Cardinals' Ivan Herrera Provides Brutally Honest Assessment Of Baserunning Blunders

Herrera took accountability for his baserunning mistakes.

Sep 5, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals suffered a tough loss on Wednesday night at the hands of the Seattle Mariners. They lost 4-2 in walk-off fashion as the Mariners completed a three-game sweep over St. Louis. The Cardinals fell to 72-75 on the season and failed to gain any ground in the National League Wild Card race. Several mistakes cost the Cardinals on Wednesday and kept them in their rut heading into their upcoming series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ivan Herrera, who had homered in the top of the first inning, was the automatic runner in the top of the 10th, and he made two crucial mistakes that cost St. Louis a run.

Following the game, Herrera took accountability for his mistakes and gave a blunt assessment of what went wrong.

Cardinals' Ivan Herrera Accepts Blame For Baserunning Mistakes In 10th

Sep 3, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) celebrates with shortstop Masyn Winn (0) after they scored against the Athletics during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"I f—up. The first one, I thought the ball had top spin if it was going to land, which it didn't. I kept thinking about that, and then I f— up again," Herrera said.

Herrera has been one of the few bright spots for the Cardinals in 2025. Despite making two trips to the injured list, the 25-year-old is hitting .279/.363/.450 with 15 home runs, 56 RBI, a 1.6 WAR and an .813 OPS. He also has a 129 OPS+ and has recorded 93 hits in 333 at-bats.

However, his mistakes proved costly in the Cardinals loss to the Mariners on Wednesday night. The Cardinals likely aren't going to make it to the postseason, but they had a chance to play the role of spoiler on the Mariners in Seattle and came up short despite scoring first in all three games.

Herrera is a key piece of the future and is somebody that the Cardinals can build around going forward. He made his Major League debut in 2022 as a catcher and has since become the team's full-time designated hitter. He also has spent time in the outfield.

The Cardinals will want to hold onto him in the offseason rather than trading him, as he is one of the few right-handed bats in the system that has panned out in recent years.

Still, his baserunning mistakes cost the Cardinals dearly on Wednesday as they were swept in Seattle. It will be interesting to see if they can get back on track in Milwaukee.

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