JJ Wetherholt returned from the IL, Jordan Walker joined the 20/20 club and Matthew Liberatore pitched well over five innings. However, Cardinals' closer Riley O'Brien surrendered a two-run homer in the 10th inning in a 6-5 loss to the Giants in 10 innings at Busch Stadium on Wednesday.
Standout rookie JJ Wetherholt returned from the Injured List, Jordan Walker moved into the exclusive 20-homer, 20-stolen base club and Matthew Liberatore pitched well in what will be his final start of the season at Busch Stadium.
Those were the only highlights most of Wednesday until the Cardinals offense finally came alive in the bottom of the ninth inning. Then, following a stirring rally, closer Riley O’Brien faltered again in the 10th inning to ruin the series finale for St. Louis.
O’Brien, who admitted earlier in the week that his second-half struggles have bothered him mentally of late, surrendered a two-run home run to pinch-hitter Drew Gilbert on his first pitch of the 10th inning as the Giants escaped with a 6-5 defeat of the Cards at steamy Busch Stadium on Wednesday.
"(Confidence) is part of being a big-leaguer, no one is going to feel sorry for him and everybody is going to go through something like this in their career at this level," Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol said of O'Brien, who is 0-6 and 13 of 17 in save opportunities with a 5.55 ERA since the MLB All-Star break. "My message has been super simple and clear: 'We love you, callous up and embrace the fact that people think you suck right now.' Go out there and prove people wrong, finish strong and learn from this because everyone is going to go through a stretch like this. You sulk in it and feel bad for yourself, you don't take a lot out of it. You better learn something from this, which I think he is (doing)."
Walker briefly looked as if he might retie the game in the bottom of the 10th when he drilled a smash to right-center that was caught at the warning track. Walker, who has not driven in a run since hitting 100 RBI on Sept. 4, threw his palms in the air when the 105 mph drive fell short. Busch Stadium is tied with Angel Stadium for the fewest homers surrendered in 2026 at 125.
Walker walked in the fourth inning and stole second base without a throw. That gave him 20 stolen bases to go with his 28 homers. Walker is the first Cardinals player to join the 20/20 since Tommy Pham did it in 2017 with 23 homers and 25 stolen bases. Cardinals’ Hall of Famer Ray Lankford accomplished that feat five times (1992, ’95, ’96, ’97 and ‘98).
"After the end of last year, I really wanted to improve stolen base-wise because I thought I could get more bags than I did (in 2025)," Walker said. "I've been working on (stealing bases) and getting 20/20 is pretty cool for me. I have some more goals for myself when it comes to that area, but it's a nice steppingstone, for sure."
Down two runs, the Cards got the bases loaded in the 10th, and they got within a run when Thomas Saggese drilled a sac fly to deep center. However, the game ended when Nathan Church lined out to right with the speedster Victor Scott II on third base.
Down to their final strike in the ninth, the Cardinals got a clutch, game-tying RBI single from standout rookie catcher Leo Bernal to knot the score at 4. Jose Fermin -- Wetherholt's replacement after the sixth inning – set the stage for Bernal’s heroics when he delivered an RBI sac fly to center to get the Cards within 4-3. Bernal plated his 15th run in 15 games, but MLB RBI leader Alec Burleson grounded out to end the rally.
Despite facing a Giants team that has used 67 players and seen 16 players make their MLB debuts because of a bevy of injuries, the Cardinals lost to San Francisco for a second time in as many days and for a fifth time in six games this season.
Light-hitting catcher Andrew Knizner, who played for the Cardinals from 2019-23, burned his former team for three hits on Wednesday. Knizner greeted reliever Gordon Graceffo with an RBI single in the eighth inning after St. Louis had pulled within 3-2 a half inning earlier.
Giants' manager Tony Vitello, a St. Louis native and a Cardinals fan while graduating from nearby DeSmet High School and the University of Missouri, notched a series win in his first trip back to Busch Stadium as an MLB manager.
The Cardinals were blanked most of the day before getting some help from the Giants (64-89) in the seventh inning. Walker scored St. Louis’ first run of the day after a throwing error by shortstop Christian Koss, and Thomas Saggese scored following a wild pitch by reliever Trent Harris. Saggese reached base when reliever Carson Seymour dropped a throw from Bryce Eldridge while covering the first base bag.
Wetherholt, who had been on the Injured List since Aug. 30, was activated on Wednesday morning. Because there are no opportunities to send the 23-year-old second baseman out for a Minor League rehab, the team is treating Wetherholt’s return as a mini-rehab. He was pulled after just six innings by design after going 0 for 3 with two fly outs and a strikeout.
Liberatore walked the first two batters of the game, but that belied how well he pitched on another steamy day at Busch Stadium. Liberatore limited the Giants to six hits and one earned run, while walking three and striking out two. Liberatore limited the Giants to 0 for 7 hitting with runners in scoring position, and the only run allowed scored as the Cards were turning a double play where the force was taken off after touching first base.
Liberatore’s first strikeout of the day was a big one. He got Jonah Cox looking on a slow curveball for the second out of the fifth inning after Andrew Knizner and Scott Bandura led off the inning with a single and a double. Liberatore then escaped unscathed by getting Eldridge to ground out to first base.
"That (strikeout of Cox) was huge because I definitely didn't want to give in and serve him up something over the plate that was easy to hit," Liberatore said. "I had a left-on-left matchup on deck, but I don't think Eldridge is exactly the guy you pitch around somebody to get to. So, making that pitch there and it froze him, that was a big pitch -- maybe the biggest pitch of the game."
