2026 St Louis Cardinals Winning Despite Poor ‘Pen
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 19: Nolan Gorman #16 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on May 19, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images We have seen so many heroic, ridiculously entertaining *but also mortifying Wins this season that it feels like one of those October teams that find ways to win… but in the regular season.
Their record in extra innings is 6-1 and they are good in 1 run games. The offense is good at late-inning dramatics, not giving up, and hitting home runs when they need to. But one cannot rely on that to save games that are on the line that often!
Sure Riley O’Brien is usually lights out but they’ve had to come from behind a lot (and sometimes, like last night, he just doesn’t have it). As far as them being like one of those teams in October that just finds ways to win, let’s pump the brakes on that. Let’s see if they can get that far with a below-replacement-level bullpen.
So far in 2026, the Cardinals bullpen has had just a few bright spots. Overall, they obviously must be doing something right, but that’s related to outperforming their expected value and relying on some airtight defense provided by talented young players like JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, and our center fielders. Considering the fact that the St Louis bullpen is the worst of the not-dumpster fire by fWAR, it is a bit of a miracle the Cardinals are good in extra innings.
Is overusage due to a lackluster or even crappy starting rotation the culprit? Not really. The Cardinals are 20th in IP out of the ‘pen.
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