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YESTERDAY'S RESULT -- CWS 6, STL 5
CWS 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 2 -- 6
STL 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 -- 5
Leo Bernal's solo home run in the 8th gave St. Louis a 5-4 lead last night, but Riley O'Brien surrendered Randal Grichuk's 2-run homer in the 9th and the Cardinals lost 6-5. Nathan Church went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Masyn Winn drove in 2 on a 2nd-inning double, but Cooper Hjerpe coughed up a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 4th -- then could not record an out in the 5th -- allowing 4 earned runs on 4 walks in 1.0 IP and turning a 3-0 lead into a 4-4 game.
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THE BREAKDOWN
WHAT WORKED
• Nathan Church: 3-for-4, 1 RBI (13th double in the 4th inning) • Masyn Winn: 2-for-4, 2 RBI on his 20th double of the season (2nd inning) • Leo Bernal: 8th-inning solo HR (his 3rd) to break the 4-4 tie • Kyle Leahy: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 K as the opener WHAT DIDN'T • Top of the order went hitless in their at-bats: Fermin (0-for-2), Herrera (0-for-3), Burleson (0-for-4), Baez (0-for-4) • Cooper Hjerpe: 4 ER, 4 BB in 1.0 IP; surrendered the 4-0 lead across the 4th and 5th innings • Riley O'Brien: 2-run HR allowed to Randal Grichuk in the 9th | ||||||
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BOTTOM LINE
EDGE: With Chicago's starter unannounced and treated as a right-hander, the three left-handed bats in the Cardinals' order -- Burleson, Gorman and Church -- all hit with the platoon advantage, and Alec Burleson is the one with the numbers to make it count: a .940 OPS against right-handed pitching in 433 plate appearances this season, the strongest platoon number in the Cardinals' lineup.
THREAT: Chicago will send 6 left-handed starters to the plate this afternoon, and that is McGreevy's weaker side: a .751 OPS allowed to left-handed batters across 397 batters faced in 2026, after a .911 OPS across 190 left-handed batters in 2025. His counter is contact management -- a 51.0% ground-ball rate and a 6.6% walk rate -- against a lineup that strikes out often; Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel are the strikeout-prone names on that side. WATCH: Riley O'Brien surrendered last night's lead in the 9th, the latest blown lead in a rough two weeks for the bullpen. If McGreevy builds a lead this afternoon, how it's held -- and who holds it -- is the game's secondary tension point. | ||||||
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KEY MATCHUPS
The primary read is McGreevy's platoon exposure against a lineup stacked with 6 left-handed starters. Right-handed batters are the side he handles: a .694 OPS allowed across 238 batters faced in 2026, and a .580 OPS across 210 right-handed batters in 2025. The left-handed side has run worse in both seasons, and that is where most of today's lineup lives.
McGreevy vs. Kyle Teel (L, batting 2nd): Teel's 2026 line against right-handed pitching is .210/.310/.435 (.745 OPS) in 71 plate appearances, above the 60 PA floor, with a 37.6% strikeout rate this season. Last season he hit .290/.388/.448 in 245 plate appearances vs. RHP -- a patient, contact-first profile the 2026 sample has not yet matched. McGreevy vs. Colson Montgomery (L, batting 8th): Montgomery hit 17 home runs against right-handed pitching in 201 plate appearances in 2025 (.567 SLG). His 2026 OPS vs. RHP is .675 in 411 plate appearances with a 34.7% strikeout rate -- the power-vs-strikeout trade that defines his matchup with a groundball pitcher. Alec Burleson (L) vs. the TBD RHP: Burleson's slash line against right-handed pitching this season is .317/.395/.545, and his 22 home runs and 106 RBI make him the Cardinals' primary run-production threat in a right-handed matchup. | ||||||
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WATCHLIST
The bullpen save situation: Riley O'Brien has blown 3 saves in his last 5 appearances, and last night's 9th-inning HR to Grichuk is the freshest example. If St. Louis leads in the 8th, watch which relievers get the call -- and whether O'Brien is one of them.
McGreevy's recent form vs. his season number: McGreevy has posted a 9.29 ERA over his last 8 starts since July 28, against a 3.32 ERA before that stretch. The 3.92 full-season ERA masks a significant recent shift. Watch whether the first time through the order signals which McGreevy shows up this afternoon. Miguel Vargas on the bases: Vargas has stolen 18 bases in 20 attempts in 2026 (90.0% success rate). With Leo Bernal -- recalled September 1 -- behind the plate, Chicago will likely look to test the battery early. | ||||||
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TREND WATCH
The Cardinals bullpen has blown 6 saves over the last 15 games, pushing the season total to 30 across 149 games. That window rate of 40% compares with a season rate of roughly 20%, a sharp spike at a difficult moment -- the club sits 7.5 games back in the wild-card race.
Andre Pallante has turned his season around since late July. He has posted a 2.02 ERA over his last 7 starts (since July 25), down from 4.30 in his previous 19; the league ERA for starters this season is 3.93, and his window figure sits well below it. Jordan Walker's slump has now run five months. He is hitting .791 OPS since April 14 over 550 plate appearances, down from 1.136 in the 66 PA before that date. The league average OPS is 0.731 this season; Walker's current mark exceeds that figure, but the gap from his early-season pace across 550 PA is a sustained decline worth watching. |
McGreevy Draws Chicago's Left-Loaded Lineup in the Series Finale
Sep 13, 2026
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3 min read