Cardinals Face Painter as Starter Remains TBD in Philly
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Face Painter as Starter Remains TBD in Philadelphia
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals were one out, one pitch, one clean inning away from taking the series opener in Philadelphia.
Instead, they are back in a familiar position.
Trying to shake off another game that slipped away.
St. Louis returns to Citizens Bank Park tonight for the second game of a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, looking to rebound after Friday night’s 7-6, 10-inning loss. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. CT, with the Cardinals’ starting pitcher still listed as TBD on the official club probable-pitchers page.
Philadelphia will send right-hander Andrew Painter to the mound.
The Cardinals enter the game at 66-64, while the Phillies come in at 71-58 and riding a seven-game winning streak. Philadelphia has been playing like a club trying to lock down its postseason position. St. Louis, meanwhile, is still trying to keep its own stretch drive from turning into a daily argument with the standings.
Friday night had all the pieces of a road win.
Joshua Báez gave the Cardinals an early lift with a two-run homer in the first inning, his first home run since his historic three-homer major league debut Aug. 15. Jordan Walker continued his torrid stretch, homering for the third straight game and finishing with three hits. Bryan Torres tied the game in the eighth with a two-out RBI single. José Fermín put St. Louis ahead in the top of the 10th with an RBI single.
That should have been enough to at least give the Cardinals a clean chance to close it out.
It was not.
Philadelphia answered in the bottom of the 10th, with Alec Bohm ripping a two-run triple to center field off Luis Gastelum to give the Phillies a 7-6 win. Bohm finished with three RBIs. Luis Arraez had three hits. J.T. Realmuto doubled twice and drove in two runs. Brandon Marsh added an RBI double.
The Cardinals did some things right.
They also did not finish.
That has been the thin line for this team all season.
The offense showed up. The young bats created damage. Walker looked like the middle-order force St. Louis has been waiting on. Báez flashed the power that made his debut impossible to ignore. The Cardinals put themselves in position to win a road game against a hot Phillies club.
Then the final inning got away.
Now tonight becomes about playing cleaner baseball, no matter who takes the ball first for St. Louis.
With the starter still unannounced, the Cardinals could be looking at a late rotation decision, a bullpen-style game, or a move connected to roster management. Whatever the plan becomes, the job is the same.
Get early outs.
Limit traffic.
Do not let the Phillies turn the first three innings into a bullpen emergency.
That last part matters because Philadelphia’s lineup is dangerous enough even when a pitcher is working clean. Give the Phillies extra baserunners, and the game can get heavy fast. Kyle Schwarber remains the top power threat. Bryce Harper changes the way a pitcher works through the middle of the order. Trea Turner can pressure the defense. Bohm, Arraez, Realmuto and Marsh showed Friday how many ways this lineup can hurt a team without needing everything to come by home run.
The Phillies are not winning seven straight by accident.
They are stacking innings, getting production from multiple spots and finding ways to finish games.
The Cardinals have to do a better job of stopping the snowball.
On the other side, Painter enters at 2-8 with a 6.43 ERA and 71 strikeouts. The numbers suggest St. Louis should have opportunities, but there is a difference between having opportunities and cashing them in. Painter still has the kind of arm talent that can make hitters chase if they get impatient, and the Cardinals cannot let his record become a reason to give away at-bats.
The plan against Painter should be direct.
Make him throw strikes. Get traffic early. Force him to work from the stretch. Do not chase elevated fastballs or breaking balls out of the zone. When he gives the Cardinals something over the plate, do damage.
This is not a night for waiting around.
The Phillies’ bullpen was forced to work through a 10-inning game Friday, and the Cardinals need to make that matter. If they can get Painter out early or create stress in the middle innings, they can put pressure on the part of Philadelphia’s staff that had to cover important outs in the opener.
But that only works if St. Louis keeps the pressure on.
Walker is the obvious bat to watch. His home run Friday was his team-leading 27th of the season, and his three-hit night continued one of his best stretches of the year. When Walker is driving the ball with authority, the entire lineup looks different.
Báez is another storyline. His first-inning homer was his first since the debut fireworks, and while young hitters are going to ride through some quiet stretches, the power is loud enough to change a game at any time. If he is making contact and forcing pitchers to respect the damage, he gives the Cardinals a different look.
Iván Herrera, Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, Fermín, Torres and the rest of the order all have to help lengthen the night. The Cardinals cannot ask Walker and Báez to carry the entire offense. They need baserunners in front of the power. They need two-out at-bats like Torres gave them Friday. They need productive innings instead of scattered swings.
The bigger picture is clear.
The Cardinals are still in the fight, but the margin keeps getting smaller. Games like Friday hurt because they are winnable games against good teams. They also carry extra weight because Philadelphia is one of the clubs St. Louis is trying to chase in the National League postseason picture.
A loss tonight gives Philadelphia the series and leaves the Cardinals trying to avoid a sweep Sunday.
A win brings St. Louis back into the series and turns Sunday into a chance to take something from the weekend.
That is the difference.
The Cardinals do not need a perfect game tonight.
They need a cleaner one.
They need whoever starts to give them structure. They need the bullpen to finish innings. They need the offense to get to Painter early enough for it to matter. They need to avoid handing Philadelphia another late opening.
Friday is gone.
Tonight is about stopping the Phillies’ streak, evening the series and making sure one tough loss does not turn into another hard weekend.
Game Info
Matchup: St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies
When: Saturday, August 22, 2026
First Pitch: 5:05 p.m. CT / 6:05 p.m. ET
Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
Probable Pitchers: Cardinals TBD vs. RHP Andrew Painter
Painter: 2-8, 6.43 ERA, 71 SO
Records: Cardinals 66-64; Phillies 71-58
Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia / Cardinals.TV Presented by bet365
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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