifth doubleheader of the season Thursday at Busch Stadium. They rallied twice to win Game 1, 6-5, in ten innings, but fell short of another comeback in Game 2 and lost 7-5, splitting the twin bill and losing the series.
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'We came up short, but offensively, early, I liked what we saw,' manager Oli Marmol said. 'I like where our guys are mentally. They're mentally tough.'
They will certainly need to be, given their current stretch. The club has just one scheduled off day until July 3 and will welcome the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers to Busch Stadium for a three-game set over the weekend.
How the team plays overall in June could have heavy ramifications on the organization's trade deadline plans come July. Here are some trends to monitor during the early portion of the month as the Cardinals aim to keep afloat.
The Cardinals seem to have avoided anything serious with Matthew Liberatore, who was pulled from the nightcap in the top of the fifth due to fatigue after his fastball velocity dropped to 89 miles per hour. Liberatore did not need imaging done and said he felt his issues were related to mechanics.
'Just out of sync,' Liberatore said. 'Was working around everything, different body parts going in different directions and not towards the plate. I actually felt pretty good in the first inning. Felt like the stuff was lively, pretty synched up, and then I got out of sync, and I just failed to make the adjustment.
'I wasn't concerned about pain or fatigue or anything,' he added. 'I was trying to figure out how to make the adjustment and ran out of time.'
After allowing eight earned runs across six prior starts, Liberatore was tagged for five-plus runs for the second time in as many games. The Cardinals are not worried about Liberatore's effectiveness — he posted a team-best 2.73 ERA over the first two months of the season — and they don't expect him to miss his next start, whenever that may be. St. Louis is still working through its pitching plans for the next week. With just one scheduled off day remaining in June, the Cardinals will use a spot starter within the next few days. Though not official, Michael McGreevy is the obvious candidate. He last pitched Tuesday for Triple-A Memphis and would be on track to start Sunday against the Dodgers if the Cardinals stick to his current schedule.
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Liberatore underwent light testing with the training staff after exiting the game and did not feel pain or a sense of injury. The emphasis over the next week will be on his mechanics and getting his delivery back into sync.
'The mechanical focus is probably going to be the primary thing moving into this next outing,' Liberatore said. 'I'm not concerned about it. I don't think anybody else is overly concerned about it. It's just a matter of finding it again and being able to stay consistent with it.'
The middle of the lineup for the Cardinals looks considerably different than how the team initially planned at the start of the season. After Nolan Arenado was dropped to the six-hole in mid-May, Willson Contreras took over as the team's everyday clean-up hitter, with Iván Herrera firmly behind him in the No. 5 spot.
That can be a potent heart of the order — if they can stay consistent. Thursday showed prime examples.
After Noah Cameron held St. Louis to two hits over six scoreless innings in Game 1, the Cardinals' offense clawed back in the late innings. Herrera's booming go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth ignited the dugout, but after Ryan Helsley blew a save opportunity in the ninth, St. Louis needed more heroics. Cue Contreras, who smoked a walk-off single in the 10th inning to end his 1,000th career game in style.
'We are looking just for one pitch, the best pitch,' Contreras said. 'We're not trying to hit homers, but we are trying to put good quality contact and good quality at-bats, and whatever happens after that happens. We're trying to get the ball in the air more than anything else and then keep a simple approach and put the barrel on the ball.'
THAT'S A WALK-OFF WINNER!! pic.twitter.com/SkxAEMJEtk
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 5, 2025
Contreras carried that momentum into Game 2, where he racked up two more hits and three RBI, and Arenado capped off a four-run third inning with a booming two-run homer of his own. That was a crucial swing for Arenado, who entered play hitting .156/.204/.333 since he was moved down in the lineup. However, it was his third home run in a 14-game span, and Arenado does feel like his swing is trending in the right direction, even if the box score results aren't backing that up.
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St. Louis will rely on its right-handed power bats for continued production, especially as it awaits word on Jordan Walker's status. Walker was placed on the injured list with left-wrist inflammation last weekend, and while the initial hope was that he would miss the minimum amount of time, he had not progressed the way the team hoped. He received an injection on Wednesday and will not swing a bat for a few days, meaning the likelihood of the team activating him when he is eligible on Sunday is slim.
'Our hope is that (the injection) speeds up the progression of swings, he feels good, and we can ramp up,' Marmol said. 'We'll know more here in a day or two.'
The Cardinals will work in more playing time for Gorman over the next couple of weeks. He did not start in either game of Thursday's doubleheader (due to Kansas City starting two left-handers), but he did start in Tuesday's series opener — and promptly homered in his first at-bat.
GAME-TYING GORM 💣 pic.twitter.com/nS9BsCjrRf
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 4, 2025
When he does work his way back into the starting lineup more regularly, Gorman feels he's in a much more comfortable place, physically and mentally. He's been working on controlling his front stride and landing position to make sure he isn't moving as far forward as before. Gorman said he felt he unlocked something during the Cardinals' series at Kansas City in mid-May, and has been encouraged by work he's done behind the scenes.
If there's a silver lining to not seeing much playing time the last month, it's allowed him to hone in on making substantial changes without the pressure of game success.
'At this point with how the at-bats have come, I just have to go out there and trust what I'm doing and if something doesn't go right in the game, I don't need to tinker with it the next day,' Gorman said. 'I don't need to do that. I know I'm in a good spot right now, and I'm just going to ride it out.
'I've looked at it in a little different light,' he added. 'Not a negative thing, but a positive in that one, the team is doing well, and two, I have all this opportunity to work on my swing that I want. When my name's called, I have the confidence to go out there and do what I've been working on. Do I want to be out there every day? Do I think I can be out there every day? Do I think I can be a really good big leaguer? Absolutely, I've shown it. But the situation is what it is right now, and I'm going to do whatever I can when my name is called.'
(Top photo of Nolan Arenado: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)