McGreevy Gets the Ball as Cards Look to Salvage Split Against D-Backs
The Cardinal Chronicle
McGreevy Gets the Ball as Cardinals Look to Salvage Split Against Diamondbacks
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals opened this four-game series with a chance to take control at home.
Now they need a win just to earn the split.
After dropping back-to-back games to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium, St. Louis returns Thursday night for the series finale looking to stop the slide, steady the pitching staff and avoid letting a winnable home series get away.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium, with right-hander Michael McGreevy getting the ball for the Cardinals against Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen.
The Diamondbacks lead the series 2-1. The Cardinals took Monday’s opener 3-2 behind Andre Pallante and timely offense, but Arizona answered with a 4-3 win Tuesday and a 9-4 win Wednesday. What started as a chance for St. Louis to build momentum has turned into a reminder that home series against National League teams hovering around the playoff picture cannot be treated casually.
Wednesday night was the latest warning.
The Cardinals grabbed an early lead, but Arizona erupted for six runs in the fourth inning, capped by back-to-back home runs from LuJames Groover and Ketel Marte. Groover’s homer was the first of his Major League career, and Marte followed by doing what dangerous veteran bats do when pitchers leave mistakes in the wrong part of the plate.
Matthew Liberatore gave the Cardinals 5 1/3 innings, but the damage was heavy. He allowed six runs, and the game slipped away before St. Louis could put together enough of an answer. José Fermín gave the Cardinals a strong night, going 2-for-3 with three runs and a solo home run. Blaze Jordan drove in three, continuing to show that his bat can help. But the Cardinals spent most of the night chasing a game that turned in one bad inning.
That has been the theme far too often.
The Cardinals are good enough to compete. They are good enough to win games like this. But they are not built to survive repeated crooked innings from the pitching staff. The offense can carry them on certain nights, but asking the lineup to dig out of four-, five- or six-run holes is no way to live.
That is why McGreevy matters Thursday.
McGreevy enters at 3-6 with a 3.35 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 53 strikeouts. He has not always been rewarded in the win-loss column, but he has been one of the steadier arms in the Cardinals’ rotation. He is not a radar-gun headline act. He pitches. He changes speeds, works the edges, competes in the zone and gives the defense a chance to work behind him.
That kind of start would be valuable in any game.
In this one, it is necessary.
The Cardinals need McGreevy to give them length. They need him to keep Arizona from jumping out early. They need him to avoid free passes ahead of the Diamondbacks’ impact bats. Most of all, they need him to bring some order back to a series that has started slipping toward frustration.
Arizona’s lineup has shown exactly why it cannot be handled carelessly.
Ketel Marte remains a serious threat in the middle of the order. Corbin Carroll brings speed, power and pressure. Tommy Troy has been productive in the series. Nolan Arenado has already delivered a painful swing against his former club. And now Groover has added his own moment with his first big-league home run.
The Diamondbacks are not a perfect club, but they have enough offense to punish mistakes.
Gallen gives Arizona an interesting arm for the finale. His season numbers are not what anyone expects from a pitcher with his track record. He enters at 3-6 with a 6.10 ERA, a 1.63 WHIP and 52 strikeouts. That does not mean the Cardinals should treat him like an easy matchup. Gallen still has the pedigree, still has the pitch mix and still has the ability to settle in if hitters give him quick innings.
The Cardinals need to make him work from the first inning.
That means traffic. It means patience without passivity. It means taking advantage when Gallen falls behind. It means not wasting scoring chances, especially after the offense showed late life Wednesday but could not overcome the early damage.
Jordan Walker remains the biggest power threat in the Cardinals’ lineup. Alec Burleson continues to be one of the steadier bats. Iván Herrera’s availability is worth watching after he exited Wednesday’s game awkwardly, but when healthy, his on-base ability remains a major part of the lineup’s length. JJ Wetherholt needs to help set the table. Masyn Winn’s defense and energy matter. Blaze Jordan continues to earn attention with his bat.
Fermín also deserves mention after Wednesday. He gave St. Louis a spark on a night when there were not enough of them. Those are the kinds of games that can get overlooked in a loss, but the Cardinals need production from more than the obvious names if they are going to avoid dropping the series.
Thursday is not complicated.
The Cardinals need to win.
A victory gives them a split and keeps the Arizona series from becoming a lost opportunity. A loss means dropping three of four at Busch Stadium to a Diamondbacks club that came in trying to stay in the National League race. At this point in the season, with Milwaukee still setting the pace in the division and the playoff picture starting to take shape, the Cardinals cannot casually give away home series.
They are contenders, but they are still flawed.
That is not a contradiction. That is the reality.
The Cardinals have played themselves into meaningful baseball. Now they have to keep proving they belong there. That means winning games like Thursday’s finale. It means getting a clean start from McGreevy. It means getting early pressure against Gallen. It means avoiding the inning that wrecks the night.
The Cardinals let Tuesday get away late.
They let Wednesday get away in the middle innings.
Thursday gives them one more chance to keep this series from getting away altogether.
Game Info
Matchup: Arizona Diamondbacks at St. Louis Cardinals
When: Thursday, June 25, 2026
First pitch: 6:45 p.m. CT
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Probable Pitchers: RHP Zac Gallen vs. RHP Michael McGreevy
Gallen: 3-6, 6.10 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 52 SO
McGreevy: 3-6, 3.35 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 53 SO
Records: Diamondbacks 41-39; Cardinals 42-36
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / KMOX / WIJR
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Photo Credit: Michael McGreevy, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB