Cardinals place Ivan Herrera on 10-day IL, recall infielder Thomas Saggese
Ahead of opening a three-game series vs. the Reds at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals on Friday placed Ivan Herrera on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and recalled infielder Thomas Saggese from Class AAA Memphis in a corresponding move.
Herrera, 25, started at catcher in the first game of a road doubleheader vs. the White Sox on Thursday. Herrera caught seven innings before being replaced in the bottom of the eight inning by Pedro Pages, who took over on catching duties when the Cardinals took a 5-4 lead in the top of half of the eighth.
On occasions this season, Pages been used as a defensive replacement for Herrera when the Cardinals have lead late in games.
Despite missing over a month between April and May because of a bone bruise in his left knee, Herrera has posted a .320/.392/.533 slash line with eight homers, eight doubles, and 36 RBIs in 42 games. Having served mostly as a designated hitter upon his return from the IL in early May, Herrera has posted an .831Ìý on-base plus slugging percentage in 35 games in his last 35 games.
Saggese returns to the majors for the first time since late April. The 23-year-old utility infielder has batted .317 with a .402 on-base percentage and a .445 slugging percentage in 42 games while with Memphis. Through 50 at-bats in June, Saggese has a .420/.508/.540 slash line.
An infielder with experience at third base, second base, and at shortstop, Saggese batted .341 and held an .876 on-baser plus slugging percentage in 14 games during his sting in the majors earlier this season.
As he faces Reds, Cardinals' Andre Pallante has shown recent promise: First Pitch
CHICAGO -- Two showdowns loom for the Cardinals in the coming weeks. First, they face the division-leading Chicago Cubs for the first time with a four-game series at Busch Stadium..
Second, they face themselves at the trade deadline.
Hall of Fame broadcaster and fixture on Cardinals' radio Mike Claiborne joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for his annual appearan around Flag Day. Claiborne has long argued that Flag Day is the first day to check the standings are start making plans on what kind of team the Cardinals are going to be. This year's time might take a little longer, but Claiborne tells baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold what he already knows about the 2025 'transition' club.
Claiborne and Goold also discuss what the Cardinal can aim to get in return at the trade deadline if the upcoming series against the Cubs point them in the direction of selling.
That is if they can fight their tendency for straddling the fence -- never all-in and hesitant to drop out.
The podcast was recorded on the South Side of Chicago at Rate Field before another postponed game due to rain forced the Cardinals into their sixth doubleheader of the season.
In its 13th season as one of the most-popular and longest-running Cardinals-centric podcasts, the Best Podcast in Baseball is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, , and Derrick Goold.
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Amid Andre Pallante's months-long struggles, he has shown promising signs in recent starts. The question then becomes whether he can turn promise into consistent results.
Pallante starts Friday as the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Reds at 6:15 p.m., an hour earlier than the usual Friday night Busch Stadium start time.
Last time out, Pallante set a career high with seven strikeouts and struck out the side in an inning for the first time in his career.
The game before that, Pallante went six innings, allowing three runs in a more a effective start than any of the three prior outings.
In each of his last two games, Pallante has allowed just six hard-hit balls, those hit at 95 miles per hour or harder. That's fewer than any of his last eight starts leading up to that point.
In those last two games, Pallante's groundball rate (66.7%) was better than his season average, and he permitted just two pulled fly balls in total.
Pallante has thrown the knuckle-curve more in each of those last two starts than in any prior start in 2025, continuing a trend.
The Reds hit the 11th-most groundballs in baseball.
The Reds will startÌýright-hander Brady Singer (7-4, 4.34 ERA), who is in his first year in Cincinnati after spending his first five seasons in Kansas City. Against St. Louis earlier this year, he gave up one run in six innings and picked up the loss.
Singer's sinker-slider combo accounts for about 75% of the pitches he throws. Batters are hitting .184 against the slider, making it one of the more valuable sliders in the game.
Against the slider, the Cardinals' Ivan Hererra, who was placed on the injured list before the game, ranks in baseball's top 15 hitters. Teammate Willson Contreras has also done well against that pitch this season.
The Cardinals are 40-35, tied for second in the National League Central and 5 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cubs.
The Reds are 39-36, a game behind the Cardinals. Cincinnati has won 9 of its last 12 games.
Ivan Herrera (hamstring) to IL; Thomas Saggese called up
Friday's game, in addition to the usual airing on FanDuel Sports Midwest, also is simulcast on local broadcast television on Matrix Midwest (Channel 32). throughout the Cardinals footprint in six nearby states will also carry the game.
Zack Thompson, LHP (shoulder, lat strain):ÌýLefty starter has begun a throwing program designed to strengthen his arm after a long stretch without much activity. The shoulder has responded well and Thompson has felt progress with this program, which had to be restarted because his recovery stalled in May. There is no timetable for his return to the mound.ÌýUpdated June 19
Cardinals rookie Andre Granillo pulls double duty to do what no one had in MLB history
The following article is an excerpt from today's Write Fielder, a weekly newsletter from the Post-Dispatch that delivers behind the seams stories and builds upon the baseball coverage available here at and brings it directly to your inbox every Friday morning.
CHICAGO — There was no time between games Thursday for his Cardinals teammates to stuff Andre Granillo into a laundry cart for the customary car-wash celebration after his first big-league win, and by the end of the doubleheader he’d collected another first for a daily double never done before in Major League Baseball.
Granillo threw four pitches and retired his only batter to be the pitcher of record when the Cardinals’ rallied for a 5-4 victory in the first game of the doubleheader. He pitched the 10th inning in the second game to secure an 8-6 victory and his first big-league save.
