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St. Louis Cardinals magic runs out as season suddenly ends in Phillies sweep

A St. Louis Cardinals fan cheers on the team during a playoff game against Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.
Wayne Pratt
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Fans cheer the Cardinals on Friday in their playoff opener against Philadelphia.

The St. Louis Cardinals season ended over the weekend with a thud at Busch Stadium.

The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Cards out of the playoffs with a 2-0 victory Saturday night and a 6-3 win the day before. St. Louis gave up 6 runs in a ninth-inning collapse Friday.

The losses followed a regular season in which St. Louis won the National League Central Division, giving many fans hope that the team could once again achieve World Series glory.

A year of striking numbers

Slugger Albert Pujols became only the fourth player in major league history to hit 700 career home runs, and catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright set a record for starting combinations with their 325th game together.

The Cardinals attracted roughly 46,000 fans for each of their playoff games against Philadelphia on Oct. 7 and 8, 2022.
Wayne Pratt
/
St. Louis Public Radio
The Cardinals attracted more than 45,000 fans for each of their playoff games against Philadelphia.

But the success didn’t extend into the postseason against Philadelphia.

“We didn't beat ourselves. They beat us,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said shortly after his first season guiding the team came to an end in front of 48,515 fans.

That’s the largest crowd in playoff history at Busch Stadium, and not everyone in the stands went home disappointed.

“I mean, you’re in baseball heaven, watching two teams battle. I’m just glad we’re on the winning side for once," said Phillies fan Jon Wells, a student at St. Louis University.

He grew up near Philadelphia and vividly remembers 2011, when St. Louis knocked Philadelphia out of the playoffs.

“We are Cardinals fans, unless they’re playing the Phillies," Wells said. "We keep the allegiances close to home.”

A time for Phillies fans

Philadelphia native Alex Hammell drove to St. Louis from Nashville for Saturday’s game, which he regarded as a typical performance for this year’s Phillies.

“They’re the resilient Phillies. They don’t back out of games. They come back. The fightin’ Phillies we call them,” he said.

Hammell was wearing a Phillies shirt in a sea of Cardinals red after Saturday’s series clincher.

Lisa DeWitt was in that throng of St. Louis fans. She and her husband, Bradley, drove from Iowa to spend their third anniversary weekend watching playoff baseball at Busch.

“We’re just diehard fans of the game,” she said, noting a magical final season for Molina and Pujols.

“We could always say we saw their last all-time game at Busch Stadium. That’s something I’ll always remember.”

Somber departures

Molina has fond memories of Cardinals followers now that his career is over.

“I appreciate all the fans for all their support for many years,” he said shortly after Saturday’s loss.

“I’ll miss them.”

One of the many Cards fans who came out for the playoffs at Busch Stadium in Oct. 2022 and to watch the final games of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols.
Wayne Pratt
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Cards fans saw the final games played by Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols.

Pujols will remember his teammates. He admits the weekend was a disappointing way for his Hall of Fame career to end.

“The team that we had and the chance that we had this year to hopefully bring a championship, and it didn’t happen,” he said.

As Pujols and Molina move on, St. Louis fans are reflecting on their accomplishments, while thinking about next season.

The Cardinals' first 2023 spring training game is Feb. 25 in Florida.

Follow Wayne on Twitter: @WayneRadio

Wayne Pratt is the Broadcast Operations Manager and former morning newscaster at St. Louis Public Radio.