5 star performers from Cardinals series win over Mets

With victories Saturday and Sunday, the Cardinals looked poised to play a better version of baseball.

The Cardinals looked to turn a corner this weekend. Now 29-43, the Cardinals took two of three games from the Mets. While the wins were not pretty, the Cardinals performed like a team and battled their way to victory. They did not give up. It was nice to finally see them play with some fight.

The Cardinals lost Friday 6-1. The Cardinals won on Saturday 5-3 and on Sunday 8-7.

Miles Mikolas had a terrible outing for his fourth loss of the season. He pitched six innings, giving up eight hits and one walk. He gave up a home run to Daniel Vogelbach. He looked frustrated throughout the outing.

Genesis Cabrera pitched a clean inning of relief in the seventh inning. Drew VerHagen pitched the eighth inning, striking out two batters. VerHagen is developing into an excellent option for spot relief.

Adam Wainwright earned his 198th career victory on Saturday—a fantastic accomplishment. Now 3-1 on the season, Wainwright pitched 6.1 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks, and three runs, including two home runs, one to Brandon Nimmo and the other to Luis Guillorme.

Andre Pallante pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a walk and a hit. Giovanny Gallegos pitched an inning, giving up a hit and striking out two batters.

The results of the game will be discussed in the slides to follow.

On Sunday, Matthew Liberatore pitched four innings, giving up four hits, two walks, and five earned runs, including a home run to Fransico Lindor. He did strike out two batters. He struggled but did look to make good strides.

Chris Stratton pitched an inning, giving up a hit, two walks, and two earned runs, including a homer to Tommy Pham. Andre Pallante pitched 1.1 innings, walking one and striking out one. Drew VerHagen earned the victory Sunday, his fourth win of the season. He pitched 1.2 innings, striking out one. He looked very sharp in the outing.

Donovan singled to center field in the second inning, scoring Andrew Knizner. Paul Goldschmidt knocked a double to center field, scoring Tommy Edman and Donovan. Paul DeJong knocked a fly ball to left field in the third inning. The home run traveled 405 feet at 106 mph.

The Cardinals take on the Nationals in a three-game set beginning today before heading across the pond for a two-game set against the Cubs.

Nolan Arenado

Arenado showed off his new Dad power on Father's Day. This was Arenado's first game on Father's Day since the birth of his daughter, Levi. He provided a couple of moments that the two could share for years.

In the first inning, Arenado hit a home run on a fly to left center field. This was his 14th homer of the season. The ball traveled 407 feet at 105.5 mph. In the ninth inning, he hit his 15th home run of the season. He launched the game-winning home run on a fly to left field. The ball traveled 390 feet at 104.8 mph.

As Arenado rounded first base, he let out a primal scream that looked as though he was relieved after several games of struggle. Good on, Arenado!

Jordan Walker

With his parents in town, Walker got to show off how much he has improved since being promoted back to St. Louis after a short stint in Memphis to make some improvements to his swing. The gains have been good.

Walker knocked his fifth home run of the season on a fly to right field. The home run traveled 375 feet at 99.7 mph.

On Sunday, Walker hit his sixth home run on a fly to right field. The ball traveled 359 feet at 99.8 mph.

While he's struggling to find his place as a defender, he's definitely making improvements at the plate, and it's wonderful to watch. It's going to be great when his full game comes together.

Jordan Hicks

Hicks is looking more confident. He is commanding his fastball to create dramatic moments that work in the Cardinals' favor. Therefore, Oli Marmol rewards him by placing him in higher-leverage situations. And it's working out well.

On Saturday, Hicks pitched an inning and struck out three batters. This was his first save of the season. This was unheard of just a few weeks ago. Now, Hicks is pitching much better, with authority. It's great to see.

Hicks pitched for a second game in a row Sunday, earning his second save of the season. He threw one inning and gave up only a hit.

Willson Contreras

conversationImagine having an hours-long conversation with Victor Martinez. It makes sense that you would be reenergized. That was the case for Contreras this weekend.

He seemed to have found the player in him that fans had expected. Throughout the weekend, fans could see Contreras supporting his teammates with an encouraging word or high five. He looked full of life and joy. He looked like the man the Cardinals needed him to be.

On Friday, Contreras hit a home run on a fly to left field. The ball traveled 421 feet at 109 mph. On the night, he was 2-for-4.