Central STL News

The St. Louis Cardinals have revived their playoff hopes after securing consecutive victories against the San Diego Padres. The wins came after a challenging period where the team had recorded an MLB-worst 5-13 stretch, putting their postseason aspirations at risk. However, with these recent victories, the Cardinals are now just 1 1/2 games away from clinching the National League's final Wild Card spot.

In a standout performance at Busch Stadium, Masyn Winn doubled in two runs while Miles Mikolas pitched five-plus innings, leading to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Padres. Despite San Diego recording 11 hits during the game, it marked St. Louis' first such shutout since August 24, 1943.

Mikolas entered Friday's game following a difficult run of form but managed to scatter seven hits and navigate through potential scoring threats in multiple innings. His efforts were complemented by strong defensive plays and effective pitching from the bullpen.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol praised his team's resilience: “We definitely dodged it... Miles had everything working." Mikolas acknowledged the importance of winning early in their series against the Padres: “It’s big [to win]... We’ve just got to play some good hard-nosed baseball."

The Cardinals will need to surpass both the Giants and Reds before they can catch up with Mike Shildt’s Padres. They are set for more encounters with San Diego both at home and on their turf post-trade deadline.

With trade talks looming around several key bullpen players like Stephen Matz and Ryan Helsley due to their consistent performances this season, Marmol remains confident about his team's prospects: “I like their overall attention to detail and fight... I wouldn’t count them out.”