Cardinals Turn to McGreevy With Series on the Line in Minnesota
The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Turn to McGreevy With Series on the Line in Minnesota
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals have already had one wild loss and one power-filled answer in Minnesota.
Now comes the rubber game.
St. Louis closes its three-game interleague series against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon at Target Field, with a chance to take the series and finish the weekend on the right side of a road test that has been anything but quiet.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT, with right-hander Michael McGreevy getting the ball for the Cardinals against Twins right-hander Taj Bradley.
The Cardinals enter the finale at 38-30, while Minnesota comes in at 32-40. The records say St. Louis is the better club right now. The first two games said the Twins are not going to hand them anything.
Friday night was a mess for the Cardinals. St. Louis had enough offense to win, but the bullpen let a late lead get away in a 9-8 loss. It was one of those games that sits in the stomach a little longer than it should, especially when a club has played well enough to win for most of the night.
Saturday was the response.
The Cardinals beat Minnesota 9-6 behind a power surge that changed the whole feel of the series. Iván Herrera homered twice. Jordan Walker launched a long home run. Blaze Jordan, in just his second Major League game, delivered his first big-league homer — a three-run shot that gave St. Louis breathing room and gave Cardinals fans another reason to lean forward.
That is how a young player announces himself.
Jordan already made noise in his debut with two hits and an RBI single in his first major league at-bat. Then he followed it with another multi-hit game and his first home run. Two games do not make a career, but they can change the conversation. The Cardinals did not call him up to stand around and wave at the skyline. They called him up because the bat may be ready to help. So far, it has.
Now the question is whether St. Louis can finish the job.
McGreevy enters Sunday at 3-5 with a 2.99 ERA and 49 strikeouts. He has been one of the steadier arms in the Cardinals’ rotation, not because he overwhelms hitters, but because he pitches. He changes speeds, moves the baseball, works ahead when he is right, and gives the defense a chance to do its job.
That matters in a rubber game.
The Cardinals do not need McGreevy to be a hero. They need him to keep Minnesota from grabbing early momentum, cover innings, and keep the game from turning into another bullpen marathon. With the late innings already tested twice in this series, length from the starter would be worth its weight in gold.
Bradley enters for Minnesota at 5-3 with a 4.02 ERA and 73 strikeouts. He has enough stuff to make the Cardinals work, and St. Louis cannot afford to give him quick innings by chasing early. The Cardinals’ best offensive stretches have come when they create traffic, force pitchers into the zone, and make the middle of the order hit with men on base.
That approach needs to travel into Sunday.
Herrera is coming off a two-homer game and continues to look like one of the most important bats in the lineup. Walker’s power remains a constant threat. Alec Burleson has been on a tear and continues to give the Cardinals steady left-handed production. Blaze Jordan has added a jolt. JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn and the table-setters have to make Minnesota work from the first inning.
The Twins have their own danger signs.
Byron Buxton has been a problem in this series, and Minnesota has shown it can change a game quickly with one swing. The Cardinals saw that Friday. They saw it again Saturday, even in victory, when the Twins kept pushing late and forced St. Louis to earn the final outs.
That is why Sunday cannot be casual.
The Cardinals have a chance to leave Minnesota with a series win, and those matter. Road series wins are how good clubs build separation over the long summer. They are not always clean. They are not always pretty. Sometimes they come after a bullpen collapse one night and a white-knuckle ninth inning the next.
But they count the same.
For St. Louis, Sunday is about taking the good from Saturday and tightening the rest. Keep the offense aggressive but disciplined. Give McGreevy early support. Make Bradley work. Keep Buxton from controlling the day. And when the bullpen door opens, throw strikes and finish innings.
This has been a loud series already.
The Cardinals have one more chance to make sure they are the ones leaving town with the final word.
Game Info
Matchup: St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins
When: Sunday, June 14, 2026
First pitch: 1:10 p.m. CT / 2:10 p.m. ET
Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Probable Pitchers: RHP Michael McGreevy vs. RHP Taj Bradley
Weather: Mostly sunny, upper-60s near first pitch
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / Twins.TV / KMOX
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