The Cardinals’ 2026 Season Comes to an End: Frustration, Promise and Thanks

The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2026 season has officially come to an end, and it wasn’t the season I had hoped for as a fan. There were stretches when this team showed how good it could be, followed by stretches when that momentum disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived.

The Cardinals finished 77-85 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. After going 50-45 before the All-Star break, St. Louis went 27-40 the rest of the way. That second-half slide made the road to October increasingly difficult, but there were still performances worth remembering—and reasons to keep looking ahead.

A Promising Start, Followed by Familiar Frustration

When I last recapped the Cardinals, they were facing Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium. St. Louis opened with a 4-1 victory behind Quinn Mathews, who earned his first major-league win in his home debut. The Pirates responded with 6-2 and 5-4 victories, leaving the Cardinals with another series loss despite an encouraging start.

September began with more promise. The Cardinals took two of three from the Dodgers in Los Angeles, winning 13-8 and 8-6 before a 3-2 walk-off loss prevented the sweep. Scoring 21 runs in the first two games showed what this offense could do against a strong opponent.

St. Louis carried that momentum into Colorado, winning the opener 7-6, losing the second game 10-7 and taking the finale 10-8. Another series victory offered hope that the Cardinals might finish strongly. The challenge, once again, was keeping it going.

Close Games That Slipped Away

The trip to San Francisco was especially heartbreaking. The Giants swept the Cardinals with 5-4, 2-1 and 7-6 victories—all decided by one run. St. Louis was close enough to win every game, but couldn’t find the hit, pitch or defensive play that would change the outcome.

Back at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals responded by taking two of three from the White Sox. They won 7-3 and 3-1, but the middle game brought another frustrating finish. St. Louis led 5-4 entering the ninth before Chicago scored twice to win 6-5. The Cardinals could score, build leads and put themselves in position to win. Too often, they couldn’t finish.

The Giants’ visit followed a similar pattern. St. Louis opened with a 2-1 win behind a strong performance from Mathews, then lost 10-3 and 6-5 in 10 innings. Rallying to tie the finale in the ninth only to lose in extras made another missed opportunity sting.

Washington then took the first two games of the Cardinals’ final home series, 9-1 and 8-5. St. Louis avoided the sweep with a 5-3 victory in its final home game, but the closing weeks continued to show how difficult it was to sustain success.

The Final Road Trip

The last six games took the Cardinals to Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. In Pittsburgh, the offense managed just one hit in a 2-0 opening loss. St. Louis bounced back with a 5-1 victory, but the Pirates won the finale 2-1.

Milwaukee completed the season with a sweep, winning 8-4, 3-2 and 6-4. The Cardinals showed some late fight in the finale, scoring four runs in the eighth inning, including Leo Bernal’s three-run homer, after falling behind 6-0. But the comeback stopped there. This time, there was no next series.

What Needs to Change?

For me, the biggest issue is consistency. This team showed it could compete with strong opponents and produce big offensive performances. But those flashes didn’t become dependable results.

The starting rotation needs to keep the Cardinals in games more consistently. Michael McGreevy, Quinn Mathews, Andre Pallante and others offered reasons for optimism, but too many early deficits left the offense trying to rescue the game. Continued development of the young pitching staff will matter.

The bullpen also needs to protect late leads. Games like the ninth-inning loss to the White Sox are particularly painful because the team has already done enough to put itself in position to win.

Offensively, the answer isn’t simply scoring more runs. The Cardinals showed they could do that. They need more timely hitting and fewer games when the offense disappears. Better defense, baserunning and execution matter, too, because small mistakes can decide close games.

There is still reason for hope. Young players took important steps, and the team had stretches when it looked capable of competing with some of baseball’s best. The next challenge is turning that promise into something fans can count on.

Thank You, KMOX—and Cardinals Fans

As I close out my Cardinals coverage for the season, I want to thank everyone at KMOX. Radio is how I experience Cardinals baseball, so the broadcast team is a huge part of my connection to the game.

From the pregame show to the final out, postgame coverage and the Extra Innings Show, so much work goes into bringing baseball to listeners. A special thank-you goes to John Rooney, Rick Horton, Matt Pauley and Joe Pott, along with the producers, engineers, technicians and everyone working behind the scenes. We may not see that work, but we hear the result, and I appreciate it.

Thank you, too, to the Cardinals fans who continued supporting the team at home and on the road. Even through a frustrating season, fans kept listening, watching and believing that next year could be different.

This wasn’t the season I hoped for, but there were exciting wins, young players showing promise and countless hours spent listening to Cardinals baseball. Now the offseason begins, and there is plenty of work ahead.

For now, thank you to the Cardinals, KMOX and the fans. I’ll be ready for next season.