At the start of the year, the St. Louis Cardinals had been written off as an NL Central dud for obvious reasons — John Mozeliak's anemic offseason foremost among them. In many MLB analysts’ perspectives, the Cardinals were set to be a last-place team. Then, something unexpected happened.
In a shocking turn of events, the Cardinals’ offense has broken out in spectacular fashion. Since the start of the season, the Cards have recorded at least 10 hits in every game.
The #stlcards get their 10th hit and now have the National League record with nine consecutive games of at least 10 hits to begin a season.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) April 7, 2025
Cleveland has the record of 10 consecutive, set in 1999.
So there's that. They're losing by 14, though.
Nine consecutive games of 10 hits or more to start the season sets a new NL record, one game shy of the MLB record of 10 owned by Cleveland. The St. Louis batting order is cumulatively hitting for an MLB-best .301 batting average, well ahead of the second-place Yankees, who own a .285 average entering Monday. The Cards' cumulative on-base percentage of .380 also leads MLB, while their home run total of 14 lands them fifth in the league.
But despite having a lightning rod offense, the results where it counts have been less than ideal.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Cardinals off to slow start despite historically hot offense
As great as the lineup has been, the Cardinals still own a 4-5 record on the year, good for third in the NL Central. While they are on pace to outperform their lackluster preseason projections, the Cards are seemingly wasting their fiery offensive production. So, what gives?
To their credit, the Cardinals’ offense is one of the best in the game so far; that much we’ve established. But this stellar offensive performance is paired with some downright dreadful pitching. As a whole, the Cardinals’ pitching staff cumulatively owns an MLB-worst 6.01 ERA. Some of the worst numbers on the team are currently owned by a few of the Cardinals’ stalwart arms in Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas and Erick Fedde.
There is hope, however. It isn’t uncommon for pitchers to start off slowly; both Gray and Fedde pitched well last season and there is more than enough reason to believe they recover. If the pitching staff can heat up and the offense can hold its temperature, the Cardinals will be well on track to exceed all expectations.
Unfortunately, it seems the offense might be stunted for a little while. Ivan Herrera, the team’s primary catcher and standout offensive engine, will spend some time on the injured list with a knee injury. Herrera leads the team with four home runs in just 21 at-bats and owns a .381 batting average. While he shouldn’t miss an extended period of time, this will at least sting in the short term.