Oli Marmol and Lance Lynn ignite fire to start strong stretch for Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals needed some fire. As of May 12th, the season felt a lot like 2023. Players were making simple mistakes, and the team couldn't put it all together. When a starter would go deep into a game and allow 1 or 2 runs, the offense didn't show up. When the offense scored more than 5 runs, the starter would be pulled just 3 innings in.

May 12th is a bit of a turning point for the team. Two key people in the dugout, Lance Lynn and Oliver Marmol made pointed statements and actions about the team up to that point. They had just gone on a 7-game losing streak, and not much had gone right for the team up to that point.

Before the game on May 12th against the Brewers, Lance Lynn sat down with Jim Hayes. Lynn said, "In this game, when you play uptight, bad things are going to happen. You start to see it...You just kinda let everybody know every day, hey, you're in the big leagues...Try to enjoy it, try to relax, try to have fun."

Lynn hit the nail on the head. At the end of the game, the players on the roster deserve to be there. They've worked hard, and they're worthy of their roster spot. They just need to go out and play the way they know how to play. Lance Lynn was brought on to pitch deep into games and bring fire to the dugout. So far, he's not disappointing.

The same day, both bench coach Daniel Descalso and manager Oliver Marmol got ejected. The first base umpire had blown two out calls within two innings, and Marmol and Descalso got ejected for barking from the dugout. On the surface, it made sense for these two to be ejected; they had to challenge two relatively clear calls back to back. However, ulterior motives may have come to fruition in Marmol's postgame interview.

"At times, you just have a little skid, get something going...I've got nothing against that group (of umpires)...I'm glad the boys pulled it together and won."

- Oliver Marmol

Since Lynn's comments and Marmol's ejection, the team is 6-2. They've won two series in a row against the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox, and they took the series opener against the potent Baltimore Orioles Monday night in St. Louis. While these two incidents don't lead directly to the team's success, they could signal a turning point for the team.