Cardinals’ positive vibe and consistently playing good baseball could mean a great October

Over more than six months and 162 games of a baseball season, it’s natural for a team’s energy to ebb and flow. Perhaps the biggest difference between those inside the game and those who observe it as fans is the ability of the former group to put frustrations away and stay focused on the bigger picture.

That perspective, though, can feel like complacency if a team isn’t careful. And there can also be a degree of waiting and anticipation ahead of major turning points in the schedule that can bleed over onto the field.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost 6-3 to the Texas Rangers on Monday night in a game that dragged through nearly three hours and felt flat and anxious. They then roared to an 8-1 win on Tuesday and a 10-1 win on Wednesday, looking all the while like a revitalized, rejuvenated contender.

“We’ve been playing good baseball, but yesterday had a certain energy to it,” Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said before Wednesday’s game. “They had a little bit more ‘F you’ to it. I enjoyed it.”

That shift coincided with the return of Tommy Pham and his game-clinching grand slam, followed Wednesday by three hits, two runs scored and two more runs batted in. Acquired to mash lefties, in a very small sample, Pham has done exactly that. But his two-run double on Wednesday came against a righty, and the hitting is only a part of why he was brought in.

He was acquired, in part, to simply be himself, and to embody the attitude that his new manager saw in his new and former team.

“Yeah, that’s just the mentality I kind of have already,” Pham said. “Nobody’s going to give it to you. You’ve gotta go out there and take it.”

Finding that fire in the right mix has been a focus of the Cardinals since the offseason. Each of Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn were brought in not only for innings, but also because their personalities and leadership styles were valued.

Those acquisitions have proven to be shrewd, even as Lynn hits the injured list with an inflamed right knee. Gibson has provided steady guidance and reassuring words in public even as he’s had several strong starts derailed by a lack of offensive support. Gray’s regimented work is an example in real time of how successful starters navigate a career. Lynn, despite his renowned public cantankerousness, is seemingly an expert in turning the temperature down and making sure a long season’s setbacks are kept in perspective.

Even injured reliever Keynan Middleton, whose one-year deal with a team option leaves him in a position to potentially never pitch a regular season game for the Cardinals, has been an integral part of that cultural reset. He was standing alongside bullpen coach Jamie Pogue on Wednesday watching Michael McGreevy warm up for his major league debut in a spot start despite the odds being stacked against the two of them ever being teammates on the same active roster.

When McGreevy delivered seven strong innings and was doused with water on the field during a postgame interview, it was Gibson and Miles Mikolas delivering the splashdown.

All the good clubhouse vibes in the world aren’t worth five games in the standings, and as the Cardinals maintain that their goal is to chase down the Milwaukee Brewers and win the NL Central, they will have to continue to win games. The two victories over Texas allowed the Cardinals to escape July with a winning record, albeit by one game. That’s progress, but there will need to be more, faster.

Pham, along with Shawn Armstrong and Erick Fedde, will help on the field. That’s why they were brought in. The inspirational boost that comes from making additions, though, is another big piece of the puzzle.

“Anytime your team is trying to get into the postseason and your front office is acquiring talent at the deadline, it gives your team a jolt all the time,” Pham said. “You don’t want to be that team where you feel like you’re going to make it to the postseason and your front office does nothing.

“It’s telling you, like, they don’t think we can do anything. They don’t think we can win. We didn’t get no help. But when you start acquiring talent and you bring them in, it’s like, alright, the front office has our back, so it kind of lights up the clubhouse.”

“Everyone’s human,” Marmol said of the wait for the deadline. “You can kind of feel that a little bit. So yesterday was good to know this is what we’ve got. Here’s what we’re rolling with, and let’s roll.”

The assembly was deliberate. The results in the very early going have been positive. The ultimate stress test will unfold over the coming two months in a chase for a meaningful return to October.