Since 1969 and the advent of the save as an official stat, Granillo is the only player to collect his first career win and first career save in a doubleheader, per Elias research. He’s the first Cardinal to have a save and a win in a doubleheader at any point in their career.
Oh, and he picked up the ball from his first career strikeout, too.
“I don’t have enough time up here to be asking for days off after throwing four pitches,†Granillo joked. “I’ll do whatever they need me to do to get a win, whether it’s get one out and get a win or it’s get three outs in extra innings to get a save in the same day. As long as we’re winning ballgames that is all that matters.
“My objective obviously is to stay,†he continued. “Anything I can do to stay in the big leagues. If it’s throwing three games in a row, I don’t care. I want to stay here.â€
Eight days before pulling double duty, Granillo wasn’t even on the roster.
The burly right-hander had all of the numbers for a promotion and he had his advocates in the majors for the promotion, but as the Cardinals churned through relievers, Granillo lacked one thing the others all had: a spot on the 40-player roster. His road roommate, Michael McGreevy, told him his results were too good to keep at Class AAA Memphis for too long. Later that day, in the hotel room they shared in Gwinnett, Georgia, McGreevy woke up to Granillo talking on the phone with Triple-A Memphis’ manager Ben Johnson.
“All of sudden I hear him say, ‘Hey B.J.,’†McGreevy recalled. “Oh gosh, it’s really happening. No one more deserving than him right now.â€
Granillo, 25, struck out 46 batters in 29 2/3 innings for the Redbirds, and as the Cardinals’ search for and prioritize strikeouts from the bullpen, he was the obvious promotion. They added him to the 40-player roster and promoted him during the road trip, and four appearances and five innings into his career he’s already collecting souvenirs.
His first appearance Tuesday was eventful for only four pitches. He entered the game with two runners on base. A wild pitch moved one to third, and on another pitch Luis Robert Jr. stole second. With two runners in scoring position and the Cardinals trailing 4-2, Granillo got a fly out to center to end the seventh. Willson Contreras’ homer tied the game in the top of the eighth, and Yohel Pozo’s pinch-hit single delivered the eventual winning run just in time for Granillo to receive the win.
Between games, he handed over his jersey so that it could be marked with his achievement and eventually framed as a gift for his parents.
He had a new jersey ready when the manager asked how he felt.
“Said he was ready to go for the second one,†Marmol said.
It appeared like the Cardinals could avoid the double-dip usage. As a spot starter, McGreevy provided five solid innings in the evening game. The Cardinals took a five-run lead into the seventh inning. And then things quickly went sideways on relievers John King and Kyle Leahy. Andrew Benintendi crushed a game-tying grand slam, sending the clubs toward extra innings. The Cardinals got an RBI single from Nolan Arenado and a solo homer from Lars Nootbaar to hold a lead going into the bottom of the 10th.
Marmol outlined two reasons for turning to the rookie in the moment with the runner starting the inning at second and a doubleheader to sweep. One, he saw Granillo as a good matchup for the hitters due up. Two, well, uh …
“He was our last arm,†Marmol said.
Granillo got fly outs from the first two batters he faced. He walked the third and then faced Austin Slater as the potential winning run at the plate. Granillo elevated with a 95.8-mph fastball to finish his first career strikeout on three pitches. Granillo collected the second and third pieces of his MLB firsts hat trick on the same pitch, securing the save with the strikeout.
He explained one way he kept “cool, calm on the mound†in the midst of his first big-league save opportunity in extra innings with a runner on base and a doubleheader to sweep. He didn’t realize the score was that close.
“I didn’t really think about it, so maybe that played a part in it,†Granillo said. “I thought we were up by more. I didn’t think, ‘Hey, this is a save situation.’ I just thought go in there and get the job done. Throw strikes. Make them hit the ball.â€
Finally, after 19 innings, teammates had time to celebrate his firsts.
Granillo's first MLB win, first MLB strikeout, and first MLB save were part of a day laced with history for the Cardinals. Steven Matz joined Bob Gibson as the only two Cardinals with four-strikeout innings on the road. Arenado's homer in the second game of the day was his 350th of his career, making him only the seventh ever with that many homers and at least 10 Gold Glove awards.
Many baseballs were kept as mementoes from the game.
Granillo had his second jersey of the day set aside to be tagged with the save and also eventually framed so that his parents have a matching set of game-used jerseys from the same day. They traveled to Milwaukee for his big-league debut at the start of this road trip, but by Chicago they’d headed back to California to attend Granillo’s sister’s college graduation. Saves and wins aren’t usually bunched like that. McGreevy made the point that “it definitely can’t happen†when there’s only one game. Baltimore’s Tommy Hunter was the most recent pitcher to get a save and a win on the same day on May 1, 2014. No Cardinal had in the save era.
That doesn’t leave many firsts for Granillo except the obvious one.
All of this and he’s yet to take his first step into the Cardinals’ home clubhouse at Busch Stadium or appear in his first home game.
“I guess I’ve got to get a—,†Granillo said, stopping abruptly. “I don’t even know what else you could do as a pitcher.â€
***
The Write Fielder drops every Friday morning around 9 a.m. St. Louis time, and in addition to a lede story like the one above it includes exclusive interviews, deep dives into statistics, crowdsourcing suggestions for the experience at Busch Stadium, and even some travelogue or other personal tidbits from venturing around the majors on the baseball beat.
