Despite struggling as a group for most of July, the St. Louis Cardinals continue to hang close in the National League playoff picture.
Their next chance to make progress comes Sunday afternoon in the decisive contest of a three-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
To make a genuine postseason push over the final third of the regular season, the Cardinals will need production from slugger Ivan Herrera like he provided in their most recent victory.
Herrera went 2-for-4 from the cleanup spot Saturday night, lining a two-run double to help the Cardinals pull away for a 7-0 victory.
Herrera also caught right-hander Andre Pallante, who allowed two hits and tied a season high with eight strikeouts over seven innings.
After starting the month with an 8-13 record prior to Saturday's win, the Cardinals closed within 1 1/2 games of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot.
"We've struggled with the offense, but we came up big today," Herrera said. "It's good to see guys coming up clutch."
Herrera batted .284 with 19 home runs and a .464 slugging percentage in 2025, which led to big expectations at the plate. His production has not quite matched them -- yet. While Herrera was named to the National League All-Star squad, but he's not performing like teammates Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson or rookie JJ Wetherholt.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he's hopeful that Herrera's swing is coming around. He hit two balls with exit velocities of 102 mph or faster against the Reds, including his double in the sixth against right-hander Hunter Greene that put the Cards on the path to a six-run inning.
"Things he's been working on, he's been able to carry over to the game," Marmol said. "His misses were what they needed to be and his hits were too. A good combo.
"When he's going well, it's certainly helpful."
Four trailing teams are within 1 1/2 games of the Cardinals, who send right-hander Kyle Leahy (7-4, 3.59 ERA) to the mound on Sunday against left-hander Andrew Abbott (5-6, 3.89) in the series finale.
Leahy allowed one run on three hits in six innings of a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.
He also recorded a pair of no-decisions versus the Reds this season, yielding a total of eight runs on 12 hits over nine innings. He has a 7.11 ERA without a decision in 10 career appearances (two starts) against Cincinnati.
Abbott lost for the second time in his last three outings on Monday despite allowing just one unearned run on four hits in six innings of an 8-0 setback to the Seattle Mariners.
He is 4-4 with a 3.94 ERA in nine career appearances (all starts) versus the Cardinals.
The Reds, who stand six games out of the projected playoff field, are 2-5 against the Cardinals this season.
Cincinnati couldn't muster any rallies against Pallante, and while Greene performed well until the sixth inning, his third trip through the order against the Cards lineup unraveled his night.
"The mistakes he made were mainly with his breaking ball," manager Terry Francona said.
--Field Level Media