Cards hopeful more dominant wins can put them into contention

ST. LOUIS -- Days like Sunday -- when the starting pitching was strong, the bats were constantly churning and chewing up the opposition and Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman mashed long home runs -- are the ones that lead the Cardinals to still believe that they have a stirring second-half run in them.

However, much like the rain-filled clouds that rolled in late in the day to put the only damper on an 8-4 victory over the Nationals, the Cardinals are constantly confronted with a sobering reality. Even after Sunday’s stellar showing and winning the series against the rebuilding Nats, the Redbirds are still in last place in the National League Central, 11 1/2 games back of first place and contemplating whether to be buyers or sellers at the Aug. 1 MLB Trade Deadline.

When Jack Flaherty pitched three-hit baseball over six innings, Goldschmidt and Gorman mashed home runs of 443 feet and 423 feet, respectively, and the offense hammered out 13 hits, the Cardinals looked more like the team that was supposed to rule the NL Central than the one that has played one game where they entered the game with a winning record (entered April 3 game vs. ATL with a 2-1 record).

The Cardinals are hopeful it is the start of a second-half surge that can allow them to run down the four teams ahead of them in the NL Central.

“We’ve just got to play well every day and put a bunch of wins together,” said Goldschmidt, whose 443-foot blast nearly cleared the grassy berm in front of the batter’s eye in center and one that tied for his longest homer of the season. “If we do that, we’ve got a chance, and if we don’t, we don’t have a chance. We’ll see what happens.”

Whether the Cardinals can inspire hope between now and the Trade Deadline could directly impact Flaherty, a first-round Draft pick by the Cardinals in 2014 who first joined the starting staff in 2017. When Flaherty limited the Nats to three runs on three hits and three walks, it allowed him to string together a fourth straight victory.

Because he could potentially be an attractive piece for a team headed to the playoffs and he will be a free agent after the season, Flaherty could be dealt before the Deadline if the Cardinals devolve into sellers. Flaherty said his focus on Sunday was continuing the momentum he’s built over the past three weeks, and he stressed that it never crossed his mind that it could have been his final start at Busch Stadium as a Cardinal.

“I mean, maybe some days in between [starts],” Flaherty said when asked if he thinks about the possibility of getting traded. “My job is to get ready for my next start. I did my job today, and I’ve got work to put in before the next one and I know that five days from now I’ve got the Cubs in Wrigley, and that’s always fun.”

An extensive history of second-half success could favor the Cardinals if they can put together more games like the second one on Saturday (nine runs and a season-best 17 hits) and Sunday (eight runs and 13 hits). Since 2000, the Cardinals have a .580 winning percentage after the All-Star break -- second in Major League Baseball only to that of the Yankees (.589). The Cardinals have sported a winning record after the All-Star break in 19 of 22 seasons since 2000. In the 2021 season, the Cardinals famously strung together a 17-game winning streak that helped them reach the playoffs.

Last season, keyed by Albert Pujols’ feel-good run to 703 career home runs, the Cardinals were 43-25 after the break, caught and passed the rival Brewers and won the NL Central in runaway fashion.

“I don’t know if I have the answer to [why the Cardinals have been a strong second-half team] other than the fact that we don’t change anything from the first half to the second half from an approach or intent standpoint or our focus or attention to detail,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “We have a lot of pride in finishing well, and we’ve been able to do that. We’ll be tested this year, and we look forward to it.”

Marmol, who will start Miles Mikolas on Monday against the Marlins after the right-hander threw three scoreless innings on Friday before the game was suspended due to rain, thinks pitching will hold the key moving forward.

“We feel really good about our offense, and if we continue to get good starting pitching, we’ve got a shot,” said Marmol, whose pitchers have MLB’s 15th best ERA (4.44) over the past 15 days. “Those guys have done a much better job giving us a shot.”