With a solo homer, Arenado became the seventh player in history with 350 homers and 10 Gold Gloves. Five others are in the Hall of Fame; the sixth will be.
A five-run lead vanishes in the vapor trail of a grand slam, but Cardinals, led by Nolan Arenado's historic homer and presence in 10th, win 8-6 to sweep White Sox.
Willson Contreras tied the game with a two-run homer in the eighth, and Pozo's single won it, 5-4, against Chicago in the first half of a doubleheader.
Columnist Lynn Worthy joined Jeff Gordon to discuss breakdowns with the relief corps and some outfield slumping.
Of all the Cardinals outfielders on the ‘runway,’ why it’s Alec Burleson who’s taking off
CHICAGO — During a four-game visit to Cincinnati that ended as May began, Alec Burleson had zero hits, plenty of questions, and one invitation.
A few members of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ing staff and manager Oliver Marmol asked him one evening to grab a drink with them, right there at the hotel. Pull up a chair. Enjoy the company. The manager would say later that alleviating the pressure accumulating on a player can “start sometimes just by grabbing a beer together.†The specific beverage was not as important as the conversation, which strayed away from baseball. Burleson described it “as just people talking on a personal level†and how much that meant to him.
A ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ said it was a shared chance to be “human.â€
“It’s nice to connect outside of the baseball field, and sometimes it’s just as important,†said bench ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Daniel Descalso early Thursday morning when asked about that evening Burleson had with him and others in Cincinnati. “I think that’s part of the job in today’s game — to relate to the player and let them know they’re more than just a numbers in the lineup.â€
What’s followed has everything to do with the names now in that lineup.
The Cardinals’ Alec Burleson celebrates after drawing a walk against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Eli Randolph, Post-Dispatch
Burleson emerged steadily in the weeks that followed Cincinnati — a hit here, an extra-base pop there — and by June he’s been gangbusters. Within an eventful doubleheader sweep Thursday at Rate Field against the White Sox, Burleson had four hits total and a three-run homer in the evening game. In June, he’s batting .400 (24-for-60), and since that conversation away from the field in Cincinnati he’s batting .352 and slugging .576 in his past 125 at-bats.
As clear as the doubleheader’s lineups that had him batting No. 3 in each game Thursday, Burleson has rewritten the Cardinals’ “runway†plans with his takeoff, and playing time for others is adjusting around him.
“Continuing to find out about him is important,†Marmol said.
As the Cardinals return home for a revealing home stand against Cincinnati and the Cubs, Burleson has become a fixture in the lineup, which often means starting in the outfield. That puts the squeeze on starts for Jordan Walker as it has since his return from the injured list. Or if Burleson is at designated hitter then it’s trickier to get Nolan Gorman at-bats unless Ivan Herrera catches. The only solution to fit all of the young hitters into the lineup — or onto the “runway,†as the Cardinals call it this season — is to start more than nine players, something that MLB rules, to date, do not permit.
“I don’t think there’s a stock answer or an easy answer,†Marmol said in his office this week. “I think it’s actually fairly difficult, but certain guys are playing well, and I think when you’re trying to find out about what guys are capable of, it’s not just one bucket of players. You’re trying to find out what you have in general. And when certain guys are playing well, reward them and allow them to continue to show they can hold onto that for a period of time. It’s not as easy as running certain guys out there regardless of performance.â€
Marmol agreed that Burleson has forced the choices and raised the organization’s view of his ceiling in the process.
For Burleson, 26, that’s been his career curve.
“I feel like I’ve had to prove throughout my time in the big leagues, and each year it’s been different what I’ve had to prove,†Burleson said. “This year, it’s been prove that I can hit lefties. Last year, it was just prove that I can hit at this level. So, it’s something that I’ve always felt like I’ve had to prove to people.â€
Referring back to their conversation in Cincinnati, Descalso added: “We get it. We’ve been there. I’ve been there in that spot where you’re trying to carve out a role for yourself but you also want to be a winning player on a winning team and you try to balance all of it while not always playing. It’s not easy to do.â€
There was little doubt that the Cardinals’ 2020 draft pick would be able to make contact in the majors. Burleson has a knack for reaching pitches throughout the strike zone and around it — and putting the ball in play. It’s a skill the Cardinals have worked with him on maximizing but getting more comfortable looking for pitches to drive early in the count and trusting his ability to make contact with two strikes.
The Cardinals’ Alec Burleson celebrates after hitting a double in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on Saturday May 24, 2025, in St. Louis.
Joe Puetz, Associated Press
At the ballpark, it’s been the conversation around Burleson for several years — could he be more selective with his swings early, take more aggressive swings early, and play for power while going for contact in two-strike situations.
He could hit for average. Could he up the damage?
“I know it has something to do with the swing,†Burleson said. “I know it has something to do with pitch selection, approach. It kind of all goes hand in hand. I just had time to redefine that and — I don’t want to say perfect it, because I’ll perfect it. But I’m getting better at it. I definitely feel like I’m slugging differently this year than last year.
“Not chasing results,†he concluded, “but hopefully getting to a place where I get results.â€
Burleson described it once as “earning a pitch to hit.â€
That’s the conversation that Marmol overhears between Burleson and the hitting ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥es. In the Cardinals’ victory Tuesday against the White Sox, Burleson told ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Brant Brown that he didn’t want to “swing under this guy†and that if he “swung at the top of the zone or above the zone, I’m going to be OK.†Burleson’s plan was to miss up, and when he got a pitch way, way up, he was ready and drove it. Burleson went 3 for 5 Tuesday, 7 for 13 in the series sweep, and each pitch he hit he could trace back to how he earned it. He counted on a fastball after driving two off-speed pitches.
