50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ

The fact that they’re playing better lately makes it all the more maddening.

They had this in them all along?

But even with the Cardinals looking like the preconceived Cardinals — you know, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado actually hitting, Jordan Walker actually playing — there isn’t enough calendar to catch up. (and who’s to say they could keep it up, anyway?) The Cards entered Wednesday 70-69 and 5½ games out of the last wild-card spot (with five teams vying for that one spot).

How did 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ get to this point? Underachievement. Sure, there’s been some overachievement, too (notably Masyn Winn, Michael Siani, Andre Pallante and, really, even Ryan Helsley, considering he’s having such a historic season). Alas, here are the top 10 underachievers in the 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ organization for 2024:

1. John Mozeliak and the front office: Look, indisputably, these are smart baseball thinkers with access to stats we’ve never even heard of. But it’s not working. Mo and his staff aren’t getting results. From 2016 to now, the Cardinals have four playoff wins. Not playoff series wins. Game wins. And they’ll likely miss the playoffs this year — for the fifth time in nine years.

The Cards were terrible in 2023 and followed that with a lackluster 2024. Mozeliak, now with the title of president of baseball operations, got the credit for building the great teams from 2011-15 ... and should get the blame for what’s happening now. And from 2011 to now, the Cards are annually around 10th on the list of Major League Baseball team spending — so the problem isn’t necessarily the amount of money they’re spending but who they’re spending it on.

Some fans are angry. The rest are apathetic. And the visuals of the stadium are startling. The front office needs a refresh.

2. Nolan Arenado: He has the third-most singles in the National League. This distinction tells you everything you need to know about Nolan this year. The slugger is hitting but isn’t slugging. Quite simply, the Cardinals needed Arenado and Goldschmidt to smash baseballs. Arenado entered Wednesday with a .711 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

3. Paul Goldschmidt: Yes, yes, Goldy has gotten going — in his past 20 games, his OPS is 1.001 and his batting average is .342. OK, but in the first 112 games, his OPS wasn’t even above .700 (.677), and his batting average was .231.

For the season, yes, his hard-hit rate is still quite good. But his strikeout rate (26.9%) is his highest since his rookie year of 2011. And his walk rate (7.2%) has never been lower. Alec Burleson sure profiles well as the 2025 first baseman.

4. The three starting pitchers signed: As the Cards started this season, I described their starters as one guy who makes you say “Oh!� — and four guys who make you say “Oh?�

Well, even the exclamation point of the rotation has curved at times into a question mark. Sonny Gray entered Wednesday’s start with a 3.96 ERA and an ERA+ of 107 — his lowest mark since 2018. Gray’s ERA in July and August (10 starts) is 5.40 — and that’s literally the same July and August ERA of Kyle Gibson.

Lance Lynn has been hurt the past month. And while Lynn’s ERA of 4.06 is acceptable for a non-No. 1 starter, he wasn’t quite the innings eater 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ anticipated. He’s only gone six innings or more in six of his 21 starts.

5. Nolan Gorman: How rough has the Cardinals’ season been? Last year’s home run leader is now in the minors, yet he’s only fifth on the list of underachievers. What a mess this was.

I was high on Gorman — wrote he’d crack 35 homers. He’s got 19 and now plays for Memphis. He was striking out at a historic rate — no player with at least 400 plate appearances has a worse strikeout rate than Gorman (37.6%) this season.

6. Turner Ward and the hitting staff: The hitting coach is beloved by many players — you can see it in their interactions in the dugout. But again, just like with Mozeliak, it’s about results.

So many Cardinals are having down offensive years. And the strategies Ward implements for the Cards to hit with runners in scoring position do not work well. It’s gobsmacking how poorly the Cardinals produce. In fact, with RISP, the Cardinals trail every team except the White Sox in homers and OPS — and the White Sox don’t even really count as a MLB team.

7. Jordan Walker: Ward and the hitting staff couldn’t unlock Walker. Jordan kept hitting ground balls, so the team sent him to the minors until recently. Yes, if the Cards had just kept playing Walker, perhaps he would’ve found his groove. But Walker put himself in that situation with a .155 average in his first 58 at-bats before being sent down.

The Cardinals thought Walker would be a key bat in the lineup; instead, he was that for the Memphis Redbirds.

