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3 key takeaways from the Cardinals series vs. the Reds
Playing the spoiler role can be fun
The Cardinals continued to play the role of spoiler over the weekend, as they took two out of three from the Reds and put a damper on their NL Central rivals' postseason hopes. The Cardinals have now won back-to-back series and have taken three of their last four series dating back to their set with the Padres.
This is encouraging, and it shows that even with the team well out of contention, they are taking advantage of a unique opportunity, which is to still impact the postseason race. They now head into a crucial matchup against the American League-best Baltimore Orioles with a record of 63-80.
Mostly everything went right for the Cardinals over the weekend at Great American Ballpark. The season series between the two division rivals is now tied at five games apiece, and they'll meet again to determine the head-to-head winner over the last weekend of the season, this time at Busch Stadium.
But now is a perfect time to look back on this weekend's tilt with the Reds and discuss some major moments that occurred during the series.
The bats were booming, and the pitching staff made those runs stand up in the first two games. The Cardinals lost the finale on Sunday by a final score of 7-1 as they couldn't solve Hunter Greene.
The sweep ultimately eluded them, but they still managed to win a crucial series against a team they have struggled to beat this year.
Willson Contreras is red-hot
Things got off to a fast start on Friday night when the Cardinals took advantage of a Reds' error in the first inning.
An errant throw by Noelvi Marte allowed Nolan Arenado to reach base and set up a key at-bat for Willson Contreras, who crushed a three-run homer to left field off of Andrew Abbott to put St. Louis on top 3-0.
That set the tone for the rest of the night as the Cardinals took the series opener 9-4.
On Saturday, Contreras was at it again as he picked up an RBI single in the first inning to put St. Louis on top by a run. After they had fallen behind for the first time in the series, Contreras smacked a two-run homer to tie the game and spark a comeback as the Cardinals took the series.
In doing so, he bumped his batting average up to .256 on the season.
Ryan Helsley is back for the Cardinals
Ryan Helsley hadn't pitched in back-to-back games since returning from the injured list. But on Friday, he closed the door in the series opener, striking out two of the three batters he faced to secure a 9-4 win.
Helsley wasn't done though. He entered on Saturday with a chance to secure back-to-back saves. He walked Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who was later thrown out at second base. But because he slid hard into Tommy Edman, Tyler Stephenson was also ruled out at first base due to a baserunning violation.
Helsley proceeded to strike out Will Benson, blowing a 102-mph heater by him to end the game, in a surefire sign that the 2022 NL All-Star was back in full force.
This is certainly encouraging. The Cardinals are going to need Helsley healthy for the rest of the year if they plan on spoiling contending teams' hopes. But he certainly didn't look any worse for wear on Saturday night and appeared to be back to his old self.
The Cardinals showed fight
Most importantly, the Cardinals showed some of their trademark resilience over the weekend, not backing down from any deficits.
The best example was on Saturday night after they fell behind 3-1. Zack Thompson had a bad second inning, but the Cardinals didn't quit. Willson Contreras tied the game with a two-run homer in the third and Lars Nootbaar put the Cardinals on top with a double in the fourth.
That proved to be the difference in the game, but after his second-inning struggles, Thompson settled into a groove and made it through five innings, earning his fifth win of the year.
The bullpen then followed with four shutout innings.