3 takeaways from Cards' series win vs. SF

The Cardinals were already on an auspicious path entering Wednesday’s series finale against the Giants, winners of this road series against a first-place team -- also just their second winning road series against a team above .500 this season.

So it’d be easy to call a win on Wednesday some proverbial gravy, giving the club the ability to head into an emotionally charged series in Chicago on a high note and build some momentum heading into the All-Star break. But with the Cards at the point of the season where they seemingly cannot afford to relinquish any ground, a series sweep became almost necessary.

No, the Cardinals could not pull off the sweep of Giants, owners of the best record in the Majors, when some troublesome trends reared their heads again in a 5-2 loss at Oracle Park on Wednesday. But they flew to Chicago with their heads high, knowing a season comeback is not built overnight and that a bevy of positive trends also surfaced during three games in San Francisco.

• Box score

“In all caps -- we can play with anybody,” said manager Mike Shildt. “We didn't have to prove it this series, [but] we did prove it. Maybe it's a reminder to us and others, perhaps, but we can play with anybody.”

Here are some causes for optimism as the Cardinals dive into their last series of the first half, against the Cubs:

1. The starting pitching is airtight
Cardinals starters have been nothing short of marvelous over the past couple weeks, already down two starters (Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas) and with another (Carlos Martínez) now out for a prolonged period of time.

Over the past nine games (since June 28) entering Wednesday, Cardinals starters own a 2.15 ERA, the second-best mark in baseball, going 6-3 in that span.

Truthfully, Johan Oviedo didn’t do much to balloon that total on Wednesday, limiting the damage to just two runs despite what could have unfolded into a disastrous first inning. The 23-year-old loaded the bases without an out recorded, but he then bore down, allowing one run to score on a hit-by-pitch before escaping and then grinding for 80 pitches in four innings.

“Clearly physically gifted -- there's just a learning curve,” Shildt said. “You're just seeing a guy that's still working on his craft at the big league level."

There’s also a passion inside Oviedo with which the Cardinals have been enamored -- one that allowed him to get out of that first inning, and one that prompted him to share some choice words with Mike Yastrzemski when the right-hander thought the Giants’ outfielder was relaying signs from second base. Yastrzemski, for his part, said he was just playing head games.

2. The at-bats are coming
The Cardinals hit a modest milestone on Tuesday, scoring at least five runs in back-to-back games for the first time since June 9 and 11. Though a baby step, it resembled a step forward nonetheless -- and off the second-best pitching staff in the Majors by ERA, at that.

That they ran into Giants stopper Alex Wood on Wednesday was a product of tough timing, though the Cardinals scored off him early -- thanks to Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado yet again -- and then rallied off a tough reliever to narrow the gap temporarily in the eighth.

“Some good things, some tough at-bats, had our chances a couple of times,” Shildt said. “Just weren't able to keep them at bay.”

3. The defense continues to shine
Always prideful in their defense, the Cardinals have gotten positive results over this recent stretch -- an indication to Shildt that his team is sticking to its processes. Despite some untimely miscommunication, the Cardinals have conceded just a pair of errors on this current road swing, which has both helped the pitching and translated to some confidence bred at the plate.

On Tuesday, it was Dylan Carlson crashing into the wall to seal the win. On Wednesday, it was Arenado making a tough play look easy, nabbing the lead runner on a bunt attempt in the fourth, Paul DeJong racing back towards his right on a shift to nab Yastrzemski in the seventh and DeJong, again, fielding a tricky hop on a hard-hit ball by Steven Duggar in the fourth.

All three were part of some positive signs as the Cardinals hurtle towards the All-Star break. The only thing that could make them sweeter? Translating them to a vengeance-fueled series win at Wrigley.