After a disappointing split with Colorado, when do the Cardinals plan to make their charge?

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - On Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals got a good performance from their starting pitcher. Interim fifth starter Andre Pallante held the Colorado Rockies (23-42) scoreless across five innings. It was his second scoreless outing in three starts.

Against an offense that ranks 21st in MLB in runs scored, the St. Louis bullpen did its job, too. Three Cardinal relievers held Colorado to just one run across four innings, sparing a work day for the club’s high-leverage triumvirate⁠—JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley got the day off.

The Cardinals managed to put five runs on the board against the worst pitching staff in baseball, a solid enough effort despite a 1-for-7 mark with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men on base for the afternoon. St. Louis ranks 28th in MLB in batting average with RISP (.215) this season; that’s ahead of only the woeful White Sox and the Athletics.

Still, it was a pretty stress-free win for the Cardinals on Sunday, which is exactly what you want⁠—or expect?⁠—from a home matchup with one of the worst teams in baseball.

The problem? It was the first time across a four-game weekend series that the Cardinals were able to claim a tranquil, straightforward victory over Denver’s local nine. The Cardinals spent four days at Busch Stadium facing the club with the 28th-best winning percentage in the sport, and all they got was this lousy series split.

Instead of using the long home date with one of the two MLB clubs to enter this past weekend with a single-digit road win total as the foundation for solidifying a winning record, the Cardinals treaded water. They still sit two games below .500, effectively tied for second in the NL Central but only half a game ahead of the last place spot in the division.

If this wasn’t the weekend for a Cardinals team that would like to identify as a contender to find some momentum, when is it coming?

If it’s going to happen, the schedule favors it happening soon. The Cardinals’ next four series come against teams with losing records. A matchup with the Braves in late June briefly interrupts that streak before the Cardinals follow up the Atlanta series with three more sets against losing teams. As of Monday, the Cardinals are scheduled to play only five games against winning clubs between now and the All-Star break.

This has to be the stretch to climb in the standings. But then again, this past weekend was supposed to have been part of that. Now it’s rookie phenom Paul Skenes next on the docket as the Pirates come to town on Tuesday.

While the schedule sets up for a climb, this isn’t going to come free for the Cardinals. They’ll have to earn their way into playoff position.

Although it’s still early to be playing out playoff scenarios, the lackluster nature of a crowded competition leaves room for the Cardinals⁠—or another team⁠—to make a charge and cement its status.

The NL wild card picture features eight teams within 2.0 games of one another, all fighting for two spots. At the start of play Monday, three teams are tied for the final NL wild card spot at 32-34 (.485), with the Cardinals a singular percentage point off that pace at 31-33 (.484). Six teams currently vying for the third wild card are within 1.5 games of one another.

With a sub-.500 record and regular instances of self-sabotage due to a decline in clean, fundamental play, the Cardinals at present don’t exactly resemble a team destined for a deep October run⁠—even if they should sneak into the postseason. But the thing about these National League standings is that nobody else in this wild card mix looks any more compelling than St. Louis. And once you’re in, you’re in. From there, you never know what could happen.

Cardinals fans, understandably, aren’t particularly enthusiastic about this approach. But the expectation for division championships and deep postseason runs as the standard in St. Louis simply isn’t where the Cardinals are right now. Coming off a 71-91 season, the proof is in the pudding.

Getting back to that standard won’t happen overnight, and it’s okay to be frustrated by the decline. It should be acknowledged that it has taken place, though, because it’s the reality in which the Cardinals live.

Still, after the disaster that was the 2023 season, it’s incumbent upon the Cardinals front office to aim aggressively to achieve, at minimum, one of those wild card spots this season. After pleading for patience from fans since the early days of last season, John Mozeliak owes it to those fans to repay that patience by making every effort to get this year’s team as competitive as it can be down the stretch.

In terms of his approach to the upcoming trade market, it appears he’s at least willing to verbally commit to that strategy.

In his first public availability resembling a group media scrum since opening day, Mozeliak told a group of Cardinals bloggers and podcasters this weekend at Busch Stadium that the Cardinals aren’t among the teams looking to sell off pieces ahead of the trade deadline, as they were last year.

They want to add.

“You hear me talk a lot about patience and that’s really what we have to be,” Mozeliak said for the second straight season before clarifying his role in improving his team’s standing. “Now, when you say that, though, I understand that there are some things maybe we could do outside of our organization. As the calendar obviously turns to June, the opportunities to do something on a more proactive front start to open up.

“I think teams are starting to really understand who they are, what they are and where they’re going. Therefore, you’re starting to see clubs that really realize that breaking up their team now or in July probably makes the most sense.

“We are not one of them. We are sort of in that ‘shop mode’ on how we can look to get better. Even if they’re just small wins.”

Mozeliak identified his ‘small wins’ comment as a starter that could “give us some innings” in the fifth rotation spot. He also mentioned a right-handed bat who “could play center field from time to time” as a logical pursuit.

One also could make the case that the Cardinals could benefit from adding an experienced right-handed reliever after losing free-agent acquisition Keynan Middleton for the season. Giovanny Gallegos, Riley O’Brien and Nick Robertson are also presently on the IL, potentially further cementing right-handed relief help as a need moving forward.

In his comments on Blogger Day, Mozeliak acknowledged the favorable upcoming schedule for his team. Now we wait to see whether the Cardinals are ready to take advantage of it⁠—as the president of baseball operations works to provide them with additional resources to signal contention as a real priority.

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