St. Louis is falling apart on multiple fronts, and even their ace can see it.
The Cardinals dropped their fifth consecutive game with a 6-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers to open the series. Sonny Gray was supposed to be the stopper, the one to end the skid—but even he couldn’t steady the team’s downward spiral.
Gray looked solid through the first four innings, giving up just three hits and one run. But the fifth inning unraveled quickly, and everything collapsed. Despite the decent start, Gray admitted afterward that he could tell early on he didn’t have his best stuff.
He sounded completely deflated, a reflection of the current mood in the Cardinals’ clubhouse. The atmosphere in St. Louis is bleak, and despite recently quieting some critics, manager Oli Marmol appears unable to rally his team through this rough stretch.
Sonny Gray says the quiet part out loud about Oli Marmol amid Cardinals slump
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Gray said (via John Denton of MLB.com). “It wasn’t good, I wasn’t good, we weren’t good, and we’re just not playing good baseball. There’s nothing positive to take away.”
Given how much Gray is internalizing the team’s struggles — both his own and St. Louis’ — this seems like a moment for manager Oli Marmol to step up and reinforce belief. It was a tough outing for the three-time All-Star, no doubt, but the situation isn’t as dire as Gray’s tone suggests. The Cardinals are still above .500 and in the Wild Card hunt, which points to deeper-rooted issues than just one bad game.
If Gray’s comments are any indication, Marmol is having trouble rallying his team — they look miles from locked in, let alone playoff-bound. Whatever the reason, his message doesn’t seem to be resonating right now, and it’s taking a toll on morale. Still, with the postseason very much in reach, the question remains: how will the Cardinals respond?
Alarm bells are sounding in St. Louis as Cardinals struggles continue
Cardinals fans and Gray alike believe the sky is falling in St. Louis, and it’s difficult to blame them. The Brewers’ 3-2 triumph the day after defeating Gray is the team’s sixth consecutive loss. Marmol and Co. are simply digging themselves deeper, and it seems to be weighing on everyone concerned.
The Cardinals got off to a strong start in the 2025 MLB season, going 34-27. Nonetheless, the new cold streak demonstrates that St. Louis bit off more than they could chew, and that their prosperity is only a mirage.