DENVER — Hoping to open up the post-All-Star Game schedule with a flourish, the St. Louis Cardinals put up a dud.
A 6-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field finished off a 1-5 Cardinals road trip through Arizona and Colorado. A sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks in the desert had the Cardinals reeling, and losing two of three to the Rockies, now 26-76 on the season, carried some extra sting.
Wednesday’s loss also put the Cardinals on the wrong end of history as it marked the first time in 220 games that Colorado had recorded a shutout, snapping a modern-day MLB record. The last time Rockies pitchers had held opponents scoreless was an 8-0 road win over the San Diego Padres on May 15, 2024.
St. Louis is now 52-51 ahead of two pivotal home series before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, a four-game series against the San Diego Padres and a three-game set against the Miami Marlins.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters on Monday that, “Obviously, where we are in the standings definitely affects our decision-making moving forward in the trading deadline.” Those standings now show the Cardinals 3.5 games out of the final NL wild-card spot as they leave Denver and head home.
While it’s certainly not out of the picture that the Cardinals could still make the postseason, the focus for the franchise at the trade deadline has likely changed.
With the Cardinals designating starting pitcher Erick Fedde for assignment before Wednesday’s game, St. Louis said goodbye to one of the pitchers who was whispered to be a potential trade chip over the last few weeks.
Fedde’s stock had plummeted, however, during that time, including after a horrific outing against Colorado on Tuesday where he gave up six earned runs and seven hits (including two homers) over 3.0 innings of work.
St. Louis still has potential trade chips however, including third baseman Nolan Arenado. Mozeliak said earlier in the week he would discuss any potential trades with Arenado, who has a no-trade clause in his contract.
Those chips could also include closer Ryan Helsley, who has 19 saves on the season and has been deployed just one time since the All-Star break.
The struggles for St. Louis on the western swing have dropped the Cardinals to 5-12 in July. It’s a bad time for St. Louis to go cold, but could bring a selling perspective into focus for Mozeliak.
With the Cardinals needing to show the front office they could be a postseason contender, St. Louis was listless on Wednesday, with manager Oliver Marmol telling reporters after the loss, “Worst game we’ve played all year.”
If there was any wavering on which direction St. Louis should go at the trade deadline, Wednesday was likely the push needed to sell and look ahead to 2026 and beyond.
