The Nolans shine as Cardinals net series sweep over Marlins

To the relief of the fanbase, the St. Louis Cardinals have seemingly flipped the switch and are playing much better. So much better the Cardinals are on a five-game winning streak and swept the Miami Marlins.

Sparked by the play of Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be a rejuvenated team ready to break out of the significant slump that held them down in last place in the NL Central.

With a sweep of the Marlins, the Cardinals have climbed out of last place, one game ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now 9.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals head to Chicago for a four-game set against the rival Cubs. The Cardinals are two games back from the Cubs in the NL Central standings.

What seemed impossible now feels entirely possible with the Cardinals. The Cardinals could make up some significant ground this weekend.

Let's talk about the Cardinals' sweep of the Marlins. The Cards won Monday 6-4, Tuesday 5-2, and Wednesday 6-4.

Mikolas earned his sixth win of the season and is now 6-5. He pitched six innings, giving up seven hits and three runs, including home runs to Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez. He did strike out three batters. On Monday, Ryan Tepera debuted with the Cardinals, pitching two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits, a walk, and a run. Giovanny Gallegos earned his 13th hold on the season, pitching 1.1 innings and striking out a batter.

Jordan Hicks his eighth save of the season on Monday, giving up three hits in his inning of work.

Jordan Montgomery looked sharp in his start Tuesday. He pitched six innings, giving up six hits, two walks, and one earned run. He struck out five batters. Chris Stratton pitched an inning of relief, giving up two hits and one run. He struck out three batters. Gallegos pitched an inning, giving up one hit and striking out one batter. Jordan Hicks pitched an inning giving up two hits but striking out two batters.

Jojo Romero earned his second career win as he pitched the tenth inning. He gave up no hits and struck out two batters. He's stepped up big for the Cardinals out of the bullpen.

The Cardinals starting rotation got the benefit of a bullpen start game. While it got interesting at times, the bullpen had a massive day for the Cardinals. Dakota Hudson started the game, going three innings. He gave up two runs while striking out one batter. Zack Thompson pitched two innings of relief, giving up three hits.

Andre Pallante pitched 1.2 innings, getting his ninth hold of the season. He gave up a hit and a walk and struck out one. Ryan Tepera got his first hold with the Cardinals, pitching 1.1 innings, and gave up a home run to Bryan De La Cruz. He struck out one batter.

Chris Stratton earned his first save this season, pitching the ninth inning. He gave up two hits and a run. He did strike out one batter.

Now let's discuss some of the top performers from this series.

Arenado gets first walk-off homer for Cardinals

Brendan Donovan got things started for the Cardinals in the sixth inning Tuesday. He knocked his 11th home run of the season on a fly to right field. The blast traveled 388 feet at 98.5 mph.

Nolan Gorman doubled on a fly to right field to score Dylan Carlson.

In the tenth inning, Arenado launched his 21st home run of the season on a fly to left field, scoring Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar. This was his fourth career walk-off but his first as a Cardinal. That seems unbelievable, which means it was about time. The celebration at home was fantastic and felt like a needed festivity for a team that has struggled.

The Nolans showed out in Wednesday's winner

Arenado started things for the Cardinals in the first inning with a single to right field to score Paul Goldschmidt. Nolan Gorman then launched his 19th home run of the season on a fly to center field, scoring Lars Nootbaar and Arenado.

It's great to see Gorman coming into his own at second base, while also making strides at the plate. He struggled much of June and returned to form in July. This home run traveled 419 feet at 105.9 mph — just a massive blast from the talented young star.

In the seventh inning, Nootbaar singled to third base, allowing Donovan to score. Nootbaar reached third thanks to a throwing error by Jon Berti. Gorman then singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Nootbaar.

Arenado also showed off his skills at third base. Unbelievable.

This series showed what the Cardinals are fully capable of doing. Here's hoping they keep it up and continue to play with this intensity.