Amid a weekend celebration honoring their legendary stars and teams, the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans also can dream about the future of the club after promising performances by some of their best young players.
On the other side of Busch Stadium, the visiting Chicago White Sox will try not to fret about handing over most of their lead in the American League Central with just over two weeks to go in the regular season.
The Cardinals will look to build on an encouraging victory in the series opener when they re-up with the White Sox (75-72) on Saturday night. After paying respect to the 2006 World Series club Friday night, the Cards beat the White Sox 7-3 behind strong hitting performances by rookies Joshua Baez and Leo Bernal.
The youngsters both went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, and continue to produce quality major league at-bats. Baez, a 23-year-old outfielder, is slugging .580 with seven home runs in 88 at-bats. Bernal, a 22-year-old switch-hitting catcher, is slashing .325/.386/.525 in his first 10 big league games.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol added that Baez and Bernal, paired with the likes of Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson, make him optimistic about what the days and years ahead might bring. The Cardinals (73-75) are trying to avoid a third losing season out of the past four.
“At the moment and looking out into the future, there’s a lot to be excited about with this young core,” Marmol said. “Because, yes, the Burlys and Walkers are kind of understanding how to have consistent success, but Baez and Bernal — you go down the list — these guys are starting to get a taste of it. What they’ve been able to show to this point has been really good and promising. There’s a lot to be optimistic about.”
The White Sox had been teeming with optimism, surprisingly so, for most of the season after losing at least 100 games in each season from 2023-25. They had a 5 1/2 game lead in the division Aug. 16, and were ahead by 4 1/2 games as recently as two weeks ago.
But after dropping their fourth straight game Friday night, Chicago’s lead on the Cleveland Guardians has disintegrated to just a half-game. The White Sox have scored a total of eight runs during their losing streak.
Left-hander Anthony Kay allowed three runs over four innings in dropping his fourth straight decision. Kay said he doesn’t think the pressure of squandering a postseason cushion is getting to anyone.
“I don’t think any of that is affecting us,” Kay said. “Everyone knows what’s ahead of us. We still have control over our own destiny, and we’ve got to keep chipping away each day.
“I think if you told us (before the season) that with 15 games left we’d have a division lead, I think everyone in this clubhouse would have signed up for it.”
The White Sox and Guardians will go head-to-head for three games beginning Monday in Cleveland.
First, left-hander Sean Newcomb (2-4, 2.71 ERA) is slated to open for right-hander Luis Castillo on Saturday night. Castillo (4-11, 5.57) has a 7.52 ERA in six starts with Chicago since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners in a trade-deadline deal. Castillo has a 6-8 record and 4.34 ERA in 20 career starts against St. Louis.
The Cardinals counter with right-hander Kyle Leahy (10-4, 3.41). He is set to make his first career start against Chicago.
In addition to watching Baez, Bernal and other youngsters show what they can do, Marmol said he’s looking forward to having them watch pregame ceremonies Saturday night, when St. Louis legends Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
“I want them to take that in and understand what it feels like to play here,” Marmol said. “When you do it well, when you give everything you have to this organization, when you play the game the right way, and you’re dedicated — the way those guys were.
“Being young, being in that dugout, and witnessing that is pretty impactful.”
–Field Level Media
