Pallante Expected Back as Cardinals Open Coors Field Series
The Cardinal Chronicle
Pallante Expected Back as Cardinals Open Coors Field Series
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals left Los Angeles with a series win.
They also left knowing it could have been more.
After taking the first two games against the Dodgers, St. Louis was three outs away from a sweep Thursday night before Teoscar Hernández delivered a walk-off two-run double in the ninth inning, giving Los Angeles a 3-2 win and sending the Cardinals to Colorado with a little frustration attached to an otherwise successful stop.
Now the road trip moves to Coors Field.
The Cardinals open a three-game series tonight against the Colorado Rockies in Denver, with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. CT. Right-hander Andre Pallante is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list and start for St. Louis against Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner.
The Cardinals enter at 70-71, still trying to climb back over .500 and keep their National League Wild Card hopes alive. Colorado comes in at 54-86, buried in the National League West but still dangerous enough at home to make this a series St. Louis cannot treat lightly.
That is the challenge.
On paper, this is the part of the road trip the Cardinals should see as an opportunity. The Rockies are trying to avoid another 100-loss season. Their pitching staff has struggled. Their record is one of the worst in baseball.
But Coors Field has a way of turning paper into confetti.
No lead feels safe. No mistake is harmless. No series is automatic.
The Cardinals should know that by now.
Thursday night was a reminder of how thin the margin remains. Quinn Mathews gave St. Louis five strong innings, allowing one run while working around traffic. Joshua Báez drove in a first-inning run. Ramón Urías added an RBI single in the third. The Cardinals put 10 hits on Tarik Skubal, all singles, and had enough chances to build more than a 2-0 lead.
They did not.
Los Angeles stayed close, and the game eventually found Riley O’Brien in the ninth. Tommy Edman singled, stole second, Mookie Betts walked, and Hernández ended it with a double to left-center.
That kept the Cardinals from sweeping the Dodgers, but it did not erase the first two games of the series.
St. Louis scored 21 runs over Tuesday and Wednesday, won back-to-back games at Dodger Stadium and saw several younger players step forward. Thomas Saggese had a huge series. Leo Bernal delivered his first major league hit Tuesday and his first major league home run Wednesday. Báez continued to show impact power and run production. Jordan Walker remained right on the edge of a 100-RBI season.
That is the version of the offense the Cardinals need to bring to Denver.
Pallante’s return comes at the right time.
The rotation has been stretched thin, and Hunter Dobbins’ season-ending elbow surgery only adds to the long-term concern. Pallante landed on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 18 with right elbow inflammation, but he continued throwing while away and is expected to rejoin the rotation tonight.
The Cardinals need him.
They also need to be realistic about what the start might look like. Because Pallante skipped a rehab assignment and worked back through live batting practice instead, he could be managed carefully from a pitch-count standpoint. That matters at Coors Field, where every extra inning from the bullpen can carry a cost.
Pallante enters at 12-6 with a 3.57 ERA and 97 strikeouts. He has been one of the Cardinals’ most important starters this season, not because he overwhelms lineups, but because he competes, keeps the ball on the ground and gives St. Louis a chance to manage the game.
That formula has to travel.
At Coors, walks become doubles. Singles become rallies. Routine fly balls can turn into trouble. A pitcher does not have to be perfect, but he cannot spend the night pitching behind in counts and handing Colorado extra traffic.
Pallante’s job is straightforward.
Throw strikes.
Keep the ball down.
Make the Rockies earn their way on base.
Do not let Coors Field add fuel to innings that should already be over.
Colorado’s record does not change the scouting report. Hunter Goodman has been one of the bright spots in a difficult Rockies season, with 36 home runs and a franchise record for catchers. Jake McCarthy has put together a productive year with gap power and speed. Troy Johnston has been swinging the bat well recently, and Colorado just took two of three from Baltimore.
The Rockies are not playing for October, but they are still playing.
That is enough to make them dangerous.
Feltner gets the ball for Colorado at 5-9 with a 5.84 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP and 76 strikeouts. He was bumped from a recent start because of illness, then worked four innings in relief against Atlanta on Sunday, allowing only an unearned run in a 10-inning loss.
The Cardinals have to make him work.
This is not a night to let a struggling starter find rhythm. St. Louis needs traffic early, especially in a ballpark where one inning can change the whole game. They need Walker, Alec Burleson, Iván Herrera, Báez, Nolan Gorman, Saggese, Urías, Bernal and the rest of the lineup to keep pressure on Feltner from the first time through.
Walker remains one of the biggest stories on the roster. He enters the series leading the Cardinals with a .289 average, 28 home runs and 99 RBIs. One more RBI gets him to 100, joining Burleson, who already reached that mark last weekend.
Those numbers matter.
For all the frustration around the Cardinals’ season, Walker and Burleson have given St. Louis two middle-order bats producing real run impact. The Cardinals need more of that in September, not just for the future, but for whatever is left of the present.
Báez also bears watching in this ballpark.
His power plays anywhere, but Coors Field can reward hitters who stay through the baseball and use the big parts of the field. Saggese is coming off his best stretch as a major leaguer. Bernal has already made September more interesting. Herrera continues to give the lineup a professional at-bat. The Cardinals have enough bats to make this a difficult night for Feltner.
They just have to finish innings.
That has been the problem too often.
St. Louis had chances Thursday and did not create separation. The Cardinals have had too many games this season where one more hit, one cleaner inning or one better defensive play would have changed the result. That cannot continue if September is going to matter.
The standings do not care that the team is young.
They do not care that the rotation has been hit by injuries.
They do not care that the Cardinals took two of three from the Dodgers.
The only thing that matters now is stacking wins.
That starts tonight.
The Cardinals are 48-15 this season when they score at least five runs. At Coors Field, five may only be the starting point. St. Louis cannot count on winning a 3-2 game in Denver. It needs early offense, pressure throughout the lineup and a pitching plan that does not ask the bullpen to survive traffic every inning.
Pallante gives the Cardinals a chance to stabilize things.
Feltner gives the Cardinals a matchup they should be ready to attack.
The Rockies give the Cardinals an opportunity.
Now St. Louis has to take it.
After all the talk about tomorrow, this is exactly the kind of game that has to become today’s business.
Win the opener.
Get Pallante through his return.
Keep the offense moving.
Do not give Colorado a reason to believe this series is theirs.
Game Info
Matchup: St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies
When: Friday, September 4, 2026
First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. CT / 6:40 p.m. MT
Where: Coors Field, Denver
Probable Pitchers: RHP Andre Pallante vs. RHP Ryan Feltner
Pallante: 12-6, 3.57 ERA, 97 SO
Feltner: 5-9, 5.84 ERA, 76 SO
Records: Cardinals 70-71; Rockies 54-86
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV Presented by bet365 / Rockies.TV
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