4 key series for the St. Louis Cardinals in June

The St. Louis Cardinals have had one of the toughest schedules up to this point in baseball. According to Baseball Reference, the Cardinals have had the 8th-toughest schedule with a total of 30 games played against teams better than .500. They are 13-17 in such games.

The month of May offered a bit of reprieve from the gauntlet that was April, but the Cardinals still faced many challenging foes in the season's second month. Rainouts gave the team some bonus days off, but a tough travel schedule (to Cincinnati for a day game after playing late on May 26th) challenged the players' mental and physical fortitude.

In the middle of the month, the Cardinals faced off against one of the best pitching staffs in baseball in the Boston Red Sox, one of the best teams in baseball in the Baltimore Orioles, and a division rival in the Chicago Cubs. The team went 7-1 in those 8 games. A rough start to the month against the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and Milwaukee Brewers was amended by the time the calendar flipped to June.

The month of June appears to be equally as daunting for the Cardinals. They have only 2 schedules off days, and one 10-game stretch followed later by a 9-game stretch. They'll play some weaker opponents like the Rockies, Pirates, and Marlins, but they'll also face off against two of the best teams in the National League in the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.

These 4 series are key in the month of June for the St. Louis Cardinals.

San Francisco Giants June 20-23, home

The Giants are on a bit of a hot streak, as they are winners of 8 of their last 10 games. Currently, the Giants hold one of the three Wild Card spots that the Cardinals are fighting for. A sweep of this series will help set up the Cardinals for a playoff spot later in the year, especially with head-to-head matchups.

Another reason fans should tune into this series would be the first game of the series on June 20th. This game will be played at Rickwood Fields, the oldest professional baseball stadium in the United States, as a tribute to the Negro Leagues. The game will be aired on Fox.

The Cardinals and Giants were two of the best franchises during the 2010s, and they'll get the chance to duke it out in June for the first time this year.