Similarly, he’s earning the playing time by what he’s produced during that playing time, and the more playing time is giving him the experience do produce more.
And that playing time has come against lefties.
Entering the doubleheader Thursday, Burleson had seven hits in his previous 14 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. It’s a limited sample size, but it’s a sign of more opportunity.
Burleson fielded a question on past struggles vs. lefties with bluntness.
“It’s the truth,†Burleson said. “That’s what has kind of kept me out from being an everyday guy is my production against lefties. That’s an area where I need to be better, and I feel like I’ve kind of made progress in that aspect of it.
“I’m probably more homed-in on those at-bats than I am against righties,†he said, laughing. “Which is probably not good.â€
What evolved from more looks at lefties and more starters overall during the seven-game road trip was a significant part of the Cardinals’ doubleheader sweep of the White Sox. Marmol has said Burleson hit his way into the everyday lineup, and that he likes the look of left-handed Burleson beside right-handed Willson Contreras.
In 5-4 first game victory of the doubleheader, Contreras crushed a two-run homer into the wind that tied the game as a prelude to Yohel Pozo’s pinch-hit, RBI single. In the second game — an 8-6 victory in extra innings — Burleson drove an opposite-field home run for three RBIs that erased an 0-1 deficit. Nolan Arenado followed with a solo shot for his 350th career homer and the Cardinals’ first back-to-back homers since April. Combined in the doubleheader, Burleson and Contreras went 6 for 15 and slugged .800 with eight RBIs.
Burleson had four of the hits. Contreras had five of the RBIs.
“Two scary at-bats right now, right?†Marmol said late Thursday. “They can beat you a lot of different ways. They can shoot you the other way and drive in a couple of runs that way. They can leave the yard. It’s just a very tough at-bat. Both of them are in a really good spot.â€
For Burleson, that spot is the lineup.
Regardless of where the conversation takes place, Burleson has been consistent when it turns to baseball and what he’s been striving for: giving the manager every reason to keep him in the lineup and fewer to write him out.
“I think I’m a better hitter this year — which is contributing to more slug,†Burleson said. “It’s not that I didn’t have an approach before. But I have a better understanding of what my approach is. I’m able to use that to my advantage.â€
With a solo homer, Arenado became the seventh player in history with 350 homers and 10 Gold Gloves. Five others are in the Hall of Fame; the sixth will be.
A five-run lead vanishes in the vapor trail of a grand slam, but Cardinals, led by Nolan Arenado's historic homer and presence in 10th, win 8-6 to sweep White Sox.
Photos: Cardinals win second game of doubleheader vs. White Sox
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras runs after hitting a two-run double during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy, right, throws out Chicago White Sox's Michael A. Taylor, left, at first base during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado swings strikes out swinging during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
The Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman (16) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring on a two-run double by Willson Contreras during the fourth inning on the second game of a doubleheader against the White Sox on Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Chicago.
Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable, second from left, talks to players during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras hits a two-run double during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mike Vasil throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Ryan Noda, right, celebrates with third base ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Justin Jirschele, left, after hitting a solo home run during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Ryan Noda hits a solo home run during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable, left, watches players during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi hits a single during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado looks to the field from the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the third inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson hits a single during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mike Vasil throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker (18) celebrates with teammates after scoring on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado hits a one-run single during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Dan Altavilla looks at the scoreboard after St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar hit a solo home run during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Columnist Lynn Worthy joined Jeff Gordon to discuss breakdowns with the relief corps and some outfield slumping.
Cardinals-Cubs game on Fourth of July moved to Apple TV+ exclusive streaming: Media Views
The Fourth of July. Barbecue. Fireworks. Baseball. Those all-American traditions go hand in hand. It’s Independence Day, after all.
It also will be a day that Major League Baseball will be declaring its independence from some Cardinals and Cubs fans’ desire to watch the rivals play on one of the clubs’ familiar television outlets, as the game that day at Wrigley Field has been whisked off the teams’ television channels.
Instead, it will be exclusively streamed by Apple TV+.
The contest has been added by Apple as part of its season-long schedule of MLB games it streams on Fridays, with no local productions permitted — in the Cardinals’ case, not on FanDuel Sports Network, KMOV (Channel 4) or Matrix Midwest (Channel 32), as part of the fourth season of the MLB-Apple arrangement.
The package is dubbed “Friday Night Baseball,†but in this case, it will be a Friday afternoon matchup as the contest in Chicago is set to begin at 1:20 p.m.
While the Fourth of July move of the Cardinals-Cubs game to the subscription streaming service will go over like a wet bag of firecrackers to some of those teams’ fans who don’t subscribe to Apple TV+, it certainly won’t be the most aggravating Apple-only contest for Redbirds rooters. That came in 2022, when Apple exclusively had the game in which the Cards’ Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run to become just the fourth major leaguer to do so — after months of buildup and anticipation.
The Cardinals have two other streaming-only games through July. Their June 27 contest in Cleveland is in the Apple package, and their contest there two days later is in Roku’s Sunday lineup.
Free Birds
On the other end of the TV spectrum, the Cardinals have added a handful of over-the-air telecasts to their local broadcast package this season for the first time in 15 years, and that schedule now has been set through July.
Gray Media has a deal with the team to simulcast at least 10 contests that also are shown on FanDuel Sports Network, the club’s pay-television home. That makes those contests also available via “free TV†on KMOV (Channel 4) and/or Matrix Midwest (Channel 32) as well as on more than a dozen other stations in the Midwest.
