His troublesome right knee finally surgically repaired last fall, Cardinals’ standout shortstop Masyn Winn came into 2026 with hopes of finally showing the all-around player he thinks he can become with a stellar season at the plate.

However, it’s been anything but that through Winn’s 112 games thus far with his .243 batting average and .645 OPS hovering near career-low levels and his OPS+ rating lagging at 89.

However, Winn’s finest work has come with runners in scoring position, with 44 of his 48 RBI coming in those spots and his batting average up 17 points in those spots.

Winn showed off his clutch hitting again on Tuesday night when he drilled a 100.2 mph fastball into right field to score Jordan Walker and break open a scoreless game to lift the Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Phillies at Busch Stadium.

"He's doing everything possible to help us win," Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol said of Winn. "At the end of the day, when you look at his skillset, he has so many different ways of helping you win a ball game. ... Those are the types of at bats that help you win down the stretch. He continues to do what the game is calling for and that's what winning players do." 

Winn’s 400th career hit proved to be the game-winner for a Cards team hoping to run down the Phillies for a Wild Card slot.

Newcomer Everson Pereira made the defensive play of the game and smashed a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Cardinals some breathing room. Pereira’s first homer as a member of the Cardinals traveled 430 feet and left the bat at a scorching 106.6 mph.

Veteran reliever Ryne Stanek made the one-run edge in the top of the eighth inning stand up by bailing the Cardinals out of a potentially awful spot. Like a night earlier, Caleb Ferguson entered the game and failed to retire a Phillies hitter. This time, he walked Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to load the bases.

Stanek entered and got four-time All-Star Luis Arraez to tap to first base for a double play – the fourth one of the night for the Cards’ defense. Stanek got out of the jam when JT Realmuto flied out to deep right-center on a ball that would have been a home run in 18 MLB ballparks, per Baseball Savant.

"That's a tough situation to come into -- bases loaded, facing a lefty who doesn't punch out a whole lot and puts everything into play," Marmol said of Stanek's work. "He made a pitch and the guys were ready to go home with it because we walked about that on the mound and finishing the play."  

Cardinals’ All-Star closer Riley O’Brien closed out the ninth inning for his career-best 30th save.

Coming into Tuesday’s showdown against Phillies All-Star ace Cristopher Sanchez, Cardinals’ right-hander Andre Pallante ranked in MLB’s top 96th percentile by keeping foes on the ground a whopping 56 percent of the time.

Pallante’s percentage is going up after he got the Phillies to pound the ball into the grass 12 times on Tuesday night – three of them resulting in double play balls that helped escape damage. He gave the Cards a chance to win on Tuesday by matching Sanchez and firing six scoreless innings.

Pereira, who was recently claimed by the Cardinals off waivers from the White Sox, got his first St. Louis start in center field on Tuesday night and made the defensive play of the game. Ranging to his left and in a full sprint, Pereira ran down a drive into right center by Alec Bohm, leaped high into the air and caught the ball near the top of the wall. The ball left Bohm’s bat at 102.7 mph and traveled 399 feet, and the speedy Pereira ran it down for his second spectacular catch in the past three games. He ended Sunday’s 7-4 victory over the Rockies with a sliding catch across the warning track in left field.

"He's got some tools and he's got some confidence in those tools," Marmol said of Pereira. "He plays good defense, took a big swing against the lefty to dead center field, which is hard to do here. We're going to continue to see it, but we're super excited about what we've seen to this point."

The Cardinals and Phillies close their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon when red-hot starter Kyle Leahy faces longtime Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler. The two teams play another three-game series in Philadelphia on the Cardinals’ upcoming three-city road trip.

The Cardinals, who announced on Tuesday that they will be wearing Navy hats and helmets in road games the rest of the 2026 season, will play three games at Wrigley Field against the rival Cubs this weekend. They will then play five games in four days in Cincinnati before closing the trip against the Phillies from Aug. 21-23.