Cardinals' Oliver Marmol Talks Frustrations After Stunning Walk-Off Loss

The St. Louis Cardinals nearly opened up the second half of the MLB season with a series win over the Atlanta Braves, but fell just short with an 8-7 extra-innings loss.

The Cardinals collapsed in their 8-7 loss on Sunday despite boasting a seven-run lead heading into the sixth inning. St. Louis got out to an early lead with Blaze Jordan, Alec Burleson and Iván Herrera each recorded three hits, but the bullpen fell apart after starting pitcher Andre Pallante was pulled.

Cardinals lose series to Braves after late collapse

Busch Stadium general vie — Jun 27, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium during the seventh inning of a between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There were some positives in the Cardinals' loss, but with only a couple of weeks until the impending trade deadline, every game matters, and losing one after being up by so much can't happen again. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol opened up on the frustrations of their stunning loss to the Braves and how the team's process should be good enough to produce results.

“I’ll tell you one thing: There’s a lot of learning opportunities in that one,” Marmol said following the Cardinals' loss on Sunday, per MLB.com's Michael Reynolds. “It stings. It sucks. No one is more disappointed than me, but at the end of the day, we gave that one away.

"Especially in a game where you can do everything right and still have it not go your way, it’s good to have someone come behind you and let you know that the process was right and just to keep going. Fans should only care about the result, in my opinion. Our process should be good enough that it produces good results. Fans get to taste the final product and tell us if it’s good or not, so they should only care about the result. I’m OK with that.”

Though the Cardinals are still holding onto the third wild-card playoff spot, the next couple of series will likely make all the difference for the direction of their season. If St. Louis manages to string together some wins in the next couple of weeks, it would make it far more likely that the team would be buyers at the trade deadline.

However, if the Cardinals face a second-half falloff like they did last season, that could completely alter their plans. Marmol's comments seemed relatively tame after the poor collapse St. Louis faced against Atlanta, but the team's process has led them to succeed this season despite low expectations.

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