Willson Contreras ends putrid start to 2025 season in style facing Phillies ace

It always felt like a matter of when, not if, Willson Contreras would break out of his slump for the St. Louis Cardinals.

No one would have blamed Contreras for continuing to struggle this weekend for St. Louis. The Cardinals drew the Philadelphia Phillies best starters for this weekend's matchup, and facing arguably the best pitcher in the game in Zack Wheeler on Sunday, it figured to be a low-scoring contest.

Contreras had other plans.

Willson Contreras couldn't have picked a better time to breakout of his putrid start to the 2025 season for the Cardinals

Wheeler was dealing for Philadelphia leading up to the fourth inning, but after Nolan Arenado broke out of an 0-20 slump by smacking a single to right field, Contreras walked up to the plate and decided to unload on a fastball middle in and sent it to the left-field seats to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead over the Phillies this afternoon.

Contreras has looked lost at the plate all season long up until this point, slashing just .132/.193/.170 leading into today's action. Contreras did seem to get things going a bit on Saturday with his two-hit outing, but things really seem to be clicking now after that home run off of Wheeler.

The Cardinals' offense as a whole has been highly productive in 2025, but they'll need Contreras to be himself if they want their offense to sustain. The Cardinals' offense is built upon a lot of high on-base and bat-to-ball guys, but Contreras is one of their bats who can provide them a ton of power in big spots.

Now that Ivan Herrera is on the injured list for at least a month, it is even more important that Contreras get going. Most of the Cardinals' best hitters right now are left-handed, so having some right-handed bats producing in their lineup is paramount for adding balance to that group.

Contreras has remained upbeat and resilient through the whole process. Obviously he has been frustrated by the results, but he's not wavered from his belief in himself as a hitter. If he's truly heating up right now, the Cardinals' offense can take things to the next level as they look to surge back up in the standings.