ST. LOUIS -- When days turned into weeks as the Cardinals were anxiously awaiting the return of at least one of their three injured center fielders, infielder-turned-outfielder Tommy Edman kept making play after play in center and giving the belief that he might be the best option at the position after all.

On Saturday, a day that proved forgettable with an 8-4 loss to the Reds at Busch Stadium that ended the Cardinals’ modest two-game winning streak, Edman was one of the few bright spots, as he made three of the best defensive plays of the season by a St. Louis outfielder.

“Tommy’s fantastic out there, and I probably would have given up more runs if it weren’t for him,” said Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, who was a victim of some other botched defensive plays that led to him giving up five earned runs over six innings. “[Edman] is looking like he’s been playing out there his whole life. It’s kind of incredible to watch him bounce around from position to position and seemingly be elite at just about every one of them.”

Saturday was hardly a day for defense for the Cardinals, a franchise that has prided itself on its defense and has won the past two Rawlings Gold Glove awards for team defense. That run will undoubtedly end this season, with the Cards playing without their top outfielders most of the season and their infield starting to show cracks defensively.

On Saturday, 10-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado backed up on a ground ball and was unable to throw out Cincinnati’s Stuart Fairchild -- a usually routine play that would have ended the second inning, but instead allowed a three-run rally for the Reds. An inning later, rookie left fielder Jordan Walker misplayed a sinking liner into a triple, and Cincinnati tacked on two more runs that put the Redbirds in an early 5-0 hole.

Of all the Cardinals’ issues during their uneven start to the season -- shaky starting pitching, leaky relief and spotty hitting with runners in scoring position -- defensive slippage might be the most surprising. An MLB-record five Cardinals won Gold Gloves in 2021, and last season Arenado notched his 10th straight top defensive honor, while Brendan Donovan became the first rookie in the franchise’s rich history to capture a Gold Glove.

This season’s defensive woes have been most prominent in the outfield, where the Cardinals struggled to pick up the pieces when Tyler O’Neill (low back strain), Lars Nootbaar (back spasms) and Dylan Carlson (sprained left ankle) missed large chunks of time because of injuries. The Cardinals came into Saturday ranked 25th in outfield runs prevented (-4) and 24th in outfield outs above average (-4), per Baseball Savant. To put those stats in perspective, the National League Central-leading Brewers rank first in baseball in outfield OAA (11) and second outfield runs prevented (nine).

Enter Edman, who won a Gold Glove at second base in 2021 and someone who might have won the first-ever Utility Gold Glove award in ‘22 had Donovan not done so. Edman was pressed into duty in center field as a replacement in a game in ‘19 and ‘22, but he took over there two weeks ago when the Cardinals had few healthy options. All he’s done since then is handle his 31 chances without an error.

Asked when he last played this much outfield, Edman said, “in high school … when I was running around out there [shagging fly balls].”

Edman has been important to the Cardinals, manager Oliver Marmol said, because he helps to stabilize whatever unit he is a part of because of his high baseball IQ and his stellar instincts.

“Here’s the reality: We haven’t been good in the outfield,” Marmol said. “When you look at our pitchers pitching to contact and a lot of balls going out there, we need to be able to catch them.

“I look at it as this -- what do we need to do well? What do we need to stabilize?” Marmol asked. “Our outfield play hasn’t been ideal, and that’s the area we need to stabilize. For the benefit of the club, Edman does that for us at the moment.”

Amidst the disappointments, a foundational piece in Edman has emerged to provide some consistency. In his finest moment on Saturday, Edman hit a top sprint speed of 29.7 feet per second while covering 101 feet to catch a ball at the warning track before ending up on his belly.

“I feel like I’ve been seeing the ball pretty well out there and I’ve adjusted pretty quickly,” Edman said. “I’m sure there are a few balls that will come at me that will be tougher, but I don’t feel like the adjustment has been that tough for me.”