Five have been carried thus far with there more now set to come, all on Fridays. Also, Fox (KTVI, Channel 2 locally) has one Cardinals game in July in its Saturday night broadcast package. The schedules:
June 20: 6:15 p.m. vs. Cincinnati, Matrix (32).
July 11: 7:15 p.m. vs. Atlanta. KMOV (4), Matrix (32).
July 18: 8:40 p.m. at Arizona, KMOV (4), Matrix (32).
July 19: 6:15 p.m. at Arizona, KTVI (2).
Football falloff
Last year, the Battlehawks, St. Louis’ entry in the United Football League, lost in the playoff semifinals, but the league nonetheless had awarded its championship game to the city based on its strong support of spring football.
The result was an announced attendance of 27,369 to see Birmingham beat San Antonio 25-0, with 2.1% of the St. Louis market tuning in to the telecast per viewership tracking firm Nielsen. The same situation occurred this month, with the B’hawks losing at home in the league semifinals but the title game nonetheless being played in the Dome at America’s Center. The result was significantly different. Announced attendance tumbled to 14,559 for DC’s 58-34 demolition of Michigan, and the St. Louis TV rating (on ABC, KDNL Channel 30 locally) slid to 0.5% of the market watching.
Local television viewership of the game fell far below a couple other nationally televised events from the area last weekend.
The IndyCar race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison (on Fox, Channel 2) was seen in 3.1% of the market, according to Nielsen. That far surpassed the rating the NASCAR race at the track last summer did (1.6 rating).
The City SC-Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer contest drew a 1.0 rating (also on Fox/Channel 2).
Columnist Lynn Worthy joined Jeff Gordon to discuss breakdowns with the relief corps and some outfield slumping.
Worthy: The Tampa Bay Rays staff a potential pitching roadmap for the Cardinals
Shane Baz has a fastball that averaged just shy of 97 mph, throws three different off-speed pitches and yet somehow doesn’t miss a lot of bats.
Who is Baz? Well, the 6-foot-3 right-hander and former first-round pick in the 2017 MLB draft pitches for the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s part of the five-man rotation that, so far this season, has found upper-level success with lower levels of swing-and-miss in this strikeout-driven era in the major leagues.
The Rays rotation, which boasts five starters who’ve made at least 14 starts, don’t have a single starter with a strikeout rate higher than 24%. By comparison, the Houston Astros rotation features four starters (at least nine starts) with a strikeout rate of 24% or higher.
If you haven’t already connected the dots yourself, the Rays and their rotation are an example of a team that trades punches with baseball’s big boys despite a similar type of rotation as the Cardinals this season.
The Rays’ success lets us all know that strikeout-heavy starters, while a definite benefit, aren’t required to compete. At least not required as much as strikeout “stuff†late in games.
The Rays’ example also shows us that finding reliable relief pitchers with the ability to attack the zone with swing-and-miss stuff might be one of the most important things the Cardinals do this season.
The Cardinals’ last homestand, particularly the series against the Toronto Blue Jays, underscored the heavy reliance on pitch-to-contact starters such as Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas and Matthew Liberatore.
The Blue Jays collected 40 hits on that three-game sweep of the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Each time a line drive off the bat of a Blue Jays hitter smacked a patch of green grass or a ground ball with eyes found its way through the Cardinals infield defense, the drumbeat got louder. The importance of swing-and-miss stuff seemingly grew with each hit.
Any astute baseball follower knows, the most surefire way for a pitcher to work around having men on base is via strikeouts.
When the ball isn’t put in play because of strikeouts, that also means you’re collecting outs, not giving up hits and runners aren’t advancing or scoring.
When the opposition puts the bat on the ball, the likelihood of hits, productive outs and fielding misplays goes up.
You only need recall the fourth inning in Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox.
Cardinals starter Erick Fedde got within an out of escaping the inning with a one-run lead intact. His strikeout of Ryan Noda put him in that position. However, Josh Rojas whacked a ball back up the middle that shortstop Masyn Winn gloved on the outfield grass, but his low throw allowed Rojas to reach base, the tying run to score and extended the inning.
Strikeouts take that sort of thing off the table.
Of the Cardinals starting pitchers, only Sonny Gray has logged better than a strikeout per inning this season (9.6 per nine innings). His strikeout rate of 26.1% puts him well ahead of Liberatore (20.1%) for the lead. Steven Matz actually showed the most swing-and-miss ability in his two starts, but he’s since shifted to a jack-of-all-trades role out of the bullpen.
Which brings us back to the Rays and their contact-heavy starting rotation, who entered Thursday in second place in the American League East and the fourth-best record in the AL.
All the Rays have done, since the start of May, has been go 27-17 with a starting staff that doesn’t miss bats.
The Rays also led the majors in innings pitched by their rotation (418 2/3) while the Cardinals ranked seventh (401 2/3 in one fewer game).
Rays starters ranked among the bottom third (23rd overall) in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings (7.70), a little bit ahead of the Cardinals (27th, 7.10), but that hasn’t sunk them.
With pitchers like Drew Rasmussen (50% ground-ball rate), Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Zack Littell and Baz, the Rays don’t have an All-Star selection between the five of them. They don’t have a household name, no Paul Skenes. Yet their staff has allowed the seventh-fewest runs in the big leagues this season.
That success comes in no small part because the Rays have put together one of the stingiest bullpens in the big leagues (3.02 ERA, second-best in MLB). The Rays don’t have the nastiest bullpen corps as far as racking up strikeouts — they’re ranked 15th in strikeouts per nine — but they’ve been considerably better than the 30th-ranked Cardinals.
