Cardinals Fall to Twins in Sonny Gray's Return to Target Field

The St. Louis Cardinals fell to the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Saturday at Target Field. The two teams have now evened the series for the finale on Sunday.

Here is what you need to know from Saturday's contest

Not So 'Sonny' Return

For the fifth time over his last nine starts, Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray allowed five earned runs in his start on Saturday. He made his return to Minnesota after being in the Twins rotation last season and finishing as the runner-up for the American League Cy Young (behind New York Yankees Gerrit Cole ).

But since Gray has signed a multi-year contract with the Cardinals, he has not shown he still has what it takes to be the staff ace for not only 2024, but the other two seasons he is signed for. On Saturday, Gray allowed five runs on seven hits, including two home runs in the contest. He has now given up eight homers in his last five appearances. He has a 6.75 ERA in July and is up to a 5.10 this month. If the Cardinals plan to be competitive for the rest of the season they must have a better outing from someone they are giving $25 Million a year to until the end of the 2026 season.

A Huge Blow to the Lineup

The Cardinals may have lost their starting catcher for the rest of the regular season on Saturday. Willson Contreas dislocated his finger after being hit by a pitch in the top of the fourth inning against the Twins. It is already determined that he will hit the injured list.

Ivan Herrera will return to the Cardinals clubhouse to take his spot. In his last seven games with Triple-A Memphis, he is hitting .364/.417/.500.

Every Loss Brings More Concern

Basically, every team that is in contention for a playoff spot in the National League won on Saturday except the St. Louis Cardinals. The loss moves them to 64-65 on the season and to third place in the NL Central. They are now 11 games outside the division lead and six games behind the final spot in the Wildcard race.

What's Next

The Cardinals will finish the series at Minnesota on Sunday with the rubber match at Target Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:10 PM EST.