Cardinals Climb Way Back To Wild Card Chase; Reach Season-High MLB Power Ranking

St. Louis is starting to look like playoff contenders

Jun 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera (48) and pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) celebrate win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals began this season just as poorly as they did in 2023 and many began to lose hope that this year would be any different than last year's tumultuous season.

Fortunately, the Cardinals began to click following manager Oli Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso's ejections on Mother's Day's 4-3 win against the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers.

Since then, St. Louis has climbed out of last place in the National League Central and is gaining recognition as a playoff contender.

In the latest Major League Baseball power rankings, the Cardinals placed No. 16, according to MLB.com's Will Leitch. "They ran into the (Philadelphia) Phillies buzzsaw this weekend, but the Cardinals have climbed their way back into the Wild Card chase, if not necessarily the NL Central race just yet," Leitch continued.

This latest power ranking for the Cardinals is a considerable jump from their season-low of No. 27 when they were down there with the Chicago White Sox as having the second-lowest scoring offense in all of baseball.

In May, St. Louis' lineup produced 30 home runs -- ranking No. 10 in the league-- and logged the sixth-highest OPS at .725, helping the Cardinals win 13 of their last 18 games.

The recent power surge from the offense has catapulted the Cardinals to second place in the NL Central - still seven games behind Milwaukee -- and if the playoffs took place today, St. Louis would qualify with a wild card spot as they sit a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs.

With the trade deadline of July 30 steadily approaching, there's a lot on the line for St. Louis. If the lineup can't continue to hit as they did last month, some key players could be traded away.

Let's hope the Cardinals can stay healthy and keep winning ball games. It's great that they're back in the race but there's still a lot of baseball left to play.

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