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Cardinals’ manager Oli Marmol discusses how the team’s new additions — like Hunter Dobbins — has changed the dynamic of the club of late.
ST. LOUIS – Already one of the best surprise stories in all of baseball, the Cardinals have crafted a feel-good start where they have yet to spend a day below .500 despite being one of MLB’s poorest hitting teams with runners in scoring position.
Just imagine what the young and feisty Cardinals might be able to accomplish later in the season if they swing the bats the way they did in the clutch on Sunday night against the rival Cubs.
Despite entering Sunday with MLB’s worst batting average with runners in scoring percentage at .223, the Cardinals got run-scoring hits from Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn and strong pitching from starter Matthew Liberatore and a first-ever save from starter-turned-reliver Hunter Dobbins in a 5-1 defeat of the Cubs.
“It’s huge and against a team like the Cubs you want to get as many runs as possible,” said Winn, whose two-run single in the third inning pushed the Cards lead to 5-0 at the time. “To come through with two outs and right after (Burleson) did right before me, that was huge.”
A Busch Stadium crowd of 34,753 saw the Cardinals take two of three and win the series against their rivals from the north. In a stretch of 11 straight games against teams from the vastly improved National League Central Division, the Cardinals improved to 4-7.
“It’s not only the division but look at some of the games going into this stretch – (playing) the Dodgers and San Diego – it’s been a grueling one, but you look at how our group has come out of these stretches and I like it,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “WE continue to grow. There are going to be games that don’t look the way you want, but at the same time, I just love the mentality. So, I’m proud of our guys.”
Standout rookie JJ Wetherholt had two hits, two runs scored, was on base three times and stole in seventh base in seven tries, while Ivan Herrera added two more hits and two runs from the top of the order.
Utility fielder Thomas Saggese keeping the faith despite 2026 struggles
Liberatore (3-3) wiggled out of trouble in the first inning after allowing the first two hitters of the game to reach and then retired 13 of 14 during one stretch.
After retiring Pete Crow-Armstrong to open the sixth inning, Liberatore turned the game over to the recently promoted Dobbins, who allowed a solo homer to Alex Bregman minutes after entering the game. Another key moment for Dobbins – who was promoted from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday afternoon – came in the seventh inning when he rallied from a 3-0 count to strike out Dansby Swanson on a 97.5 fastball with two on and one out.
“I wasn’t worried about (velocity) because we addressed it the last time I was optioned (to Triple-A) and it was just nice to feel the adrenaline of Busch,” said Dobbins, who compared the intensity of the moment to pitching in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry as a rookie in 2025. “I think this confirms that we fixed the problem (with his mechanics and lagging velocity) and now we’re just go from here.”
Liberatore limited the Cubs to three hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, while Dobbins got 11 outs and picked up the first save of his professional career. He had previously started all 10 of his games this season – nine with Memphis and one with the Cardinals in Pittsburgh on April 30. Afterward, he got the laundry cart ride into the shower where he was squirted with various liquids, including mustard.
“Coming out of the bullpen is definitely a different beast, so it took me a second to settle in and find myself,” said Dobbins, who last save came in 2019 in college when he pitched for Texas Tech University.
After Hunter Dobbins fixed mechanics, command and velocity no longer issues
After waking up in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday morning before flying to St. Louis, Dobbins asked his fellow pitchers about the “Tarps Off” movement starting in St. Louis and he wondered where those fans would be positioned during games.
“With the ‘Tarps Off’ crew right behind us and feeling that energy all night, that was a lot of fun,” Dobbins said of the bare-chested, shirt-waving fans in the right field bleachers near the Cardinals’ bullpen. “They were rowdy all night. Even warming up, you could feel it, the crowd is into it and they’re right there on you – even with every warm-up pitch – and it was a lot of fun. So, I am looking forward to experiencing it more.”
Up 2-0, the Cardinals used a similar formula to the first inning to break the game open. Wetherholt and Herrera led off the third inning with singles, and Wetherholt came around to score when Gold Glove left fielder Ian Happ failed to dive for a shallow pop that landed just in front of him off Burleson’s bat. Winn then shed his struggles and lined a ball back up the middle to plate Herrera and Burleson to give the Cards a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Cardinals jumped on Cubs’ starter Jordan Wicks early on with Wetherholt, Herrera and Walker opening the game with singles to the opposite field. Wetherholt scampered home on Walker’s line drive, and Herrera made it 2-0 by scoring on an Alec Burleson flare in the middle of the infield.
“The better we are with runners in scoring position, I’ll enjoy it, but they’re working at it and that’s an approach-driven thing,” Marmol said. “That’s why I love what Masyn was able to do and having that commitment of staying through the middle of the field. That’s huge.”