What’s more, none of the Cardinals’ three biggest strikeout threats out of the bullpen — Phil Maton (11.6 strikeouts per nine), Ryan Helsley (10.8) and Matz (7.8) — are under contract past this season.
Not only may the Cardinals have to replace all of them after this season, but they could all also be trade candidates in a little more than a month.
Sorting through the viability of relievers such as Riley O’Brien, Gordon Graceffo, Chris Roycroft, Matt Svanson, Andre Granillo, Roddery Munoz and Ryan Fernandez could become paramount by the end of this season. Finding out what they have in that regard would fit with the theme of this season.
The Rays are proving that a cadre of pitch-to-contact starters, the type the Cardinals traditionally have leaned on in the past, can still anchor a playoff-caliber team. But pairing that with a lack of swing-and-miss from the bullpen isn’t a viable formula.
Nolan Arenado's 350th homer puts him in a golden group bronzed in Cooperstown: Cardinals Extra
The Cardinals Nolan Arenado, left, is congratulated by manager Oliver Marmol in the dugout after the third baseman hit a solo home run, the 350th home run of his career, in the third inning of the second game of a doubleheader against the White Sox on Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Chicago.
Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press
CHICAGO — With a swing of his bat, Nolan Arenado joined an exclusive and illustrious group also known for their gloves.
As part of a back-to-back set of home runs in the evening half of Thursday’s doubleheader, Arenado hit the 350th home run of his career. He is one of seven players in major league history with at least 350 homers and at least 10 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, and he and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt are the only infielders in the group.
The Cardinals held a clubhouse gathering after their doubleheader sweep Thursday to celebrate Arenado's accomplishment as a group.
"It’s a great accomplishment," Arenado said after late Thursday after the game. "I thank God that I’ve been healthy enough to play and post and go out there and accomplish it. It’s a really cool thing. As I was running the bases, I was actually thinking about Albert (Pujols') 700th home run and how insane that is that he he was able to do that. This is my road. And I’m thankful for my teammates, for anyone who has helped me accomplish it."
In the first game of the doubleheader — a 5-4 win by the Cardinals — Arenado tagged a ball that was caught at the left field wall. In his second at-bat of the second game, he jumped on a sweeper and sent it 385 feet into the seats. Arenado’s ninth homer of the season was a solo shot that followed Alec Burleson’s three-run shot in the third inning. In the 10th, Arenado's RBI single brought home the deciding run in an 8-6 win to sweep the series.
Arenado joins Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and his former teammate Paul Goldschmidt as the only five players to hit their Nos. 250, 300 and 350 career homers while wearing a Cardinals jersey.
The other five players with at least 10 Gold Gloves and 350 home runs are: catcher Johnny Bench and outfielders Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Al Kaline and Andruw Jones. All of them save for Jones have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. And if voting trends hold for Jones, he’ll be elected imminently, possibly as early as this offseason. Jones received 66.2% of the vote this past year and needs 75% for induction.
After the game, outfielder Lars Nootbaar read the list of players Arenado joined to Arenado.
"When you realize the name you hear about it’s pretty crazy," Arenado said. "It hasn’t hit me quite yet."
Arenado is the 11th everyday third baseman to reach 350 home runs.
An eight-time All-Star, Arenado is the only player other than Ichiro Suzuki to win 10 Gold Gloves in his first 10 years. Winning an 11th at third base would vault Arenado ahead of Schmidt and behind only Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, who has 16.
With two more doubles, Arenado will reach 400 in his career and join a group of third baseman with 350 homers and 400 doubles that only includes Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, Schmidt, Adrian Beltre and also Aramis Ramirez and former Cardinal Gary Gaetti.
Two more home runs would put Arenado in the top 100 all time.
Why delay Gray’s start?
The Cardinals opted to nudge Sonny Gray’s scheduled start against the White Sox back several days due to the right-hander’s routine, and deep into it he got Wednesday before the official postponement.
Instead of against the White Sox, Gray will start Saturday against Cincinnati, and the rotation will shift around him. The assignment assures Gray will get home starts against the Reds and Cubs in the next week, and it also freed him up for a bullpen session Thursday morning at Rate Field. Giving him Saturday’s game instead of Friday’s series opener allowed the bullpen session.
“The way he ramps up,†Marmol said, “pushing him is not ideal.â€
Andre Pallante will remain on turn to start Friday’s game. Miles Mikolas will shift to Sunday. That puts Matthew Liberatore and Erick Fedde as the first two starts for the Cubs’ four-game visit. The Cardinals have planned to use sixth starter Michael McGreevy on June 24, but Gray’s shifting schedule may adjust that too.
McGreevy started the evening game Thursday as the Cardinals’ 27th man.
4-K Matz joins Gibson’s feat
With four strikeouts in the sixth inning of Thursday’s afternoon game, Steven Matz pulled off a feat done only once before by a Cardinals pitcher on the road.
Hall of Famer Bob Gibson struck out four batters in the fourth inning of a game at Pittsburgh on June 7, 1966. Gibson struck out 12 total that day in seven innings of a loss to the Pirates. In an eventful fourth inning, Gibson struck out the first two batters. He walked Donn Clendenon, then struck out Bill Mazeroski, but because of a wild pitch, the inning wasn’t over and two Bucs were on base. The inning would also feature two steals.
Gibson struck out Don Cardwell to end the inning without giving up a run.
