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Cardinal Chronicle Heriberto Caraballo Powers Palm Beach’s 18-Run Rout St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurHeriberto Caraballo did not have to carry the Palm Beach offense by himself Thursday night.He just made sure he left his fingerprints all over the mess.Caraballo earns Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after helping spark Palm Beach’s 18-6 runaway win over St. Lucie, a game that went from competitive to completely out of hand once the Cardinals’ lineup started rolling.Palm Beach trailed 3-2 entering the fifth inning before sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs. Caraballo was right in the middle of it. With the bases loaded, he hit an infield single that turned into trouble for St. Lucie when the throw got away down the right-field line, clearing the bases and giving Palm Beach a 6-3 lead. Facundo Velásquez followed later in the inning with a two-run double, and the Cardinals never looked back.Then Caraballo added the exclamation point.In the seventh inning, he launched a grand slam to left field, bringing home Yordalin Peña, Cameron Nickens and Trevor Haskins and stretching Palm Beach’s lead even further.That is how you win a Player of the Day honor. You help break the game open, then you come back later and slam the door with authority.Palm Beach finished with 18 runs on 16 hits, but Caraballo’s work stood out because it came at the key moments. He was part of the turning point in the fifth, then delivered the loudest swing of the night in the seventh.Some nights, the box score gives you a debate.This was not one of those nights.Old School TakeCaraballo’s night was not just about one swing. The grand slam will get the attention, and it should, but the bigger story is that he was involved when the game turned. Good players do damage when the pitcher is already in trouble. Caraballo did that Thursday, and Palm Beach turned a close game into a bus ride home for St. Lucie before the Mets ever really knew what hit them. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

