Cardinals Didn't Lose Faith in Riley O'Brien Despite Loss to Dodgers

The Cardinals didn't give up on their All-Star closer.

Sep 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) reacts with catcher Leo Bernal (13) after the game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals were just a few outs away from what would have been one of their most demoralizing losses of the season. It wasn't until a home run by Ivan Herrera that things changed.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, St. Louis turned to Riley O'Brien, who had blown a save against the Los Angeles Dodgers the night before. This time, O'Brien was himself again and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to secure the save.

After the game, manager Oli Marmol discussed O'Brien's outing and shared that not only did the Cardinals not lose faith in him, but O'Brien insisted on being out there for the ninth for a chance at redemption.

I thought Oli Marmol's comments to Chip Caray about Riley O'Brien's bounce back tonight were worth sharing after some of the things I saw on social media last night.

Regarding the Cardinals closer, Marmol told Caray:

"We had him down today and he called about the 6th inning and…
— Brenden Schaeffer🎳 (@bschaeffer12) September 5, 2026

Cardinals granted O'Brien chance at redemption

With Thursday night's loss, O'Brien had watched his ERA climb to 4.18, and it wasn't even the first time this year that he had let a game slip through his fingers. A similar situation took place in Philadelphia last month, when the Cardinals held a 4-0 lead but let the lead slip away, leading to a Phillies comeback win.

However, O'Brien clearly didn't want to be bothered by his last start and had a short a memory. He proved just that with his solid outing on Friday. While the ERA still sits at 4.11, he does have 36 saves on the season, and he is close to the top of the National League in that category and was an All-Star back in July, so it's not as if this season hasn't been a success for him.

Obviously, he has run into some problems lately, but it's clear that the Cardinals were more than willing to put him back out there for the ninth inning on Friday despite his loss on Thursday. They never lost faith in him, and he had a short memory and went straight back to work in order to secure the win for the Cardinals.

This is a good sign for 2027, as by then, O'Brien will have a full season of closing under his belt and a chance to reinvent himself in the offseason. That could give him a major advantage for 2027 as he tries to remain the team's closer and build off of the success that he has already had this year.

Friday's save was a good first step. He'll look to finish the season strong and build some momentum going into 2027.

Add us as a preferred source on Google