The St. Louis Cardinals are a team of destiny. If you’ve followed baseball over the last 20 years or so, you’re probably saying “no shit, we’ve seen this before.” And this may be because of 2021’s 17-game winning streak that saw the Cards ride the coattails of veteran leftys J.A. Happ and Jon Lester to an improbable Wild Card run that ended in a Chris Taylor walk-off. Or it may be because St. Louis managed to rattle off Central division winners in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 following the exit of Albert Pujols after the 2011 World Series championship. But nonetheless, the 2022 Redbirds are hot, and they’ve got plenty of magic to deploy over the next month or so of baseball.
The Cardinals currently sit at 81-57 after splitting a four-game series with the MLB-worst Washington Nationals. And although you hate to see a team that’s hot fail to win a series against a faltering franchise like Washington, the upside to the Cardinals’ recent reign as a National League contender is ever-growing. The Birds on the Bat have rattled off an impressive second half, putting together a 31-13 record since the All-Star break with series sweeps over the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. And sure, some of those team are bottom barrel, but what the Cards have accomplished with Trade Deadline pickups like Jordan Montgomery from the Yanks and Jose Quintana from Pittsburgh is nothing short of a miracle. Some may say its a miracle, others would say its St. Louis black magic.
Quintana has failed to allow more than two earned runs in seven starts with St. Louis, going 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA with the Cards going 6-1 in his seven starts in a St. Louis uniform. Montgomery has been even more dominant, going 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA while allowing just one home run with a 38/8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. And when it comes to offense, St. Louis continues to rake. Guys like 2B/SS Tommy Edman have heated up recently, going 9-22 with two homers and six RBIs in September, including a walk-off two-run double that capped off a five-run come-from-behind victory over Washington on Wednesday night.
Pair a hot bat like Edman’s with the MVP-caliber duo of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, and the Cardinals might be the deadliest team come October. As the home stretch nears and teams begin to prepare for deep playoff runs, there is no reason to believe the Midwest boys in red are anywhere close to cooling down. The race for 12 in ’22 is alive and well, and I’m here for it.
