The Cardinals youth-filled starting staff pitched better than most expected while collectively posting the National League's sixth-best ERA at 4.17. However, a bullpen that had a 4.40 ERA and blew 30 saves needs repairs for the Cards to take another step in 2027.
To get to where they want to go again – back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022 – the St. Louis Cardinals will likely need to address a leaky bullpen and get more growth from a young starting staff that held its own for long stretches of the 2026 season.
While the Cardinals’ starting staff compiled a 4.17 ERA that ranked sixth in the National League, their bullpen ERA swelled 4.40 and 11th in the NL. First-time All-Star closer Riley O’Brien tied with Padres’ star Mason Miller for the NL lead in saves with 38, but the Cardinals still ranked tied for third in MLB with 30 blown saves. Only the Nationals (42) and Tigers (32) had more blown saves than the Cards (30) and White Sox (30).
As a whole, the Cardinals pitching staff finished 11th in the NL in ERA (4.26), tied for 12th in hits allowed (1,392), 10th in earned runs (683), 10th in walks (564), 10th in strikeouts (1,278) and 13th in batting average allowed (.254).
While Cardinals’ hitters certainly struggled at spacious Busch Stadium, their pitchers benefitted from working games there. Cards pitchers had a 4.11 ERA at home, compared to a 4.42 ERA on the road. St. Louis pitchers allowed just 64 homers at Busch Stadium – the least in the NL at home – compared to the 94 long balls they surrendered on the road.
Andre Pallante, who struggled through a miserable 2025 season and lost his last eight decisions, authored a strong bounce back in 2026 with a 12-9 record and a 3.83 ERA. Pallante, who went 5-0 over a six-start stretch from May 23 to June 22, notched his 12th win of the season on Aug. 5, but he didn’t win again over his final seven starts. Four times, he got no decisions when the bullpen struggled late in games. His ERA took several hits down the stretch after the Cards were eliminated when he allowed 13 earned runs over his final three starts.
“It was really gratifying to pitch well this season,” Pallante said. “I worked really hard during the offseason to have a good year. Last year, it was tough showing up at the ballpark every day when you don’t feel confident and the team is losing. It’s an extremely hard thing to do and I don’t wish that upon anybody. But I am grateful to come out on the other side of it and I feel like I know myself better than I did before. I don’t feel like I will ever get to that place again because I have learned who I am. It’s nice to be in this position now and share my experience with the guys around me and let them know what I went through and help them. I’m just grateful that the organization gave me another opportunity.”
Making the transition from the bullpen to the starting staff, Kyle Leahy started slowly while figuring out how to get through a lineup three times. However, he hit his groove in late June and had a 12-start stretch where he never allowed more than two earned runs. The Cardinals curtailed his workload drastically down the stretch and he finished 10-5 with a 3.66 ERA.
“You’re never as good as you think you are when things are going well and you’re never as bad as you think when you are struggling,” surmised Leahy. “I had to learn a lot of little things – how to use my arsenal, how to diversify my usages and pitching to my strengths. And it was just a matter of getting used to the amount of pitches again while starting. I had confidence that I could do this from the success I had before in the big leagues (as a reliever) and I’m a totally different pitcher now than I was when I was in the Minor Leagues, and I’m different now than I was at the beginning of the year. It’s just an ever-evolving process.”
Michael McGreevy was just 7-9 with a 3.95 ERA over 31 starts, but he was often the victim of little run support. McGreevy easily led the team in Quality Starts with 16, six more than that of Pallante and Dustin May, who was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 3 at the MLB Trade Deadline.
Matthew Liberatore, who was the club’s choice as its Opening Day starter, suffered through the worst year of his career. Not only did he go 6-14 with a 5.23 ERA, but he also allowed 28 homers. The 26-year-old left-hander, who has vowed to study his pitch mix and the shapes of his pitches over the offseason, did win his final start of the year in Pittsburgh on September to break an eight-game losing streak over an 11-start stretch.
Quinn Mathews, who has had to learn how to not be so hard on himself by obsessing over his shortcomings, pitched well over nine starts and should be in contention for a starting slot in 2027. So, too should fellow left-hander Cooper Hjerpe who made it back from Tommy John surgery in April of 2025 to pitch in his first four MLB games. Hjerpe, who throws the ball from a lower arm slot, showed a unique ability to get swing-and-miss (15 strikeouts), but he also needs to refine his mechanics to reduce his wildness (nine walks and two hit batters).
Gordon Graceffo (8-2, 2.67 ERA) was a breakout performer in the bullpen as he pitched more high-leverage innings, while George Soriano (6-5, 4.23 ERA) thrived for a long stretch before wearing down late in the season.
What to make of the season for O’Brien? He set career highs in appearances (66), saves (38), innings (64) and strikeouts (64) in the finest season of his MLB career. However, a poor second half caused his ERA to spike to 4.08 and led to him blowing eight saves and compiling a 3-9 record.
“I’ve learned that you just have to flush every game – whether it’s good or bad – but sometimes that’s easier said than done, especially over (September) when things didn’t go as well,” O’Brien said. “But I’m just trying to use everything from this season as a learning experience and stick to my process to stay ready to go when the team calls on me.”