Matz struck out the first batter of the inning, but when a wild pitch got away, that put a leadoff runner on. Matz did not get a strike call on Michael A. Taylor before allowing a two-run homer to him, meaning the lefty arguably struck out five in the inning. Matz then spun the final two batters of the inning to end it.
“It’s a cool thing to have,†starter Erick Fedde said between halves of the doubleheader. “It’s fun to say. When we’re all done playing, we’ll look back on things, and he’ll say, ‘Yeah, I struck out four people in an inning.’â€
Bunking with Brewers
The rainout Wednesday meant more time for the Cardinals at the team’s downtown hotel, where they had unlikely neighbors — the Milwaukee Brewers. Fresh off their four-game series against each other in Wisconsin, the Brewers and Cardinals each bused to Chicago to face the Cubs and White Sox, respectively. That put the division rivals in the same hotel for three days, including one with no games due to rainouts.
The Contreras brothers, Willson and William, were in the same hotel, and several Cardinals said they did see the Brewers around.
Helsley zips to 14th save
On the final day of the road trip, closer Ryan Helsley had his sharpest outing in weeks. Helsley pitched a perfect ninth on 10 pitches in Game 1 of the doubleheader to secure his 14th save of the season. He returns to Busch for this weekend series having blown three saves during the previous homestand. Helsley whipsawed through the ninth Thursday in familiar fashion — throwing his slider more often than his fastball and elevating the fastball to 101 mph when needed.
He struck out one and got two groundouts.
“He knows what gives him success, and there are some outings he’s gotten beat and then there’s some randomness,†Marmol said. “What we saw is that quick (outing): did what he wanted with the ball, was able to spin it when needed, attack with the fastball. Good to see.â€
Doubleheader superlatives
The Cardinals have played in six of the 17 total doubleheaders in the majors this season and no other team has played in more than three.
They are the third team in the past four decades to play six doubleheaders before the 75th game of the season, joining the 2022 Guardians and 2021 Mets, according to research by Elias.
The last time the Cardinals and White Sox played a doubleheader was August 15, 2020 — a significant date in recent Cardinals history. That was their return to play from a 17-day quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cardinals swept the doubleheader, and making their major league debuts that day were Dylan Carlson, Max Schrock and Jake Woodford.
Stunned in 7th, Cardinals strike in the 10th to complete doubleheader sweep of White Sox
CHICAGO — At the end of a long day at the ballpark, where even a five-run lead wasn’t safe and plenty of the play was slippery, the Cardinals had enough left for a short, decisive burst in their 19th inning of baseball.
Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar combined in the 10th inning of Thursday’s second game to deliver two runs and send the Cardinals to an 8-6 victory and a doubleheader sweep of the Chicago White Sox. The game already included a career milestone for Arenado, and he added a dash of the present to a historic home run with an RBI single in the 10th to score the extra inning’s spontaneously generated runner. Nootbaar followed with a two-out solo homer to the only relievers available in the bullpen added cushion to close.
Ryan Helsley got the save in the first game of the doubleheader by securing the 5-4 victory with a perfect ninth on 10 pitches. Rookie Andre Granillo, in his fourth major-league appearance and second of the day, earned his first major league save with a scoreless 10th.
Granillo got the win in the first game of the doubleheader.
The Cardinals swept the series to go 4-3 on the road trip.
After a crucial two-run homer and dismissive bat flip in the first half of the doubleheader to tie that game and set up the Cardinals’ win, Willson Contreras extended the Cardinals’ lead in the evening game. His two-run single in the fourth inning not only chased the starter from the game but widened the Cardinals’ lead to 6-1 — seemingly ushering them toward a sweep.
When Contreras struck out to end the top of the ninth, the score was tied.
Andrew Benintendi’s grand slam erased everything in the game that came before it, whether that was Alec Burleson’s homer or Arenado’s 350th career homer that combined to seize the lead for the Cardinals or the work done by right-hander Michael McGreevy to quell the White Sox.
McGreevy pitched five innings on limited sleep and left with a hearty lead that came completely apart during reliever Kyle Leahy’s seventh inning.
Leahy pitched out of trouble in the eighth inning with help from a snazzy catch on a liner by shortstop Jose Barrero. Filling in for Masyn Winn in the evening game, Barrero made a catch that kept a runner at second from advancing and likely scoring the go-ahead run.
With help from his defense, JoJo Romero slipped free of trouble in the ninth. With one out and the walk-off runner at third, Romero (3-3) got a ground ball that Arenado backhanded and threw home. Sox runner Mike Tauchman didn’t even challenge as the tag was applied. The game had already veered into sluggish with dashes of sloppy as extra innings arrived.
Because the doubleheader wasn’t done with either team yet.
Grand display implodes lead
The Cardinals were cruising along toward a doubleheader sweep with a five-run lead in the seventh inning and systems go for a bullpen ready to hold it.
They had home runs to take the lead and base hits to broaden it.
And then the deluge came.
And not just the rain.
As a popup rainstorm settled over Rate Field in the seventh inning, the White Sox started to create some lightning on it. They greeted lefty John King with a pair of singles, and when the Cardinals turned to right-hander Leahy for the final two outs of the inning — things only got worse. Pinch-hitter Mike Tauchman laced a single to right field to push home a run and bend the inning back to the top of the Sox lineup.
Leahy walked leadoff hitter Chase Meidroth on four pitches, and that was the real miss of the inning. Meidroth had a couple of hits in the first game to enter the evening with a .278 average and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) around .700. He was 0 or 3 against McGreevy before accepting the four-pitch walk from Leahy to load the bases.
