CHICAGO 鈥 The renovated home clubhouse at Wrigley Field is posh, far more spacious than before with many modern amenities and even a dash of future-forward design that could boldly go along with the deck of the USS Enterprise of Star Trek fame.
But to see the Friendly Confines from one of Willson Contreras鈥 favorite views follow him outside and back in time.
This past week, the Cardinal who knows the Cubs鈥 ballpark the best because of the seasons he called it home as an All-Star and a World Series champion, Contreras was asked for his favorite things about Wrigley that fans may not know. He started describing the corridors and corners of the clubhouse and other behind-the-scenes spots, when he stopped in his verbal tracks.
鈥淗ave you been up in the scoreboard?鈥 he asked.
Contreras and a few Cubs teammates once made the climb up and beyond the center-field bleachers and into the hand-operated scoreboard that is nearing its 90th birthday.
鈥淚f you get a moment,鈥 Contreras said, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 a great view of the field.鈥
After a threadbare series in Pittsburgh, the Cardinals visit the first-place Cubs for the holiday weekend and their most consequential series of the season (yet). The numbers hung there by hand and peering down on the field will reveal a lot about how much longer the Cardinals will look up to a scoreboard for the direction their season is going. That iconic Wrigley clock is ticking toward the July 31 trade deadline 鈥 when all the talk of 鈥渢ransition鈥 or 鈥渃ontention鈥 is made tangible by action. It鈥檚 a long season but whether the Cardinals spend the final two months looking to the future, as planned, or playing for the present will be clear by the end of this month.
This is the stretch when a team makes a push 鈥 or gets shoved into sell mode.
鈥淭his month is going to be crucial for that,鈥 Contreras said. 鈥淔or the team to decide.鈥
The Cardinals entered this season with a new lens. Instead of a magnifying glass trained on the standings and heating things up, they grabbed a spyglass and pointed it toward the future. The purpose of this year would not be like so many of the previous years 鈥 it would be focused on playing, developing, and evaluating the players who will be part of the next era, one led by Chaim Bloom as president of baseball operations. But, even after their first zero-sum series in Pittsburgh since 1976, the Cardinals remain in the race, five games out in the division and in possession of a wild-card berth with a 1/2-game lead.
Manager Oliver Marmol noted how preparation and strides away from games has 鈥渆xpedited鈥 the production for some young players in games. Asked in Pittsburgh if the long 鈥渞unway鈥 planned for players shifts now to a short window this month to prove they鈥檙e in the mix at the trade deadline, Marmol said being patient has been part of this performance.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e having success from the way we鈥檙e approaching it, and I don鈥檛 think you just flip now to we have to win,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been winning because of the process not because we鈥檙e just strictly trying to win. We鈥檝e committed to a process, and that has lead to winning. So you just stick to it.鈥
He did add that if there has been a shift as July approached it鈥檚 how production shapes playing time, such as Alec Burleson emerging in the past month as an everyday player: 鈥淵ou have to start leaning, tilting toward guys who are performing. That鈥檚 what the last however many games have been about. You need to reward guys who have been taking steps in the right direction.鈥
The Cardinals reach Wrigley after a much-needed day off Thursday that followed a 15-game, 14-day stretch that left them bruised and gasping for runs. In their past 10 games, when they鈥檝e scored at least a run 鈥 just a single run 鈥 they鈥檙e undefeated. But they鈥檝e been shut out five times in the previous nine days, and the lineup lugs a 49-inning scoreless streak against National League teams into their three-day visit. The drought began with back-to-back shutout losses to the Cubs in the four-game series the archrivals split in 51黑料.
The standings didn鈥檛 change during that series.
They are guaranteed to do so in this one. The Cardinals can narrow the deficit down to two games 鈥 or the Cubs can widen it to as many as eight. Push. Or, shove.
鈥淎s a fan of the game that we all are 鈥 we鈥檙e players, but we鈥檙e fans first 鈥 to know if this series goes well, maybe you鈥檙e in the situation where you鈥檙e looking to make that good hard push,鈥 said veteran Miles Mikolas, who will start the Independence Day series opener. 鈥淎nd if things don鈥檛 go well, you be one of those teams looking to bring those young guys up. Can definitely go either way. It is only three games. We are (five) games back, so you close that gap or they can double it. Someone is coming up on top and that adds a little fun to it. Makes each game feel a little more important.
鈥淲e鈥檙e coming into the Fourth of July and that鈥檚 a super-fun weekend,鈥 Mikolas continued. 鈥淔ireworks. Cardinals-Cubs. Everything adds up for it to be a fun series.鈥
When last we saw these rivals, they were spilling out of their dugouts to nearly confront each other on midfield. Contreras had just been struck by a pitch in the ninth inning of the Cubs鈥 second shutout win. He was furious and let the pitcher, Daniel Palencia, know. No contact was made between teams, no skirmish flared. Contreras later apologized for his reaction, explaining how frustrated he was by being hit again by a pitch. He was hit for a 14th time this past week in Pittsburgh, missed a game, and is expected back in time to renew acquaintances with his former team Friday and the fan base that welcomed him to the majors.
Nolan Arenado, who missed two games in Pittsburgh due to a sprained index finger, is also expected back in the starting lineup.
Without those two former All-Stars 鈥 and lacking right-handed depth from Ivan Herrera (hamstring) and Jordan Walker (appendicitis) 鈥 the Cardinals were vulnerable and their offense cratered at PNC Park. In three games, the Cardinals hit .181 as a team with more strikeouts (24) than total bases (23) in 94 at-bats. They finished the series 2-for-23 with runners in scoring position.
Both of those two hits were singles.
Neither of them drove in a run.
There was an interleague series sweep in Cleveland sandwiched between the two division series. But stretch the Cardinals鈥 struggles back to the shutout at the end of the Cubs鈥 series, and the Cardinals have hit .154 as a team in their past five losses and slugged .205. And they鈥檝e hit even worse with runners in scoring position. They鈥檙e 3 for 33 (.091).
All three were singles.
Not one of them drove in a run.
鈥淛ust flush it and move on,鈥 leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan said of the scoreless visit to Pittsburgh and recent struggles. 鈥淲e are on to Chicago.鈥
He said a phrase similar to that three times Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park after the third consecutive shutout. It was repeated elsewhere in the clubhouse, too.
The Cardinals鈥 first visit to their rivals鈥 home comes after the first half of the regular season is over, after they鈥檝e completed both of their scheduled trips to division foe Pittsburgh. It鈥檚 their first visit to Wrigley when both teams have a winning record since 2021. Back then, division rivals would make three trips to see each other, and they had a rhythm to it. The first came while teams were still establishing their identities. The second came when they knew it. And the third came after the trade deadline, when real commitments to contending had been made and directions determined. A series this late in the season, this close to the trade deadline can shape those decisions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a fun weekend, for sure,鈥 Contreras said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big one.鈥
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