51ºÚÁÏ

Nolan Arenado had just said his goodbye to 51ºÚÁÏ. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol orchestrated a moment on the field for Arenado to receive an unofficial sendoff in the final home game of the season at Busch Stadium last Sunday, and after the game Arenado stood in front of his locker and acknowledged that “change is comingâ€� and that he was “in the way.â€�

It served as a clear example of two sides having decided it’s time to go down separate paths.

CHICAGO — By the time so many of the Cubs had circled the bases and the box-score ink dried on the Cardinals’ losing season, two young relievers needed 72 pitches to get six outs. Gordon Graceffo and Chris Roycroft, two relievers their manager said the club is “going to need,� allowed eight runs and 10 baserunners in the final two innings, and the hope after the loss was they wouldn’t give it a second thought.

“I don’t want them to look too closely at it,� manager Oli Marmol said.

CHICAGO — As they prepare to face the San Diego Padres in the first round of the postseason and still trying to assure they host that best-of-three series, the Cubs put on a show of force Friday with the Cardinals there to wince.

A relatively close game when both starting pitchers were in charge mushroomed into an absolute mess for the Cardinals and a 12-1 romp for the hosts at Wrigley Field.

CHICAGO — By skipping Matthew Liberatore’s final scheduled start of the season and ending the lefty’s first full season in the rotation, the Cardinals open up a game for the reliever they’re eager to see make the same leap as Liberatore in 2026.

The Cardinals plan to avoid using Kyle Leahy, the National League’s leader in relief innings, out of the bullpen so that he can start Sunday’s finale against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Unless Alec Burleson finishes the weekend with a flurry of base hits, the Cardinals will go another season without a .300 hitter.

The Cardinals open their final series of the season Friday with a 1:20 p.m. game vs. the Cubs at Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Within an hour of the Cardinals’ formal, mathematical elimination from the National League playoffs late Wednesday night, starter Sonny Gray delivered a detailed review of his season and how “very strong� he felt at its end. Strong enough, he explained, that if the Cardinals were postseason-bound, he’d be “catching a wind� into October.

Instead, he’ll spend that time deciding if he needs to go elsewhere to get there.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Cardinals rearranged their starting pitchers for one last weekend fling at Wrigley Field, and in doing so gave a glimpse of what they’ve learned about candidates for next year’s rotation – and what they still want (or need) to see.

Miles Mikolas will make his final start of the season and perhaps his final start as a Cardinal on Friday afternoon against the Cubs. Michael McGreevy will move his scheduled start up a day from the finale Sunday to Saturday, and that means he replaces lefty Matthew Liberatore. He is not scheduled to start in the series. The Cardinals are waiting to announce a starter for Sunday, though if available they could turn to Kyle Leahy, a reliever all season who the Cardinals want to prepare to be a starter entering 2026.