8. Miles Mikolas: There are 62 MLB starting pitchers who have enough innings to qualify for statistical categories. Mikolas has the 61st-best ERA. His 5.27 is only better than Patrick Corbin’s 5.41. Mikolas had a 4.78 ERA last year, so it’s not like we expected All-Star Mikolas in 2024, but even with the bar set low, he’s underachieved.

9. Gary LaRocque and the player development staff: LaRocque is the longtime director of this department — and there were some great years (heck, Mozeliak’s front office and player development staff was so renowned, the author Howard Megdal wrote a book about it in 2016). But the Cardinals currently have the 19th-best farm system per . And last year at this time, it was ranked 22nd.

It was glaring this summer when the Cardinals needed a starter to fill in ... and there wasn’t one ready in the minors.

10. Giovanny Gallegos: From 2019-23, he was a regular out of the bullpen. Yes, the Cards entered 2024 with multiple guys earmarked for high-leverage situations than Gallegos would get. But still, he pitched pathetically, logging a 6.53 ERA in 20 appearances before the Cards let him go.

He never had a walk rate higher than 2.7 per nine innings — but this year, it was 4.4. He even allowed three runs and didn’t record an out in the May 5 game, earning the loss against ... the White Sox.

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MILWAUKEE – When the Cardinals readied to make the move Wednesday the Brewers were not convinced they would, the one that replaced one of the better hitters and best fielders from the lineup in extra innings, the move that tilted the game back in the Cardinals’ favor, Luken Baker made sure he was standing nearby manager Oliver Marmol.

He didn’t want the manager to have to shout to tell him he’s up.

“It would be a bad look if I was on the other end of the dugout,� the young slugger said. “You want to be right there.�

Pressed into extra innings for a second consecutive night against at American Family Field, the Cardinals edged the Brewers, 3-2, in the 10th inning of a chess master matchup to win another taut game and claim another series. For a club that has made a season out of games decided by three or fewer runs, no score appears too close for comfort, even for a newcomer like Baker. Tagging in for Brendan Donovan, Baker delivered a pinch-hit, two-out RBI single for the difference on the scoreboard and the punctuation on an assertive road trip.

The Cardinals have won six of their past eight games and gone 4-0-1 in their past five series, all of them against playoff contenders. They went 4-2 on a six-game swing against the pinstripes in Bronx to the hops-handlers of Wisconsin.

After an off day Thursday, the Cardinals (71-69) have 22 games remaining on their schedule and they’re paddling against the tide to reach the postseason.

How the Cardinals got in position to win Wednesday against the first-place Brewers began with Sonny Gray’s superb seven innings and included two bases-loaded walks. It ended with Ryan Fernandez, filling in for closer Ryan Helsley, striking out three batters in a scoreless 10th inning. Between those two bookends were compelling gambits of strategy where the Brewers initiated a matchup and the Cardinals countered. The Brewers chanced the Cardinals would not a make move.

The Cardinals made that move.

“That was a fun game,� Marmol said. “There were a lot of moving parts to that one. I’ve enjoyed playing this group across the way. They’ve had a good season. They’ve done a lot of things well and it’s a well-put-together group. We’ve matched up against them well. I’ve enjoyed the matchup.�

Two matchups in particular.

The two Milwaukee invited and the two Marmol sprang.

The two that decided the game.

The two in detail:

Andrew Kittredge vs. Garrett Mitchell

When the Brewers tied the game with a solo homer on JoJo Romero’s first pitch of relief – the first pitch of the game for the Cardinals not thrown by Gray – right-hander Andrew Kittredge was already warm in the bullpen, and he already had a crisp feel for his slider.

The home run assured that in the eighth inning the Brewers would have a choice to pinch-hit for left-handed batter Jake Bauers and bend the inning their way with a right-handed hitter against the lefty Romero. With a runner and potential go-ahead run at third base, Brewers manager Pat Murphy picked All-Star William Contreras, Willson’s younger brother, to take that at-bat.

Kittredge was waiting as the answer.

“Bring Contreras off the bench and that’s a tough at-bat,� Marmol said. “He’s been good all year, played well against us.�

It was the matchup either side welcomed, and Kittredge won with a strikeout, but it was not the matchup that was most compelling. What came next was where the inning pivoted. Rather than have Kittredge face the right-handed hitter Willy Adames and his 100 RBIs, the Cardinals opted to intentionally walk the Brewers’ shortstop.

"We don't let Adames beat us," Marmol said.

They willingly put an insurance run on base but also guaranteed with the three-batter minimum that Kittredge would face … a left-handed batter. Garrett Mitchell already had a triple down the first-base line and a run scored. This season, he’s rarely faced lefties, and it’s no wonder – his slugging percentage against lefties is .292. It’s .456 against right-handed pitchers.

Pitching coach Dusty Blake and catcher Ivan Herrera converged on the mound to discuss the approach with Mitchell. Baker suggested they avoid the sinker.

“A sinker down and away kind of gives them that chance to just flip something to the left,� Kittredge said. “They can stay on it a little bit longer.�

The slider would be key.

Put one in the dirt and the Brewers lead.

Kittredge knew from his warmups that wasn’t going to happen.

“I am 95% of the time sure it’s going to be there or that I’m going to trust it,� Kittredge said of his breaking pitch. “I trust that pitch so much because it’s a pitch that I rely on so much. I just had a lot of conviction behind it today.�

Mitchell saw four pitches.

Three of them were sliders.

He swung and missed on all three to strike out and end the inning.

“Look at the matchup with Kitt and Mitchell,� Marmol said. “Just more swing and miss.�

Luken Baker vs. Hoby Milner

When Baker did not appear as a pinch-hitter in the ninth because his handedness wouldn’t have changed much against one of the finest relievers in all the land, Hazelwood West grad Devin Williams, that saved him for either of the Brewers’ remaining lefties in the 10th.

If that is, Marmol wanted to rewrite his defense.

Milwaukee seemed to bet he would not.

The inning began with Masyn Winn at second base as extra innings’ spontaneously generated runner, and Brewers right-hander Joel Payamps had at least the first three batters. He retired the first two before opting to intentionally walk Nolan Arenado. The move was savvy because it avoided Arenado with a runner in scoring position and satisfied Payamps’ three-batter minimum without having to actually throw a pitch to the third hitter.

To face left-handed batter Donovan, Murphy called on lefty Hoby Milner, who had not pitched in the majors for more than a month. It was a favorable matchup for Milner, but not a guarantee – only that the Brewers appeared certain Marmol would not lift Donovan. To do so would be to take his bat from the game, his glove from the game, and likely force Arenado, who was at DH for a break, into the field. Milwaukee read it wrong. Marmol wanted that matchup.

“You’re hoping to get into the top of the 10th inning and, for me, he takes a tough at-bat,� Marmol said. “So, we saved Baker for that Donovan at-bat. You have moves that you can make that put them in a better spot to have success. When you look at Baker being able to take that at-bat it’s a good spot to have success.�

It’s a move that makes sense but in the end it’s only as good as its result.

Baker, who had an OPS greater than 1.000 vs. lefties at Triple-A, fell behind on a changeup on the outside edge of the strike. Milner would go back to that same area (low and away) two more times with the changeup trying to get that same call. Baker didn’t bite on one of them and checked his swing on the other – though some teammates winced as if expecting the strike call. Ahead in the count 2-1, Baker got another changeup from Milner and skipped it up the middle for the RBI.

The decisive run gave Baker RBIs in six consecutive appearances. Only Albert Pujols and Baker have done that in their first 50 big-league games for the Cardinals.

“As far as RBIs go, that’s my job,� Baker said. “And that’s the ultimate goal. If my job is to go in with runners in scoring position or, if they’re not, if my goal is to go up there and hit a solo homer, the job is to score more than the other team. The more I can drive in runs the better.�

With the lead, 3-2, Marmol completed the lineup shuffle necessitated by removing Donovan and inserting Baker. Arenado moved from DH to third base. Jose Fermin moved over to second base – and that maintained a strong infield defense. Fernandez went into the fifth spot in the order, where if the game pressed on either Jordan Walker or Matt Carpenter could hit and assure cleanup hitter Arenado would not be skipped over again and again by the Brewers.

Though, Fernandez made all of that academic.

The defense was never tested. Fernandez struck out the side.

A pinch-hitter was never needed. Fernandez ended the game.

“They’ve bought in. They’re committed,� Marmol said. “We’re going to take our best shot. We’ve got to stay present. Look up after the game is over and you’ve got a W.�

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How Brewers improved upon Cardinals blueprint to rule NL Central: Best Podcast in Baseball

Despite the smallest market in Major League Baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers have become a marvel of what it means to be a modern contender.

Photos: Cards win again in extras vs. Brewers to take series

MILWAUKEE — Despite the smallest market in Major League Baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers have become a marvel of what it means to be a modern contender.

The organization the Cardinals used to be and the Cubs wanted to be , the Brewers now are, complete with the 10-game lead in the division standings ahead of the former kings with a month of the season remaining. 's longtime Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to talk about Milwaukee's rise within the division and reign atop. McCalvy talks with Best Podcast in Baseball host and baseball writer Derrick Goold about the "culture" the Brewers have created, one that seems to benefit from the team's business model, strong development infrastructure, and something the Cardinals have not shown, and may not be able to show.

Patience.

The Brewers appear to have hit Yatzhee on almost every move. They waited out the market to land Christian Yelich from Miami via trade, ending up with the best fit of the three Marlins outfielders available at the time and an MVP-caliber player. While the Cardinals were also shopping for a catcher, they joined in a trade to help Atlanta land catcher Sean Murphy from the Oakland Athletics  and may have ended up with the  best catcher in the deal, William Contreras. They fended off interest in Corbin Burnes to watch him become a Cy Young Award ace, and then traded him ahead of him leaving for free agency to then nourish a roster that again is contending.

McCalvy details the Brewers' business model and also how much they've invested in development, and how it continues successful at the major-league level, even as players move out or move out.

The two baseball writers also share some thoughts on Wisconsin-accurate accents and wax nostalgic about legendary slugger Joey Meyer the 1990s Denver Zephyrs.

The Best Podcast in Baseball is sponsored by Closets by Design of 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ.

Extra special: Cardinals get clutch hit from Luken Baker in 10th to best Brewers, win series

Luken Baker skipped a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th inning for a 3-2 victory and the Cardinals' sixth win in eight games. Sonny Gray was superb early.

MILWAUKEE — At this point, the Cardinals have faced so many close games, so many claustrophobic outcomes decided in the late innings and held tight by the bullpen that nothing fazes them when plunged once again into extra innings.

Even a newcomer picks up the pulse by osmosis.

As if dared by the Brewers to pinch-hit for one of their regulars in the 10th inning, the Cardinals did just that by calling on recently promoted Luken Baker for a better matchup against Milwaukee lefty Hoby Milner. The slugger judiciously ignored two pitches on the outside edge of the plate before poking a grounder up the middle. The Cardinals’ first run of the game scored on a base hit was enough to send them to a 3-2 victory against the Brewers on Wednesday and a rousing success of a road trip.

The Cardinals went into the Bronx and made a handful of history in a series win against the Yankees and then headed into the heartland for their final regular-season series against the first-place Brewers. It took extra innings both nights, but the Cardinals won the series and have now won six of their past eight games. They won the final two series against Milwaukee — not enough to chomp into the Brewers’ lead but enough to keep afloat above .500.

“I just love the way they’re going about it right now,� manager Oliver Marmol said.

The Brewers scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Milwaukee opted to intentionally walk Nolan Arenado with two outs to give reliever Joel Payamps his required third batter and allow the switch to Milner to face left-handed hitter Brendan Donovan. The Cardinals went right to Baker for the right-on-left swing, and it paid off with the two-out RBI single up the middle.

With All-Star closer Ryan Helsley unavailable due to his two innings in Tuesday’s 12-inning victory, Ryan Fernandez finished the game for his second save.

Andrew Kittredge pulled the Cardinals out of a jam in the eighth inning with two strikeouts and piloted them into extra innings with a perfect ninth. That gave the Cardinals a slight edge as they got five outs from their top setup man and the Brewers had to turn away from closer Devin Williams after he overwhelmed the Cardinals in the ninth but did not pitch beyond those three outs.

In his only start of the six-game road trip, Cardinals starter Sonny Gray built off his most recent start and put further distance between him and the 4.00 ERA he had as the end of August approached.

The right-hander retired the first eight batters he faced and showed a feel for an array of pitches early. By the end of seven strong innings and 99 pitches, Gray had throw six different pitchers, four of them more than a dozen times, and vexed the Brewers with each of them. Even the curveball that he showed them six times still coaxed a swing a miss. Most effective for Gray was one of the most effective pitches in the majors — his sweeping slider.

In the few moments Milwaukee threatened, Gray contained innings with the sweeper that he rode to several of his seven strikeouts.

He limited the Brewers to four hits.

The lone run against him came on a groundout.

Lead goes poof on one pitch

Going into the eighth inning, not one of the three runs scored in the game came home on a hit. There were a pair of bases-loaded walks as far back as the first inning and the groundout that scored the only run against Gray.

Denied at home plate by a dynamic throw, Brewers catcher Eric Haase assured no throw would get him this time.

When the Cardinals went to the bullpen for the first time, lefty JoJo Romero opened the eighth, and Haase hit the first pitch from Romero for a solo homer. The backup catcher’s fourth homer of the season knotted the game 2-2. For the second time in as many nights, the Brewers rallied from a deficit to tie the game and send it that way into the ninth inning.

Kittredge did his part to make that happen.

Thrust into the eighth to rescue the Cardinals, the right-hander struck out both of the hitters he had to in order to keep the score level. The Cardinals called on Kittredge when William Contreras, Willson’s younger brother, came up as a pinch hitter with the go-ahead run on third base. Kittredge struck him out on a full-count sinker.

The Cardinals opted to walk cleanup hitter Willy Adames and his 100 RBIs to face Garrett Mitchell, a left-handed batter. Kittredge struck him out on four pitches.

All three strikes were sliders.

All three were swings and misses by Mitchell.

The Brewers finished 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Swiftest pitch to the plate? Winn’s, of course

Masyn Winn’s error with two outs in the inning opened a way for Milwaukee to score that Winn’s sizzling cutoff throw shut down moments later.

With two outs in the third inning and Gray a batter away from a perfect start through three innings, Winn threw wide to first and received a tough error from the official scorer. Instead of a third out, the error put catcher Haase at first base when leadoff hitter Brice Turang lined a ball into the left-center gap. Cardinals center fielder Michael Siani gave chase and made a diving attempt on the ball.

He got a glove on it but not enough to hold it.

Haase was off to the races.

As he rounded third to head home, the Cardinals had former pitchers lining up to make the play. First, left fielder Alec Burleson, a two-way standout in college, tracked down the loose ball and zipped it to shortstop Winn. Drafted as a two-way player, Winn can let loose with some 100 mph throws from short if necessary.

It nearly was.

With 193 feet between him and home plate, Winn turned and made what was — to that point in the game — the hardest throw home yet. His relay throw left his fingertips at 97.2 mph, according to Statcast. The ball one-hopped to catcher Ivan Herrera, who coolly applied the tag to Haase for the final out of the inning. Gray’s shutout continued with him handling the most important throws home from there.

Walk(s) before they can run

The Cardinals got their first-inning rally, but what really turned it into runs was the walks.

Not usually so gracious as hosts in recent years, the Brewers and their starter Colin Rea issued two two-out walks, and each of them came with the bases loaded to force the Cardinals out to a 2-0 lead before Milwaukee even had its first at-bat. The inning began traditionally enough with Paul Goldschmidt extending his hitting streak to 11 games with a single and Arenado following with a rulebook double that kept Goldschmidt from scoring.

With both in scoring position, Rea hit Donovan to load the bases.

He had more gifts to deliver.

Rea missed on a full-count pitch to Herrera to walk the rookie catcher and bring home Goldschmidt. The Brewers right-hander then fell behind 3-0 to Lars Nootbaar before walking him too to bring home Arenado and give Nootbaar the RBI.

Rea steadied from there retired 10 of the final 12 Cardinals he faced. The only other Cardinal to reach second base after the walks was Nootbaar in the fourth inning. He singled to lead off the inning and stole second, only to watch the inning fizzle from there.

Brewers dent Gray’s start as he leaves

It took a triple to set up Milwaukee’s first run, and even then, an out brought it home.

Gray had squelched threat after threat by the Brewers throughout the first six innings. A bunt single paired with a wild pitch and a stolen base to put a runner on third in the sixth inning. But that runner got no further as Gray struck out two batters to never flinch in the inning. In the fourth, a leadoff double went nowhere for the Brewers as Gray retired the next three batters.

Center fielder Blake Perkins walked to start the fifth inning and stole second, but Gray kept control of that inning too with two more strikeouts.

He ended it with a 93 mph fastball on the edge of the plate for a called third strike.

Milwaukee was 0 for 6 against Gray with runners in scoring position and would not improve on the number of hits in the seventh inning, just the runs produced in those spots. Right fielder Mitchell threaded a ball down the first base line and into the corner, allowing him to sprint for a triple. Gray held him there with his seventh and final strikeout of the game.

But when Joey Ortiz bounced a grounder to third base, Mitchell took off, and Jose Fermin, spelling Arenado at the corner, took the out at first.

The groundout RBI was the only run Gray allowed in seven innings.

He left with the lead.

That was gone with the first pitch by a Cardinal he did not throw.

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MILWAUKEE — It was raining in Durham, North Carolina, when pitcher Steven Matz grabbed a bucket of baseballs, retreated to the batting cage and decided to use the time to get in touch with an old friend.

Matz was about to begin his second rehab assignment of the summer, his second attempt at returning from a herniated disc in his lower back, and he made a challenge to himself: He would not throw any cut fastball before establishing his curveball. The pitch flattened on him and had fallen out of usage for at least a year. So with a rain delay to kill while with Class AAA Memphis in early August, he toted that bucket of baseballs into the cage and, without a catcher, started spinning curve after curve after curve until — eureka.

“I think I might have found something,� he recalled thinking.

Matz’s lengthy route back from injury reached the majors Tuesday night when he pitched an encouraging 4⅔ innings and struck out seven against Milwaukee. The lefty wanted to return from his monthlong rehab assignment with more than health: He wanted to get a feel back for the breaking pitch. He threw the curve nine times Tuesday night and got two strikeouts on it, and only once did a Brewer put it into play. He used it to steal strikes early and finish a few at-bats.

Against left-handed batters, he shifted it ever so slightly to give it a different angle — as if coming from behind them and into the strike zone.

“The curveball was a big player for him,� manager Oliver Marmol said after the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory against Milwaukee. Marmol elaborated Wednesday: “He landed the curveball well, which was good because the shape was different than we’ve seen in the past. He was finishing guys off.�

The Cardinals have not yet announced — or, in a few cases, not yet decided — how they’ll arrange the rotation beyond this weekend’s home series against Seattle. After Monday’s off-day, the Cardinals could stick with a six-man rotation, though they’ll know then if Lance Lynn joins it and Matz sticks in it. Lynn threw a bullpen session Wednesday at American Family Field, and the veteran right-hander said he’ll see how he recovers Thursday before knowing his next step. He could stride straight from that bullpen back into the rotation — which would give the Cardinals seven starters. At least one will be assigned to the bullpen.

Matz made his case to continue to start Tuesday, allowing two solo homers and three runs on three hits. He was on a pitch limit of between 85 and 90 pitches, and the matchup gave the Cardinals a reason to remove him before completing the fifth inning. One of the runs he allowed came after he was out of the game.

At one point, Matz struck out four consecutive Brewers and five of six, spinning through the middle of Milwaukee’s order. He finished the game with 14 swings and misses, a total among the highest for a Cardinals starter this season.

In a tenure with the Cardinals that has been interrupted by injuries, it was during Matz’ recovery from a knee injury that the curveball started to drift on him. It lacked the bite of his other pitches and was mostly mothballed as a result. Matz went from throwing the curve 23.3% of the time in 2017 to less than 15% in 2023. This season, he was down to 7.4%. In his second start of this season — five shutout innings vs. Miami — Matz threw the curve twice.

Matz’s first rehab assignment of the summer took him to Class AA Springfield (Missouri), and a former pitching coach from the Mets system drove up from Arkansas to see him.

During that visit, Glenn Abbott noted how few curves Matz threw.

Over lunch, as they caught up, Abbott reminded the lefty of a conversation they had back in Double-A when Matz was having trouble with the curve. Abbott asked how many fastballs he threw during bullpen sessions and to what areas, and how many off-speed pitches and to what areas of the strike zone. The former big league pitcher then asked: If he only threw three curveballs each week in practice, how did he expect to get better at it?

Message received. He couldn’t regain its use without using it. When next Abbott saw Matz pitch for Class AA Springfield, Matz was spinning the curveball. He got five strikeouts, at least two directly off the curve.

“That’s really been a pitch for me throughout my career,� Matz said. “But even in some of my better games, I’d throw it two, three times. I just needed to think that I should start mixing it in more.�

Matz’s first rehab assignment ended after that five-K outing for the S-Cards, and when he resumed pitching in games about six weeks later, he had made himself that deal: No cutters until he “got a feel for the curve.�

In six starts on his rehab assignment, Matz had solid but not always spectacular outings. He struck out 17 in 21 innings but also allowed 24 hits. He stayed true to that plan and cranked through some curveballs in his early outings before going to the cut fastball. Matz looped in Class AAA Memphis pitching coach Darwin Marrero to help sharpen and craft the curveball. Matz also kept in touch with the big league coaches for advice. During bullpen sessions with pitching coach Dusty Blake talked through the shape his curve needed to maintain to be effective. Matz got it there in the bullpen outings, kept it there during his late rehab games and showed how effective it could be here in his first start since April 30.

He threw mostly sinkers and change-ups in his start vs. Milwaukee but did not shy from the curveball in any count. He did not need the cutter.

He might have found something.

“This is going to be a player for me,� Matz said. “Definitely, hopefully, I can build some momentum here and finish strong.�

Goldschmidt superlatives

With his home run Tuesday night, Paul Goldschmidt moved into a tie with Joe DiMaggio with 361 career homers. The Yankees great and Hall of Famer was alone at 86th on the all-time career homer list before Goldschmidt caught him with the 21st homer of his season.

• Goldschmidt also tied Joe Medwick on the Cardinals’ career list with his 152 homers as a member of the club. That ranks 14th all time.
• Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the first inning Wednesday.

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50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Cardinals

Lessons, like walks and homers, came quick for Cardinals Andre Pallante in loss to Brewers

• Derrick Goold

Bill DeWitt Jr. has stuck with his operating philosophy for more than two decades. Try as they might, fans can’t get him to budge.

Perennial playoff contention has been his stated goal. DeWitt wanted to keep his team in the chase. And from 2000 to 2022, he usually did. The Cardinals relied increasingly on the draft-and-develop model to yield year-to-year consistency.

They quit winning postseason games, though, so fans grew restless. Some argued that they should take the tank-and-rebuild route the Chicago Cubs traveled to win a World Series.

Some fans insist they would be willing to endure multiple bad seasons to build a singular powerhouse. But would they really?

All those empty seats at Busch Stadium this summer remind us why DeWitt has rejected that strategy. Fans won’t pay a premium to bathe in their own greasy sweat and watch a team sputter.

Ownership takes note. Failure is bad for business — and DeWitt and Co. have a lot of business tied to the ballclub’s fate.

Fans have quit buying tickets. Fans possessing tickets have quit coming to the game and quit spending money at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. Hotels, restaurants, bars, retail shops ... many enterprises are feeling the pain of lost revenue.

Over the years, the Cardinals have become a bigger and bigger enterprise. The franchise’s commercial footprint and operational scope expanded.

Deliberate failure is not an option for this ownership. And as we’ve seen this summer, unintentional failure is just as costly.

Hence DeWitt’s need to get back into perennial playoff contention.

While some folks judge the Cardinals’ success or failure based on what does or doesn’t happen in October, DeWitt considers a much bigger picture.

During a 23-year span, the Cardinals posted a winning record 22 times and reached postseason play 16 times. In the 21 seasons that weren’t impacted by the pandemic, the team averaged well over 3 million in yearly attendance.

Along the way, Ballpark Village rose from the vacant lot and expanded. The franchise’s valuation increased tenfold.

The team suffered one previous downturn during that span, going 86-76, 83-79 and 88-74 from 2016-18 while missing the postseason each year. The Cardinals still drew more than 3.4 million fans in each season.

Then the resurgent Cardinals reached postseason play from 2019-22 while winning 90 or more games in the non-COVID years. But they won just one playoff series during that period, so fans kept grousing.

When would this franchise go “all in� to win? Why was it satisfied with just making the bracket while hoping to get hot at the right time?

(Long-suffering fans of the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates saw such gripes as first-world complaints, given what they have endured.)

Then the Cardinals finally gave their fans something to really lament: their 71-91 plunge in the National League Central cellar last season followed by their dreadful 15-24 start this season.

That sustained struggle, unprecedented on DeWitt’s watch, combined with plenty of heat, humidity and rain led to entire sections of the stadium remaining empty on game day.

Do Cardinals fans feel entitled? Sure, but they have earned the right to expect compelling baseball. They have supported their team at crazy levels despite facing higher and higher pricing.

A competitive ballclub in this market size should draw 2 million to 2.5 million fans per year, not 3 million to 3.5 million. The collective commitment level of this fan base astounded industry observers for decades.

Diehard Cardinals fans have seen their team as special, given its extraordinary history and enduring modern success.

Has this franchise taken that fan support for granted? Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III say all the right things, but folks can’t help wondering if the franchise has been running on autopilot.

Now the franchise must rebuild support. The Cardinals don’t need to take a whole new approach, but the franchise must refresh its familiar M.O. to produce better results.

Running a franchise like a business is fine if its bottom line depends on offering a popular product. That’s the motivation to succeed, something less ambitious operations like the Pirates and Marlins lack.

The perennial playoff contention model is fine, if executed well. Having a good team every year is positive, not negative, even if that goal makes it harder (but not impossible) to stack a team for a particular playoff push.

The draft-and-develop model is also fine, if executed well. The Cardinals have plenty of home-grown position players on the cusp, but they need more pitching, power and speed to flourish in today’s game. Getting more impact talent out of Latin America would be a great place to start.

Lord knows the franchise can afford to bolster its scouting and player development operations and outbid rivals from time to time. Sometimes you must spend money to make money.

For more than two decades, The Cardinal Way of operating delivered consistently good baseball. Now it’s time to resume the usual business — but better.

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Notre Dame flexes, Clemson, Florida State fade as college football wars begin

• Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Tigers, Illini roll, Coach Prime dodges disaster in college football's Week 1

• Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon

Tipsheet: Impressive Padres are rolling toward postseason play for Shildt

• Jeff Gordon

Bring your Cardinals questions and comments to Wednesday’s 11 a.m. live chat.

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Diamond Sports Group will air NBA and NHL games, including the Blues, for the 2024-25 season under a plan approved in court Tuesday.

Last month, Diamond filed documents outlining deals that will ensure fans can watch their local teams on television, but the plans weren’t solidified until Tuesday during a hearing in a Houston federal bankruptcy court.

Diamond — the parent company of Cardinals and Blues regional telecaster Bally Sports Midwest — has been in bankruptcy proceedings since March 2023, a result of dwindling cable viewership over the years. Currently, the broadcaster is working on finalizing its reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

The newly approved NBA and NHL plans offer certainty to the leagues and their fans that there will be coverage of local teams throughout the entire season, even if Diamond does not emerge from bankruptcy.

Judge Christopher Lopez also approved the rejection of Diamond’s agreements with the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks, which were set to expire after the 2026-27 and 2029-30 seasons, respectively.

Diamond attorney Joe Graham called that move a “critical building block� to Diamond’s amended plan. He said the company plans to schedule a confirmation hearing in early or mid-November, which could put Diamond on the path to emerge from bankruptcy before Nov. 30, in time for the 2025 MLB season.

“Diamond also believes that providing this adequate assurance is a sound exercise of business judgment,� Graham told the judge Tuesday. The deal gives the NBA and NHL certainty for the upcoming season, while the bankruptcy case proceeds.

Diamond attorney Andrew Goldman said that these NHL and NBA deals don’t negatively affect the company’s dealings with the MLB.

But, during the hearing, MLB lawyer James Bromley raised concerns over what he said is a lack of transparency regarding Diamond’s deals. He said Diamond’s plan to appear in court this fall is not set in stone and Diamond shouldn’t wait until next year to reach a baseball deal.

“We have to keep in mind that what is being described to the court is a Band-Aid at this point,� Bromley said. “We are talking about complete uncertainty with respect to 2025�

50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ business news

50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Blues games to remain on Bally Sports Midwest for 2024-25 season

• Hannah Wyman

Media views

New Channel 32? Established stations 11, 5, BSM? Sports TV intrigue continues: Media Views

• Dan Caesar

Local

MLB casts doubt on Bally Sports’ bankruptcy plan after broadcast deal falls through

• Annika Merrilees