The St. Louis Cardinals failed to score a single run across three straight games — a disastrous stretch that left their famously passionate fanbase fuming. Yet manager Oli Marmol couldn’t even deliver the bare-minimum accountability. A simple “we have to be better” would’ve sufficed, but even that was missing. Marmol, who hasn’t hesitated to publicly criticize his players before — and caught heat for it — chose now, when leadership is needed most, to stay quiet. It’s baffling. This moment needed urgency. Instead, he faded into the background.
The Cardinals’ offense completely collapsed, especially with runners on base or in scoring position. This team isn’t built to win with home runs — they rely on grinding at-bats from experienced hitters and energy from young talent. But neither group delivered when it mattered most in Pittsburgh.
“Those are three key parts to our offense and when you don’t have them, it’s tough to score,” Marmol said. “I felt like we actually put some decent swings on the ball today, we just couldn’t find grass. Everything we hit found a glove. With those guys not in the lineup, it made it that much tougher.”
Marmol pointed out that the Cardinals were without Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado for part of the series — which is fair — but he also used that fact as a reason not to overreact to a sweep. Still, let’s be real: Pittsburgh isn’t a powerhouse. There’s no shame in going scoreless against Paul Skenes — until you knock him out by the fifth. Then what’s the excuse? The Cards also struggled against Andrew Heaney and Mitch Keller, decent but not dominant pitchers, who might not even be in Pittsburgh by the trade deadline. Neither should be shutting down this lineup for over seven innings.
After facing the Cardinals, the Pirates bullpen ERA ranks ninth in the league, while their overall team ERA sits at 4.15 — good for 20th. They’re a last-place team in the NL Central. The Cardinals’ recent 5-5 stretch has dropped them five games behind the first-place Cubs, wiping out much of their recent momentum.
When Marmol wouldn’t say what needed to be said, Brendan Donovan stepped up with some honesty.
“Obviously the series is frustrating, but it’s just one little blip on the radar of 162 [games],” Donovan said. “So, is it frustrating? Absolutely. But they just beat us. They’re playing good ball. We were playing good ball and they shut us down, so, [we’re] on to Chicago.”
A strong manager knows how to absorb the criticism while maintaining perspective. Yes, the Cardinals are still in the hunt and five games back isn’t insurmountable. But by getting swept in Pittsburgh, they missed a golden chance to roll into Wrigley Field with serious momentum — and they’ve only got themselves to blame.