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ST. LOUIS – Already one of the best surprise stories in all of baseball, the Cardinals have crafted a feel-good start where they have yet to spend a day below .500 despite being one of MLB’s poorest hitting teams with runners in scoring position.
Just imagine what the young and feisty Cardinals might be able to accomplish later in the season if they swing the bats the way they did in the clutch on Sunday night against the rival Cubs.
Despite entering Sunday with MLB’s worst batting average with runners in scoring percentage at .223, the Cardinals got run-scoring hits from Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn and strong pitching from starter Matthew Liberatore and a first-ever save from starter-turned-reliver Hunter Dobbins in a 5-1 defeat of the Cubs.
“It’s huge and against a team like the Cubs you want to get as many runs as possible,” said Winn, whose two-run single in the third inning pushed the Cards lead to 5-0 at the time. “To come through with two outs and right after (Burleson) did right before me, that was huge.”
A Busch Stadium crowd of 34,753 saw the Cardinals take two of three and win the series against their rivals from the north. In a stretch of 11 straight games against teams from the vastly improved National League Central Division, the Cardinals improved to 4-7.
“It’s not only the division but look at some of the games going into this stretch – (playing) the Dodgers and San Diego – it’s been a grueling one, but you look at how our group has come out of these stretches and I like it,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “WE continue to grow. There are going to be games that don’t look the way you want, but at the same time, I just love the mentality. So, I’m proud of our guys.”
Standout rookie JJ Wetherholt had two hits, two runs scored, was on base three times and stole in seventh base in seven tries, while Ivan Herrera added two more hits and two runs from the top of the order.
Utility fielder Thomas Saggese keeping the faith despite 2026 struggles
Liberatore (3-3) wiggled out of trouble in the first inning after allowing the first two hitters of the game to reach and then retired 13 of 14 during one stretch.
After retiring Pete Crow-Armstrong to open the sixth inning, Liberatore turned the game over to the recently promoted Dobbins, who allowed a solo homer to Alex Bregman minutes after entering the game. Another key moment for Dobbins – who was promoted from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday afternoon – came in the seventh inning when he rallied from a 3-0 count to strike out Dansby Swanson on a 97.5 fastball with two on and one out.
“I wasn’t worried about (velocity) because we addressed it the last time I was optioned (to Triple-A) and it was just nice to feel the adrenaline of Busch,” said Dobbins, who compared the intensity of the moment to pitching in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry as a rookie in 2025. “I think this confirms that we fixed the problem (with his mechanics and lagging velocity) and now we’re just go from here.”
Starter-turned-reliever Hunter Dobbins got final 11 outs
Liberatore limited the Cubs to three hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, while Dobbins got 11 outs and picked up the first save of his professional career. He had previously started all 10 of his games this season – nine with Memphis and one with the Cardinals in Pittsburgh on April 30. Afterward, he got the laundry cart ride into the shower where he was squirted with various liquids, including mustard.
“Coming out of the bullpen is definitely a different beast, so it took me a second to settle in and find myself,” said Dobbins, who last save came in 2019 in college when he pitched for Texas Tech University.
After Hunter Dobbins fixed mechanics, command and velocity no longer issues
After waking up in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday morning before flying to St. Louis, Dobbins asked his fellow pitchers about the “Tarps Off” movement starting in St. Louis and he wondered where those fans would be positioned during games.
“With the ‘Tarps Off’ crew right behind us and feeling that energy all night, that was a lot of fun,” Dobbins said of the bare-chested, shirt-waving fans in the right field bleachers near the Cardinals’ bullpen. “They were rowdy all night. Even warming up, you could feel it, the crowd is into it and they’re right there on you – even with every warm-up pitch – and it was a lot of fun. So, I am looking forward to experiencing it more.”
Up 2-0, the Cardinals used a similar formula to the first inning to break the game open. Wetherholt and Herrera led off the third inning with singles, and Wetherholt came around to score when Gold Glove left fielder Ian Happ failed to dive for a shallow pop that landed just in front of him off Burleson’s bat. Winn then shed his struggles and lined a ball back up the middle to plate Herrera and Burleson to give the Cards a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Cardinals jumped on Cubs’ starter Jordan Wicks early on with Wetherholt, Herrera and Walker opening the game with singles to the opposite field. Wetherholt scampered home on Walker’s line drive, and Herrera made it 2-0 by scoring on an Alec Burleson flare in the middle of the infield.
“The better we are with runners in scoring position, I’ll enjoy it, but they’re working at it and that’s an approach-driven thing,” Marmol said. “That’s why I love what Masyn was able to do and having that commitment of staying through the middle of the field. That’s huge.”
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Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
