Cardinals Return Home Looking to Reset Against Orioles
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Return Home Looking to Reset Against Orioles
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals come home needing more than a change of scenery.
They need a reset.
After getting swept in Philadelphia, capped by Sunday’s stunning ninth-inning collapse, St. Louis opens a three-game series tonight at Busch Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT, with the Cardinals trying to stop the slide before it follows them into another homestand.
The Cardinals enter at 66-66, back at .500 after a road trip that ended with three straight losses to the Phillies. Baltimore comes in at 63-68, last in the American League East but still close enough to the American League Wild Card race to make this series matter for both clubs.
For St. Louis, that is the danger.
The Orioles’ record says one thing. Their situation says another.
Baltimore is not buried. The Orioles still have enough offense, enough power and enough postseason motivation to make this a difficult series if the Cardinals carry the Philadelphia weekend into Busch Stadium. The Cardinals cannot afford to spend the first game feeling sorry for themselves. The schedule has brought them home, but it has not handed them anything.
Sunday’s loss in Philadelphia was the kind that can linger.
The Cardinals led 4-0 with two outs in the ninth inning before the Phillies scored six runs, ending it on Kyle Schwarber’s walk-off home run. It completed the sweep, pushed Philadelphia’s winning streak to nine and sent St. Louis home with one of its most frustrating losses of the season.
Now the Cardinals have to play again.
That is baseball at its best and worst. There is no time to sit in the disappointment, but there is also no hiding from what happened. St. Louis had a chance to leave Philadelphia with something. Instead, it comes home trying to get back above even.
The rotation is part of the concern.
Right-handers Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante are both on the 15-day injured list, thinning a pitching staff that already had little room for more uncertainty. Dobbins is dealing with forearm trouble, while Pallante landed on the IL with right elbow inflammation. Everson Pereira is also on the injured list, taking another bat and glove out of the mix.
That leaves the Cardinals trying to cover innings, stabilize the bullpen and keep the offense from having to win every game the hard way.
Tuesday’s opener is expected to feature left-hander Matthew Liberatore for St. Louis against veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt for Baltimore. Bassitt enters at 4-4 with a 5.08 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP and 46 strikeouts. Liberatore comes in at 5-11 with a 5.04 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP and 125 strikeouts.
This is an important start for Liberatore.
The Cardinals need length. They need strikes. They need a clean early game. More than anything, they need the starter to keep Baltimore from turning the opener into another bullpen-management problem. With Dobbins and Pallante down, every short start has a cost beyond that single night.
Liberatore does not have to be perfect.
He does have to give the Cardinals structure.
Baltimore’s offense is capable of making mistakes expensive. Pete Alonso leads the Orioles with 30 home runs and 85 RBIs, giving Baltimore a true middle-order threat who can change a game with one swing. Gunnar Henderson remains one of the better young infielders in the game. Samuel Basallo has added power behind the plate, Coby Mayo brings another dangerous bat, and Dylan Beavers comes into the series swinging well, with four home runs and nine RBIs over his last 10 games.
The Orioles have 159 home runs as a team, compared with 137 for the Cardinals, so keeping the ball in the yard has to be at the top of the scouting report.
That means no free traffic in front of Alonso. No mistakes in the middle of the plate to Henderson. No allowing the bottom half of the order to set up the thumpers. Baltimore’s lineup has enough swing-and-miss, but it also has enough power to erase good work in a hurry.
The Cardinals have their own offensive work to do.
Jordan Walker remains the biggest power presence in the St. Louis lineup, leading the club with 27 home runs and 96 RBIs. Alec Burleson has been one of the Cardinals’ steadiest hitters, carrying a .291 average into the series. Joshua Báez continues to bring loud power even while navigating the normal adjustments of a young hitter in the majors. JJ Wetherholt, Iván Herrera, Masyn Winn, Nathan Church, Blaze Jordan, José Fermín and the rest of the lineup all have to help make this more than a one- or two-bat offense.
The Cardinals are 45-14 this season when they score at least five runs.
That number says plenty.
This team can win when the offense gives the pitching staff breathing room. It can look dangerous when the young bats put pressure on opponents early. But when the lineup stalls, every inning becomes fragile, every bullpen decision becomes magnified and every late mistake feels like it decides the night.
Against Baltimore, St. Louis has to make the Orioles work.
Bassitt is a veteran who knows how to pitch, even when the numbers are not as sharp as they once were. He can change speeds, move the ball around the zone and take advantage of impatient swings. The Cardinals cannot let him settle into an easy rhythm. They need to force him into deep counts, put runners on base and make Baltimore’s bullpen cover real outs.
Wednesday’s matchup is scheduled to bring Kyle Bradish to the mound for Baltimore. Bradish enters at 7-12 with a 3.70 ERA and 129 strikeouts, giving the Orioles their best listed starting matchup of the series. The Cardinals’ starter remains to be announced.
Thursday afternoon, Baltimore is scheduled to start left-hander Trevor Rogers, who enters at 9-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 114 strikeouts. The Cardinals’ starter for the series finale also remains to be announced.
That uncertainty is not a small thing.
The Cardinals are opening a six-game homestand against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, two series that look like an opportunity on paper. But opportunity only matters if it is taken. After Philadelphia, St. Louis cannot simply assume Busch Stadium will fix the problem.
The Cardinals have to pitch better.
They have to finish innings.
They have to avoid the one big mistake that turns a manageable night into another frustrating loss.
They also have to get back to playing with some edge. The Phillies series exposed plenty. The rotation is thinner. The bullpen has been pushed. The offense remains uneven. The Wild Card chase is getting tighter by the day.
But the season is not over.
The Cardinals are still at .500. They are still close enough to make the final month meaningful. They still have a young lineup capable of changing a game quickly, and they still have enough schedule in front of them to make this homestand matter.
That starts tonight.
Baltimore is not a club St. Louis can overlook. The Orioles are beginning a nine-game road trip and have their own postseason hopes to protect. They are coming off a series against Tampa Bay and now step into Busch Stadium with a chance to make up ground in the American League race.
The Cardinals need to make sure they do not help them.
The series is simple enough.
Win the opener. Get the homestand pointed in the right direction. Stop carrying Philadelphia around like extra luggage. Start building again.
The Cardinals do not need to solve everything in one night.
But they do need to stop the bleeding.
Series Schedule
Tuesday, August 25
Baltimore Orioles at St. Louis Cardinals
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: RHP Chris Bassitt vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore
Bassitt: 4-4, 5.08 ERA, 46 SO
Liberatore: 5-11, 5.04 ERA, 125 SO
Broadcast: MASN / Cardinals.TV Presented by bet365
Wednesday, August 26
Baltimore Orioles at St. Louis Cardinals
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: RHP Kyle Bradish vs. Cardinals TBD
Bradish: 7-12, 3.70 ERA, 129 SO
Broadcast: MASN / Cardinals.TV Presented by bet365
Thursday, August 27
Baltimore Orioles at St. Louis Cardinals
First Pitch: 1:15 p.m. CT
Probable Pitchers: LHP Trevor Rogers vs. Cardinals TBD
Rogers: 9-8, 4.14 ERA, 114 SO
Broadcast: MASN / Cardinals.TV Presented by bet365
Series Info
Matchup: Baltimore Orioles at St. Louis Cardinals
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Records: Orioles 63-68; Cardinals 66-66
Season Series: First meeting of 2026
Cardinals Home Record: 32-34
Orioles Road Record: 29-34
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Oli Marmol, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB