McGreevy Gets the Ball as Cardinals Try to Salvage the Series from the Rockies
The Cardinal Chronicle
McGreevy Gets the Ball as Cardinals Try to Salvage the Series From the Rockies
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals had a chance Saturday night to take care of business.
They did not.
Now Sunday becomes more important than it should have been.
St. Louis hosts the Colorado Rockies this afternoon at Busch Stadium in the final game of a three-game series, with the Cardinals still trying to win the set after letting Saturday’s game get away. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT, with right-hander Michael McGreevy getting the ball for the Cardinals against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen.
The Cardinals enter the finale at 58-59, while Colorado comes in at 46-71. On paper, this is still a series St. Louis should win. But after Saturday night, the Cardinals do not have much room to talk about what should happen.
They have to go do it.
Friday gave St. Louis a clean enough start to the homestand. Kyle Leahy gave the Cardinals five useful innings, Iván Herrera homered, the bullpen threw four scoreless innings, and Riley O’Brien closed out a 3-2 win. It was not overwhelming, but it was enough.
Saturday was different.
The Cardinals had chances all night, but too many of them turned into missed opportunities. Colorado beat St. Louis 8-6, with Jake McCarthy putting together a career night and the Rockies taking advantage of mistakes, traffic and the kind of defensive and pitching lapses that have followed the Cardinals too often this season.
McCarthy was the story for Colorado. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs, four runs scored and two stolen bases, becoming only the second player in the live-ball era to reach at least four hits, four runs, three RBIs, two homers and two stolen bases in the same game. Both of his home runs came on the first pitch of an at-bat, including a leadoff blast against Matthew Liberatore on the first pitch of the game.
That set the tone.
The Cardinals briefly answered in the bottom of the first. Herrera doubled, Alec Burleson reached on a passed ball after a strikeout, and José Fermín worked a strong eight-pitch at-bat before pulling a two-run double into the left-field corner to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead.
But the lead did not last.
Liberatore ran into trouble in the third inning, with McCarthy reaching on an infield single, Kyle Karros getting hit by a pitch, and both runners stealing before Cole Carrigg doubled them home. Hunter Goodman followed with an RBI single, and the Rockies had the lead back.
The Cardinals kept threatening. They loaded the bases in the fourth. They loaded the bases again in the fifth. Jordan Walker later gave them a jolt with a 432-foot home run in the eighth, his first homer since July 9 and his 23rd of the season. Nathan Church added an RBI single in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate.
But the big swing never came.
St. Louis went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners. That is not bad luck. That is a missed chance.
Now McGreevy gets the job of trying to bring the series back under control.
McGreevy has been one of the more important arms in the Cardinals’ rotation this season because he gives them something they badly need: competitive, usable innings. He does not have to overpower a lineup to help this club. When he is right, he throws strikes, works efficiently, keeps the defense involved and gives the Cardinals a chance to play a normal baseball game.
That is exactly what St. Louis needs Sunday.
After Saturday’s mess, the Cardinals do not need drama from the mound. They need calm. They need first-pitch strikes. They need McGreevy to avoid the leadoff walks, hit batters and extra baserunners that allow a struggling team to hang around.
Colorado may have one of the worst records in the National League, but the Rockies have shown in this series that they are not going to simply hand the Cardinals wins. They outhit St. Louis on Friday. They beat St. Louis on Saturday. McCarthy, Goodman, Carrigg, TJ Rumfield, Mickey Moniak and the rest of that lineup have enough bat-to-ball ability and athleticism to make a game uncomfortable if pitchers help them.
The Cardinals cannot let Colorado feel comfortable again.
That means McGreevy has to attack.
The Rockies counter with Lorenzen, who enters at 3-10 with a 6.94 ERA and 80 strikeouts. His numbers suggest the Cardinals should have opportunities, but Saturday should have erased any thought that opportunity automatically turns into runs.
The Cardinals need a better offensive finish.
Getting runners on base is not enough. Loading the bases is not enough. A threat that dies without damage is still an empty inning. Against a pitcher carrying an ERA near seven, St. Louis has to make Colorado pay early and keep pressure on throughout the game.
Herrera continues to look like one of the better bats in the lineup. Fermín reached base all five times Saturday, with two hits, three walks and two RBIs. Walker’s homer was a needed sign after a long drought. Masyn Winn, JJ Wetherholt, Alec Burleson, Blaze Jordan, Church, Bryan Torres, Everson Pereira and the rest of the lineup have to make sure Sunday does not turn into another night of runners left all over the bases.
This is not a game where the Cardinals need one miracle swing.
They need professional at-bats with men on base.
That means a runner on third with less than two outs has to feel like a run, not a suggestion. That means two-out chances need to be cashed in. That means forcing Lorenzen to work from the stretch and making the Rockies’ bullpen cover more innings than it wants.
The Cardinals are still trying to figure out exactly what they are after the trade deadline. They have moved pieces, added others, and created opportunity for younger players. But whatever direction the organization is leaning, the big-league club still has games to win, and series like this are where the frustration builds if they do not take care of business.
A home series against Colorado should not feel like a heavy lift.
Yet here they are.
The Cardinals are under .500 again, still trying to find traction, still trying to keep the season from drifting into evaluation-only territory. Taking two of three from the Rockies will not solve everything, but losing the series at home would be the kind of result that makes every larger question feel louder.
That is why Sunday matters.
A win gives the Cardinals the series, gets them back to .500 and at least sends them forward with something useful from the weekend. A loss would hand Colorado a road series win at Busch Stadium and turn a winnable homestand into another missed opportunity.
The assignment is simple.
Get a real start from McGreevy.
Put pressure on Lorenzen.
Finish innings.
Win the series.
Game Info
Matchup: Colorado Rockies at St. Louis Cardinals
When: Sunday, August 9, 2026
First Pitch: 1:15 p.m. CT
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Probable Pitchers: RHP Michael Lorenzen vs. RHP Michael McGreevy
Lorenzen: 3-10, 6.94 ERA, 80 SO
Records: Rockies 46-71; Cardinals 58-59
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / KMOX
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Photo Credit: Michael McGreevy, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB