The St. Louis Cardinals are still searching for that elusive spark. They didn’t find it Monday night despite a ninth-inning rally. The Cards found a way to lose to the Atlanta Braves. The writing is on the wall. It reads in bright neon letters, “This just isn’t our year.” Not a team coached by Oli Marmol and a front office run by John Mozeliak.
Or maybe not. After a more than shaky start, the Cards are on a roll and Marmol just might be campaigning for Manager of the Year.
After a tough four-game sweep in New York, the Cardinals rolled into Atlanta looking to reset against the Braves. And for much of the night, it looked like they might do just that. St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning and carried a one-run advantage into the eighth. Alas, a late surge from Atlanta flipped the script.
The Braves put up five runs in the eighth, capitalizing on a tough outing from reliever Phil Maton, who took the loss after surrendering four earned runs, despite a near perfect start to the season. That outburst put St. Louis in a 7-3 hole heading into the ninth.
But the Oli Marmol led Cardinals didn’t fold
Instead, they mounted a late charge—plating three runs in the ninth and putting pressure on Atlanta’s bullpen. The comeback was cut short in dramatic fashion when Nolan Arenado was tagged out at the plate, trying to scratch across the tying run after making contact on a wild play.
The game wasn’t all doom and gloom.
Starter Erick Fedde turned in a solid effort, allowing just two runs over six innings. Offensively, St. Louis showed flashes, but the bullpen faltered late—again raising questions among fans hungry for a turnaround.
Alas, second place in a baseball game doesn’t come with a participation trophy or even one of those little red ribbons.
The fire from the fanbase has been heating up, especially toward manager Oliver Marmol, who was ejected in the eighth inning after a heated exchange with the home plate umpire over balls and strikes. The move drew plenty of attention—and backlash—across social media. Fans aired frustrations about the team’s recent skid and postseason drought since John Mozeliak promoted Oli Marmol to Manager in 2022.
#FireMozeliak and #FireMarmol indeed are likely to be trending more and more as time goes on.
