4 series the Cardinals wish they could do over in 2024

Cincinnati Reds -- August 12th-August 14th

This series felt like the nail in the coffin for the Cardinals' season. After having one of the best records in baseball since Mother's Day, the Cardinals welcomed went to Great American Ballpark to take on the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game set in mid-August. They went in with a 60-58 record, and they were just 1.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the final National League Wild Card spot.

They came out with a 60-62 record and a tie with the Reds for second in the division.

The Cardinals had an off day before and after this series, so in theory, everyone should have been full steam ahead. Players were rested, and Oli Marmol could roll out his A-lineup and bullpen each game. St. Louis would score just four runs in a stadium that has the third-best Park Factor for offense and run-scoring in all of baseball.

Sonny Gray was not his usual self, as he allowed six runs in just five innings in game one. Meanwhile, the offense mustered just five hits in that game. Game two was more of the same, as newcomer Erick Fedde allowed four runs in six innings. The Cardinals would go 0-5 with runners in scoring position in that game. The series finale was all the more heartbreaking; veteran Kyle Gibson allowed seven runs (six earned) in just 4.2 innings. The offense went 2-10 with runners in scoring position, and they mustered only two runs despite having 10 hits in the game.

Cardinal pitchers forfeited seven home runs in the series, and the team's offense couldn't get anything going all series. This was the most heartbreaking of the bunch, as it seemed to have killed any hopes fans or the team had for the postseason at that point.

Taking two games against a lesser team with two of their best pitchers going in this series felt achievable. Add up all of the "should have been" wins, and the Cardinals could have found a way to eke out five more victories. That likely won't be enough to scratch their way into the postseason, but it is enough to make fans rest easy knowing the team had a better effort this year.