Heriberto Caraballo Powers Palm Beach’s 18-Run Rout

Cardinal Chronicle Cardinals Affiliates Go 4-for-4, Led by Palm Beach’s 18-Runs St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurThe St. Louis Cardinals’ big-league club may have had a rough night, but down on the farm, Thursday belonged to the organization.All four full-season affiliates won, with Memphis taking a 1-0 pitcher’s duel at Iowa, Springfield knocking off first-place Arkansas, Peoria outslugging Cedar Rapids, and Palm Beach turning a close game into a runaway with an 18-run explosion at St. Lucie.It was one of those nights that reminds you why the farm system matters. Some nights are about stat lines. Some nights are about development. Thursday had a little of both — and for Palm Beach, it had enough offense to make the scoreboard operator ask for hazard pay.Memphis Redbirds: 29-19, 1st, International League West Memphis 1, Iowa 0Memphis did not need much offense Thursday afternoon in Des Moines. The Redbirds got one run, made it stand, and leaned on a sharp pitching staff to blank Iowa 1-0.Pete Hansen earned his first career Triple-A victory, working five scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking none and striking out six. It was a clean, efficient outing from the left-hander, and exactly the kind of start that keeps a road trip from becoming a grind. Max Rajcic finished it off with his team-leading fifth save, lowering his ERA to 1.82. Memphis pitching held Iowa to six hits overall and recorded the club’s third shutout of the season. (MLB.com)The only run came in the sixth inning, when Leo Bernal lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Joshua Báez. Blaze Jordan led the offense with three hits, including a double, while Lars Nootbaar went 0-for-2 with a walk in his second rehab game with Memphis. (MLB.com)It was not flashy, but it was professional baseball at its simplest: pitch, catch, scratch out a run, and get on the bus with a win.Springfield Cardinals: 17-25, 5th, Texas League North Springfield 5, Arkansas 3Springfield picked up one of its better wins of the week, beating Arkansas 5-3 on the road and snapping a seven-game skid against the Travelers dating back to last season.The Cardinals did the damage with a four-run fourth inning. Springfield loaded the bases with nobody out on a walk, a hit and an error, then had four straight batters at the top of the order drive in runs. It was a clean example of a lineup keeping pressure on a defense instead of waiting around for one big swing. (MLB.com)Chen-Wei Lin gave Springfield 4.2 innings in the start, allowing two runs on two hits. Jack Findlay was outstanding behind him, retiring all six batters he faced to earn the win. Mason Burns handled the ninth with a perfect inning for his fifth save. Springfield also struck out only once in the game, a small but important detail for a club that has had too many nights where the offense disappears quietly. (MLB.com)Travis Honeyman walked twice and scored his team-leading 27th run of the season. That is not a headline-grabbing line, but it is the sort of on-base work that starts rallies and gives an offense a pulse. (MLB.com)Peoria Chiefs: 17-24, 6th, Midwest League West Peoria 9, Cedar Rapids 6Peoria snapped through with a badly needed 9-6 win over Cedar Rapids, turning a 4-0 early deficit into a comeback victory at Dozer Park.The Chiefs fell behind after Cedar Rapids scored four runs in the second, but Peoria answered with three in the bottom half and three more in the fourth. The Chiefs added two in the seventh and one in the eighth, finishing with nine runs on nine hits despite committing four errors. It was not a clean night defensively, but the bats covered it. (MLB.com)Nolan Sparks earned the win, improving to 3-2, while Cedar Rapids starter John Doktorczyk took the loss. Peoria’s victory came after a rough stretch, and sometimes that matters almost as much as how it looks. The Chiefs needed a win, and they got one the old-fashioned Midwest League way — a little noise, a little chaos, and enough offense to survive the mistakes. (MLB.com)Palm Beach Cardinals: 24-18, 2nd, Florida State League East Palm Beach 18, St. Lucie 6Palm Beach delivered the loudest performance of the night, hammering St. Lucie 18-6 at Clover Park.The Cardinals trailed 3-2 entering the fifth inning before sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs. St. Lucie pitching helped open the door with walks, but Palm Beach walked right through it. Yordalin Peña tied the game with an RBI single, Heriberto Caraballo reached on a play that cleared the bases, and Facundo Velásquez followed with a two-run double as the Cardinals blew the game open. (MLB.com)Caraballo later put the game away with a grand slam in the seventh inning, stretching the lead to 15-5. Palm Beach added three more in the ninth, finishing with 18 runs on 16 hits. The Cardinals also took a 2-1 lead in the series. (MLB.com)It was not just a win. It was a reminder that this Palm Beach club can bury a team when the lineup starts rolling. Fifteen walks by St. Lucie pitching helped, but you still have to cash those chances. Palm Beach cashed them by the wheelbarrow.Player of the Day Heriberto Caraballo, Palm Beach CardinalsCaraballo gets the nod after being in the middle of Palm Beach’s biggest inning and then putting the game away with a grand slam in the seventh. In an 18-run game, there are several candidates, but a grand slam and a major role in the eight-run fifth makes this one pretty easy.Pitcher of the Day Pete Hansen, Memphis RedbirdsHansen earns the honor after five scoreless innings in Memphis’ 1-0 win at Iowa. He allowed just two hits, walked nobody and struck out six while picking up his first career Triple-A victory. That is a grown-up pitching line, especially in a one-run game.Old School TakeA 4-0 night across the full-season system is never something to brush aside. Memphis won with pitching. Springfield won with situational offense and bullpen work. Peoria won by punching back after falling behind. Palm Beach won by turning a close game into batting practice.That is a good night on the farm.The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

Cardinals Affiliates Go 4-for-4, Led by Palm Beach’s 18-Runs

Cardinal Chronicle&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Cardinals Stumble Into Cincinnati Looking for a Weekend Reset&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurThe St. Louis Cardinals did not exactly ease into their late-May divisional grind. After dropping two of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals now head to Cincinnati for a three-game weekend series against the Reds, another National League Central opponent with enough momentum and enough troublemaking ability to make this more than just another stop on the schedule.This is the beginning of what could fairly be called the Cardinals’ Divisional Gauntlet — a stretch where standings, bullpen usage, lineup decisions and roster depth all start to matter a little more than they did in April. The calendar still says May, but division games have a way of speeding up the season.St. Louis enters the series at 28-21, sitting third in the NL Central, two games behind first-place Milwaukee and just behind the Cubs. Cincinnati comes in at 26-24, tied with Pittsburgh at 4½ games back, but the Reds are not limping into the weekend. They won two straight in Philadelphia and took a road series from the Phillies before returning home to Great American Ball Park.&nbsp;For the Cardinals, the assignment is simple enough to say and harder to execute: clean up the offense, protect the bullpen, and get the series before heading deeper into the division schedule.St. Louis was held to two runs Thursday after being shut out Wednesday, a two-day stretch that exposed the very thing that has been quietly following this club around — an offense that can look dangerous one night and scattered the next. The Cardinals still have enough talent to win this division, but talent by committee is starting to look less like flexibility and more like uncertainty.The Cardinals are expected to make a couple of roster moves, maybe up to four prior to game time. The catcher situation has been handled by committee. Left field has been handled by committee. The back end of the bullpen has had its own committee moments. That may work for a week. It may even work for a month. But as the Central tightens, the Cardinals need more defined answers and fewer daily experiments.The Reds, meanwhile, come home with some life. Sal Stewart broke out Wednesday against Philadelphia, going 4-for-5 with a double, a long two-run homer and three runs scored in Cincinnati’s 9-4 win. Nathaniel Lowe also drove in three runs as the Reds clinched the series.&nbsp;That matters because Great American Ball Park has never been a forgiving place for pitchers who miss spots. Cincinnati’s lineup may run hot and cold, but when the Reds get traffic on the bases in that ballpark, games can turn sideways in a hurry.The Cardinals will send Kyle Leahy to the mound Friday night against Chris Paddack. Leahy enters at 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA, while Paddack is still searching for his first win at 0-5 with a 7.07 ERA. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. CT, with coverage on Reds.TV, Cardinals.TV and KMOV-4.&nbsp;Saturday’s matchup has Andre Pallante facing Brady Singer in a nationally televised game on FOX. Pallante enters 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA, while Singer is 2-4 with a 6.26 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT.&nbsp;Sunday’s finale is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. CT, with Matthew Liberatore facing left-hander Nick Lodolo. Liberatore comes in 2-2 with a 4.70 ERA, while Lodolo enters 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA.&nbsp;On paper, this is a series the Cardinals should expect to win. But that phrase — “on paper” — has buried more ballclubs than a bad bullpen ever did.The Reds are close enough in the standings to make this meaningful, and the Cardinals are coming off a series that reminded everyone how thin the margin can be when the offense goes quiet. St. Louis cannot afford to treat Cincinnati as a reset button. This is not a soft landing. It is another division test, and the Cardinals need to play like a club that understands the value of getting right before the schedule gets even heavier.The old rule still applies: beat the teams in your division, and the standings usually take care of themselves.For the Cardinals, this weekend in Cincinnati is less about panic and more about proof. Prove the Pittsburgh series was a stumble, not a trend. Prove the lineup has enough stability to carry the club through the long haul. Prove the pitching staff can survive a dangerous park without asking the bullpen to cover half the weekend.The Divisional Gauntlet has begun.Now the Cardinals need to start winning their way through it.Series ScheduleFriday, May 22 Cardinals at Reds, 5:40 p.m. CT Kyle Leahy vs. Chris Paddack TV: Reds.TV, Cardinals.TV, KMOV-4Saturday, May 23 Cardinals at Reds, 6:15 p.m. CT Andre Pallante vs. Brady Singer TV: FOXSunday, May 24 Cardinals at Reds, 12:40 p.m. CT Matthew Liberatore vs. Nick Lodolo TV: Reds.TV, Cardinals.TVThe Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

Cardinals Stumble Into Cincinnati Looking for a Weekend Reset

The Cardinal Chronicle Pirates Shut Down Cardinals, 7-0, as Walker Injury Adds to Rough Night St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurOne night after Busch Stadium shook under the weight of Iván Herrera’s first career walk-off home run, the Cardinals were reminded that momentum in baseball is about as reliable as a screen door in a thunderstorm.The Pittsburgh Pirates beat St. Louis 7-0 Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, snapping their own four-game losing streak and ending the Cardinals’ six-game winning streak over Pittsburgh dating back to Aug. 28, 2025. It was the kind of loss that did not need much decorating. Seven runs. No answer. No late rally. No Busch Stadium magic. Just a long, quiet night after Tuesday’s fireworks.The seven-run margin marked the Cardinals’ worst loss of the season, and it came at a particularly poor time. St. Louis entered this stretch looking to make hay against National League Central opponents, with 12 straight division games lined up to close out May. The Cardinals took the opener Tuesday in dramatic fashion, but Game 2 was all Pittsburgh.The bigger concern, though, may not have been the scoreboard.Jordan Walker left the game after being hit by a pitch on his right wrist, an injury that immediately moved to the top of the worry list. Walker has been one of the most important bats in the St. Louis lineup, and any issue involving the wrist of a power hitter is not something to shrug off and file away under “just baseball.” The Cardinals will have to wait on further evaluation, but there was no pretending it was not a concerning moment.The Cardinals were already trying to navigate the short-term uncertainty around Masyn Winn, who had been dealing with left knee discomfort after leaving Sunday’s game against Kansas City. Winn’s MRI came back clean, but the club has been understandably careful with one of its most valuable defensive players. Add Walker’s wrist to the medical ledger, and suddenly a rough loss becomes something more than one bad night.Here is how the game broke down:Pittsburgh grabbed control and never really gave it back. The Pirates did what struggling teams have to do when trying to stop a slide — they scored first, added on, and kept the Cardinals from finding the kind of inning that changes a game.St. Louis never found that inning.After Tuesday night’s comeback and Herrera’s three-run walk-off homer in the 10th, the Cardinals’ offense went quiet. St. Louis was shut out for the third time this season and for the second time in three games, a jarring reminder that this lineup can still swing between explosive and empty. The Cardinals have enough firepower to change games quickly, but Wednesday was one of those nights when every opportunity seemed to die before it could grow legs.Michael McGreevy entered the night as one of the best stories in the Cardinals’ rotation, carrying a 2.10 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP that ranked among the best in baseball. He had been 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA over his previous four starts, with both runs in that stretch coming on solo home runs. Wednesday did not follow that script. Pittsburgh forced him into trouble, and the Cardinals never gave him any offensive cover.That is the cold math of shutout baseball. A pitcher can be good, average or off his game entirely, but when the offense puts up zero, the margin for error disappears. Every baserunner feels heavier. Every mistake feels louder. Every run allowed starts to look like a hill instead of a bump.For Pittsburgh, the win mattered. The Pirates had dropped four straight and had been beaten six consecutive times by St. Louis going back to last season. The Cardinals had won the first five meetings between the clubs in 2026, including Tuesday’s 9-6 extra-inning win. Wednesday finally gave Pittsburgh a response.For St. Louis, the loss is not season-altering, but it is a reminder. The Cardinals are not good enough to coast through division games. Nobody is. Not in this division. Not with Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh all part of this closing May stretch.Tuesday night felt like a spark.Wednesday night felt like a bucket of cold water.Now comes the test that usually tells more about a club than either extreme. Good teams have nights like this. The question is whether they carry them into the next day or leave them where they belong.The Cardinals still have a chance to win the series Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium. That matters. It would not erase Wednesday night, and it certainly would not answer the concern over Walker’s wrist, but it would keep St. Louis moving forward through this divisional gauntlet.For one night, the Pirates did the punching.The Cardinals took it.Now we find out how they respond.Final: Pirates 7, Cardinals 0Up next: Pittsburgh and St. Louis close the three-game series Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals’ game notes listed Thursday’s matchup as Pittsburgh right-hander Braxton Ashcraft against Cardinals right-hander Dustin May, with first pitch scheduled for 12:15 p.m. CT. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

Pirates Shut Down Cardinals, 7-0, as Walker Injury Adds to Rough Night

The Cardinal Chronicle Ken Boyer Belongs in Baseball’s Hall of Fame St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurKen Boyer’s Hall of Fame case is not built on nostalgia, sentiment, or another round of Cardinals fans waving the flag for one of their own.It is built on the record.Boyer was not merely a good Cardinal. He was one of the finest third basemen of his generation, one of the best all-around players in the National League during his prime, the captain of a championship club, a league MVP, a five-time Gold Glove winner, and a player whose modern statistical profile has only strengthened with time.For years, Boyer has lived in that frustrating space where baseball history seems to nod politely in his direction, never opening the door. That needs to change. Boyer, who played 15 major league seasons from 1955 to 1969, finished with 2,143 hits, 282 home runs, 1,141 RBIs and a .287 batting average. He was an 11-time All-Star selection across seven All-Star seasons, won five Gold Gloves and captured the 1964 National League Most Valuable Player Award while helping lead the Cardinals to a World Series championship.That is not a compiler’s resume. That is a complete ballplayer’s resume.Boyer played third base at a time when the position still had not received the historical respect it deserved. Before the modern era fully understood the value of two-way excellence at the hot corner, third basemen were often judged harshly if they did not produce like corner outfielders while defending one of the game’s most demanding positions. Boyer did both. He hit in the middle of the order, drove in runs, handled the glove, led by example, and gave the Cardinals stability at a position where few franchises have ever found long-term greatness.By modern measurements, his case looks even stronger. Baseball-Reference credits Boyer with 62.8 career WAR, while Jay Jaffe’s JAWS system places him among the best third basemen outside Cooperstown. JAWS, which averages a player’s career WAR and seven-year peak WAR, was designed to compare Hall candidates against the standard already established at their position. Boyer ranks right in the neighborhood of the Hall of Fame line for third basemen, and his peak value compares favorably with several already enshrined players.That matters because Boyer’s case has often suffered from the old “he doesn’t feel like a Hall of Famer” argument. Well, feelings are fine for porch swings and fishing stories. Hall of Fame arguments need evidence.And the evidence says that Ken Boyer was not a borderline star. He was an elite athlete.From 1956 to 1964, Boyer ranked among the best position players in baseball. That stretch covers his prime, and it tells the story better than any one counting stats. He was not a one year wonder who caught lightning in 1964. He was a consistent, high-level performer, whose MVP season was the peak of an already distinguished career.The 1964 season remains the centerpiece. Boyer hit .295, led the National League with 119 RBIs and helped push the Cardinals to the pennant during one of the great stretch-run comebacks in franchise history. Then, in the World Series against the Yankees, he delivered one of the defining swings in Cardinals history: a grand slam in Game 4 that supplied every St. Louis run in a 4-3 victory. He later homered again in Game 7 as the Cardinals finished the job.That is not merely value on a spreadsheet. That is value when the lights were brightest.Boyer also carried something that does not fit neatly into a formula. He was “The Captain.” In St. Louis, that title is not handed out like a promotional giveaway. It is earned. Stan Musial had the bat, Bob Gibson had the fire, Lou Brock had the electricity, and Ozzie Smith had the magic. Boyer had the steady hand. He was dependable, respected, productive, and complete.The Cardinals have had fine third basemen across their history. They have not had another Ken Boyer.That franchise context should not replace the national case, but it strengthens it. Boyer is widely regarded as the greatest third baseman in Cardinals history, and that is not a small claim for one of baseball’s cornerstone franchises. His No. 14 is retired by the club, and he remains a central figure in the story of Cardinals baseball.The Hall of Fame has already recognized players with comparable or lesser statistical cases at underrepresented positions. That is not an argument to lower the standard. It is an argument to apply the standard fairly.Third base has long been one of Cooperstown’s most underrepresented positions. Boyer’s combination of offense, defense, peak performance, awards, leadership, and championship impact checks nearly every reasonable box. He was not Brooks Robinson with the glove, Eddie Mathews with the bat or Mike Schmidt with the power. But Hall of Fame worthiness is not limited to being the single greatest version of one skill. Boyer’s greatness came in the total package. He could hit. He could field. He could run. He could lead. He could win.That used to be called a ballplayer.Boyer appeared on the Hall of Fame Classic Baseball Era ballot for the Class of 2025, but he was not elected. Dick Allen and Dave Parker were elected through that committee, while Boyer remained on the outside looking in. The Hall of Fame notes that the Classic Baseball Era Committee is scheduled to consider its next ballot in winter 2027 for the Class of 2028.That gives the baseball world another chance to get this right.Ken Boyer does not need a hometown discount. He does not need special pleading. He does not need Cardinals fans to pretend he was something he was not.He simply needs voters to look at what he actually was;A league MVP.A World Series champion.A Gold Glove third baseman.A run producer.A franchise captain.One of the best third basemen of his era.And by any fair reading of the record, a Hall of Famer.Cooperstown has waited long enough.So has Ken Boyer. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports

Ken Boyer Belongs in Baseball’s Hall of Fame

The Cardinal Chronicle Cardinals Turn to Dustin May in Early Series Finale Against Pirates St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurThe St. Louis Cardinals do not have much time to sit on Wednesday night’s frustration.After being shut out 7-0 by the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals return to the field Thursday afternoon for a quick-turnaround series finale, with first pitch scheduled for 12:15 p.m. CT. It is the kind of old-fashioned getaway-day ballgame that gives a club a simple choice: carry last night with you, or flush it before lunch.St. Louis will send right-hander Dustin May to the mound against Pittsburgh right-hander Braxton Ashcraft as the Cardinals look to take the three-game series before heading to Cincinnati for the next leg of their NL Central stretch.The Cardinals opened the series Tuesday with a 9-6 extra-inning victory, continuing what had been a perfect start against Pittsburgh this season. That run ended Wednesday, when the Pirates snapped St. Louis’ six-game winning streak in the head-to-head matchup and handed the Cardinals one of their rougher nights of the season.Now the series sits where a lot of division series eventually land — tied, tense and waiting on the rubber game.For St. Louis, the bigger picture remains encouraging, even after Wednesday’s stumble. The Cardinals entered the Pittsburgh series having gone 14-6 since April 27, tied for one of the best marks in baseball over that span, and they remain firmly in the NL Central race. Their strong play against division opponents has helped keep them near the top of a crowded Central, where every series has a little more weight than the calendar might suggest in May.Thursday’s matchup also continues a demanding divisional run. After wrapping up with Pittsburgh, the Cardinals head to Cincinnati for three games, then continue through a stretch that includes Milwaukee and Chicago. In other words, there is not much breathing room, and there are no throwaway afternoons.May enters the start at 3-4 with a 4.81 ERA, looking to give the Cardinals the kind of steady outing they need after the bullpen was forced to absorb a difficult finish Wednesday night. The Cardinals were still within reach for much of that game before Pittsburgh broke it open late, and a quality start Thursday would go a long way toward stabilizing the series and keeping the club’s momentum from turning into a two-day skid.Ashcraft comes in at 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA for Pittsburgh, giving the Pirates a chance to leave St. Louis with a series win after dropping the opener. The Cardinals saw Ashcraft earlier this season during their four-game sweep at PNC Park, but this will be a different setting and a different kind of test with the series on the line.Offensively, St. Louis needs a cleaner day than it had Wednesday. The Cardinals had traffic, had hard contact, and had chances, but could not push a run across. That has been the difference between this club at its best and its worst. When the Cardinals score four or more runs, they have been one of the hardest teams in the league to put away. When the offense gets held down, the margin for error disappears quickly.Jordan Walker’s status will also be worth watching after he was hit on the right wrist Wednesday and left the game. Any concern involving Walker’s hand or wrist is more than a footnote, given his importance to the middle of the order and the way he has become a central part of the Cardinals’ offensive identity.The Cardinals have built much of their early-season success on close games, late offense and resilience. They lead the majors in last-at-bat wins and have been one of baseball’s best clubs in extra innings and tight finishes. That has made them dangerous, but Thursday calls for something a little simpler.Get a lead. Protect it. Win the series.After Wednesday night, that would be plenty.Game Information Matchup: Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026 First Pitch: 12:15 p.m. CT Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis Probable Pitchers: RHP Braxton Ashcraft vs. RHP Dustin May TV: Cardinals.TV Radio: KMOX 104.1 FM / 1120 AM Spanish Radio: WIJR 880 AM Gates Open: 10:45 a.m.Bottom Line: The Cardinals took the opener, the Pirates answered in Game 2, and now St. Louis has a chance to win the series before taking the show on the road. A quick turnaround, a noon start and a division opponent — that is getaway-day baseball with a little bite to it. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports

Cardinals Turn to Dustin May in Early Series Finale Against Pirates

The Cardinal Chronicle 

The Cardinal Chronicle is dedicated to preserving Cardinals history, covering today’s game, and following the next generation through the minor leagues. Written in the tradition of the old beat writers, it’s baseball with perspective — steady, faithful, and rooted in a lifelong love for the game.

Ray Mileur, Publisher

The Cardinal Notebook

Heriberto Caraballo Powers Palm Beach’s 18-Run Rout

Cardinals Affiliates Go 4-for-4, Led by Palm Beach’s 18-Runs

Cardinals Stumble Into Cincinnati Looking for a Weekend R...

Pirates Shut Down Cardinals, 7-0, as Walker Injury Adds t...

Ken Boyer Belongs in Baseball’s Hall of Fame

Cardinals Turn to Dustin May in Early Series Finale Again...