St. Louis Cardinals continue to thrive against MLB's best pitchers

Through just their first 15 games of the year, the St. Louis Cardinals have faced eight of last year's top-50 pitchers according to FanGraphs WAR: Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Tyler Anderson, Paul Skenes, Aaron Nola, and Zack Wheeler. Most teams would crumble against some of the game's best hurlers; the Cardinals, however, have done the complete opposite.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a 5-3 record against some of the game's best pitchers in 2025.

Of those eight pitchers, only Tyler Anderson, Mitch Keller, and Cristopher Sanchez have bested the Cardinals. The Redbirds have taken it to the other five, most recently Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies.

It's also worth noting here that the Cardinals did tag Tyler Anderson for three runs in five innings, but Los Angeles's bullpen was stout and held serve for the remaining four innings. The Cardinals lost this game primarily due to an implosion in the bullpen by Ryan Fernandez and JoJo Romero.

The Cardinals started the year off against the Minnesota Twins, who rolled out Lopez, Ryan, and Ober in the first series. They tagged Pablo Lopez for four runs (two earned) in five innings on Opening Day, and he was saddled with the loss as a result. Joe Ryan fared much better, as the Cardinals only brought home one run against him. Ryan didn't receive a decision as a result of his start. In the series finale, the Cardinals rocked Bailey Ober for eight runs through only 2.2 innings.

Perhaps the most impressive victory over a great pitcher came against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Paul Skenes. Prior to this game, the most earned runs allowed by Skenes in a game was four (Los Angeles Dodgers). The Cardinals' electric offense got to him to five earned runs in six innings. This was the club's third victory against one of the game's best pitchers in his young career.

The Cardinals just finished a series against the Philadelphia Phillies where they got to All-Star Aaron Nola for two runs and four walks in five innings. Against Zack Wheeler in the rubber match, several players showed up to plate four runs in six innings, most notably veteran first baseman Willson Contreras.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals have lost games started by Tyler Anderson and Cardinal killer Kyle Hendricks of the Los Angeles Angels; rookie Hunter Dobbins, Sean Newcomb, and Walker Buehler of the Boston Red Sox; Carmen Mlodzinski (pronounced muh-GIN-skee, for those who had no clue), and Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates; and Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies. Only three of those pitchers — Anderson, Keller, and Sanchez — finished in the top 50 of pitcher fWAR last year.

The St. Louis Cardinals have made statements against some of the game's best pitchers to start the year. They've faced eight of the best pitchers from 2024 and walked away with five victories. In what has felt like the club's kryptonite for years, the Cardinals have struggled against rookie pitchers and soft-tossing veterans (see: Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks).

The St. Louis Cardinals sit with a record of 7-8 just 15 games into the year. They've floated around .500 despite playing over half of their games against the game's best pitchers. If the club can figure out how to overpower the lesser pitchers in the league, the Cardinals may have something special brewing this year.