A win under the lights of Wrigley Field on national television on Saturday had the Cardinals excited for one more go before the All-Star break, hoping to build some momentum with their workhorse, Adam Wainwright, on the mound to close out the first half.
The only caveat: Mother Nature in Chicago loomed all weekend, and she had the last laugh.
Sunday’s contest between the Cardinals and Cubs was postponed due to inclement weather and will be made up as the second game of a split doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 24, after St. Louis had been originally scheduled to open a three-game set at Wrigley Field that afternoon.
So brings about an unceremonious end to the de facto first half of the Cardinals’ 2021 season, one filled with stretches of excellence, struggles, strife and injuries. St. Louis, which saw three from its ranks named All-Stars, heads into a now-five-day break in action with a 44-46 record -- tied with the Cubs for third in the NL Central and 8 1/2 games behind the leading Brewers -- and a -40 run differential.
“Clearly we'd like to be in a better position,” said manager Mike Shildt. “But honestly, I think that, all things being said, we could be in a lot worse position, for sure.”
The Cardinals hope a longer-than-expected break can lead to a reset in several facets, with a 14-24 record in 38 games to end the first half. Offensively, the club finds itself near the bottom of the Majors in several offensive categories, and its pitching all told has seen some astronomically high walk numbers plague its spurts of aptitude.
Health has played a major factor. The Cardinals have a full rotation worth of arms on the injured list, four of which are on the 60-day IL. Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas are hoped to be able to take some steps forward during the break, with eyes on a return at some point in August for each. Four of its starters in the field have also found themselves on the injured list, with Harrison Bader and Paul DeJong only recently returning from months-long rib ailments.
Breeding some confidence, though, are some of the positive developments the Cardinals have seen in this final stretch: a waning strikeout rate, improved hitting with two outs, as well as with runners in scoring position, and an 8-6 record in their past 14 games.
“Every team has their issues. We’ve had probably a little more than most, bigger picture,” Shildt said. “But seeing how they don't complain, they put their head down, they get after it, committed -- they've earned a break.”
The rescheduled game on Sept. 24 will be part of a pair of seven-inning contests. All tickets purchased for Sunday’s game will be valid at the later date, and separate tickets will be required for each game. Start time for the makeup nightcap is still being determined by the Cubs and the city of Chicago.
Sunday’s game would have been the last of the first half for Wainwright, pitching as the club’s ace by both necessity and performance, with a 3.58 ERA through 17 starts.
With some gusto and time to heal, the Cardinals hope they can build a winning streak when they welcome the Giants to Busch Stadium on Friday. Likely going to Wainwright at home would be quite the way to start.
“Break’s welcome,” Shildt said. “But we'll, including myself, get away from it for a couple more days and have in the back of our heads about what we can do and how we need to do it. It can always be worse, but we've had a very trying first half. But I also can feel [in] this group, through pain comes from growth. I can feel the growth coming. I know this is a group that's motivated to stay together and do the best they can, and we’ll play really well in the second half.”