Benintendi seized the advantage.
The outfielder, who spent a few winters early in his career working out in St. Louis, jumped the first pitch he saw from Leahy immediately after the wall. The 90.8 mph slider hung over the zone until Benintendi put it over the right field wall for a grand slam. The first grand slam this season by a Sox player tied the game, 6-6.
The rain fell throughout the inning, but it wasn’t weather that swamped the Cardinals’ momentum.
Pickoffs prove costly
Twice in the second half of Thursday’s evening game, the Cardinals were picked off base to disarm a rally or interrupt it before it could get going.
In the sixth, speedy outfielder Victor Scott II reached first on a ground ball that got a force-out for Chicago at second. Scott had a chance to get himself into scoring position with only one out — but was quickly and completely picked off second. The inning ended a batter later.
Reeling from Benintendi’s grand slam to tie the game, the Cardinals did get a chance to immediately answer. Nolan Gorman drew a walk with one out to begin the Cardinals’ answer, and then he was part of how they went silent. A double by Pedro Pages moved Gorman to third with one out. That brought reliever Jordan Leasure into the game, and before he got a ball in play, his catcher, Edgar Quero picked Gorman off third.
The out unplugged the potential rally.
Leasure struck out Barrero to end the inning.
McGreevy continues to impress
As the Cardinals continue to upshift and downshift between number of gears in their rotation, rookie right-hander McGreevy remains impressive in whatever role called upon.
The Cardinals expect at some point McGreevy will be in the rotation, making regular and scheduled starts, but through the first half of the season, he’s been on call for cameos. The 27th player for Thursday’s doubleheader, McGreevy had a before-sunrise wake to catch a plane to Chicago and felt sluggish at times with his stuff. By the end of the fifth, McGreevy said he was "just gassed" physically. But he got results without his best stuff. He allowed one run on three hits. He struck out five and had 11 swings and misses. The only run he allowed came on a solo homer hit to lead off the second.
McGreevy then retired the next nine batters he faced.
Only two of them got the ball out of the infield.
The Cardinals are looking toward next week as the next time they’ll need a sixth starter and McGreevy will be eligible for a return. A doubleheader appearance is fortuitous because it does not count against the required minimum days spent in the minors before a recall.
Cards launch to lead, history
A second time for the Cardinals this season and a 350th time for Arenado in his career lifted the Cardinals into the lead and toward a sweep Thursday.
The Cardinals trailed by a run entering the third, and White Sox starter Mike Vasil still had his sub-2.00 ERA and two outs when he plunked Contreras. That put two runners on base for one of the Cardinals’ leading hitters over the past several weeks. After four times on base in the first half of Thursday’s doubleheader, Burleson cleared the bases with a three-run homer that vaporized and gave the Cardinals an early lead that would vanish later.
Arenado followed with a solo homer and a significant milestone.
Burleson and Arenado hit the first back-to-back homers for the Cardinals since April and only the second pair this season. Arenado’s was the 350th homer of his career, putting him alongside some of the all-time greats to play combine power totals with defensive honors. He’s the seventh player in MLB history with 350 homers and 10 Gold Gloves, and the only other infielder to pull off that feat is Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt.
Burleson’s seventh homer of the season put the Cardinals up 3-1, and Arenado’s ninth homer of the season extended the lead for McGreevy to 4-1.
Photos: Cardinals win second game of doubleheader vs. White Sox
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras runs after hitting a two-run double during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy, right, throws out Chicago White Sox's Michael A. Taylor, left, at first base during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado swings strikes out swinging during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
The Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman (16) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring on a two-run double by Willson Contreras during the fourth inning on the second game of a doubleheader against the White Sox on Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Chicago.
Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable, second from left, talks to players during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras hits a two-run double during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mike Vasil throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Ryan Noda, right, celebrates with third base ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Justin Jirschele, left, after hitting a solo home run during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Ryan Noda hits a solo home run during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable, left, watches players during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi hits a single during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado looks to the field from the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the third inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson hits a single during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mike Vasil throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker (18) celebrates with teammates after scoring on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado hits a one-run single during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker scores on a one-run single by Nolan Arenado during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Dan Altavilla looks at the scoreboard after St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar hit a solo home run during the 10th inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh - AP
Cardinals biggest showdown isn't vs. Cubs, it's with themselves: Annual Flag Day episode
CHICAGOÌý— Two showdowns loom for the Cardinals in the coming weeks. First, they face the division-leading Chicago Cubs for the first time with a four-game series at Busch Stadium..
Second, they face themselves at the trade deadline.
Hall of Fame broadcaster and fixture on Cardinals' radio Mike Claiborne joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for his annual appearance around Flag Day. Claiborne has long argued that Flag Day is the first day to check the standings are start making plans on what kind of team the Cardinals are going to be. This year's time might take a little longer, but Claiborne tells baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold what he already knows about the 2025 'transition' club.
Claiborne and Goold also discuss what the Cardinal can aim to get in return at the trade deadline if the upcoming series against the Cubs point them in the direction of selling.
That is if they can fight their tendency for straddling the fence -- never all-in and hesitant to drop out.
The podcast was recorded on the South Side of Chicago at Rate Field before another postponed game due to rain forced the Cardinals into their sixth doubleheader of the season.
In its 13th season as one of the most-popular and longest-running Cardinals-centric podcasts, the Best Podcast in Baseball is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, , and Derrick Goold.
While pitching injuries proliferate around the majors, the Cardinals do not have an MLB pitcher on the IL. They credit luck and scheduling that began months ago.
