Three takeaways from the Cardinals series against the Phillies

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This past weekend, the Cardinals faced off against the reigning National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. It was the Phillies' first trip to Busch Stadium since last year's Wild Card Series. Of course, the Phillies won that series in two games, eliminating the Cardinals and ending the careers of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina in the process.

No careers ended this weekend, but the Cardinals didn't have it easy by any means. After being swept in Philadelphia, the same thing nearly occurred at Busch Stadium this weekend. The Phils took the first two games and almost stole the finale away from the Cardinals.

Fortunately, Jordan Walker had other ideas as he hit a go-ahead bomb in the eighth inning to make it a 6-5 game. Ryan Helsley held on for the save as the Cardinals prevented a sweep.

So while it ended on a good note, the series itself was mostly sour, and the Cardinals really didn't get much of a chance to play the role of spoiler on the Phillies, which was going to be hard anyway with the Phillies already essentially a lock for October.

And right now, it's very clear that the Phillies have the Cardinals' number. In fact, it's been since June of 2017 that the Cardinals have actually won a series against them.

The season series has officially come to an end, and the Phillies took five out of six games from the Cardinals.

In this piece, we will discuss three major takeaways from the series against the reigning NL champs.

A historic new low

On Friday, the Cardinals rallied from an early 4-0 deficit and even came to within a run in the bottom of the ninth inning. They had knocked Aaron Nola out of the game early and had a chance to do some damage.

However, the powerful Phillies bullpen held on to secure a 5-4 win. It was the Cardinals' 82nd loss of the season, which ensured that they would finish below the .500 mark for the first time since 2007.

They stranded 15 runners in the series-opening loss to the Phillies. Prior to Friday's loss, the Cardinals had finished .500 or better in 15 consecutive seasons. That all came crashing down, however.

And though the Cardinals won the series finale, they now own a record of 66-83 with less than two weeks left in the regular season.

Of course, we all knew this was coming, and all it takes for the Cardinals to be officially eliminated tonight is a loss and a Marlins win.

But for now, one thing is certain. The Cardinals will finish under the .500 mark for the first time in 16 years.

Mikolas' struggles continue

One thing that is quite concerning right now is the fact that Miles Mikolas has really been struggling lately. I was at the game Saturday night and saw the veteran right-hander struggle firsthand.

After allowing two first-inning runs, it appeared that Mikolas had settled into a groove. But all that changed when Kyle Schwarber hit a line drive that barely cleared the right field wall and made it a 5-1 game. Mikolas recovered and made it through six, but he's allowed five runs in each of his past two starts, and this is concerning given that the Cardinals gave him a two-year extension prior to Opening Day.

He's now 7-12 with an alarming 4.84 ERA.

Walker shines

Jordan Walker may have been one of the few bright spots of the series.

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His bat remains hot, and he continues to come up big in the clutch. A go-ahead home run off Seranthony Dominguez on Sunday told that story.

It was truly a no-doubt home run and it proved to be the difference as the Cardinals prevented the sweep. He also made a nice diving play in right field, which means his defense is still steadily improving, and that's a good sign for 2024 and beyond.

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