Forgotten Cardinals Record Broken By Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage

It's been quite a while since the St. Louis Cardinals were in the World Series.

The last time St. Louis made it to the World Series was in 2013, a six-game defeat at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Before that, the Cardinals made it to the World Series and took down the Texas Rangers in seven games.

All in all, it's been a long time since the Cardinals have been mentioned in the same sentence as the World Series. That's especially been the case with St. Louis missing the playoffs each of the last three seasons. But, St. Louis did get brought up during Wednesday night's Game 5 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays because Blue Jays rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage actually broke a playoff record set by then-Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha all the way back in 2013.

Trey Yesavage's 39 strikeouts this postseason are the most ever by a rookie, breaking Michael Wacha's previous record of 33 in 2013 pic.twitter.com/89aUMVWhq7
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 30, 2025

The Cardinals aren't where they once were

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Talk about a blast from the past, huh? Wacha is still thriving and actually logged a 3.86 ERA this season for the Kansas City Royals in 31 starts. But, he began his career with the Cardinals and was a big piece for this organization for a long time. Wacha's first seven seasons of his big league career were in St. Louis.

The Cardinals haven't been to the playoffs in a bit so it's almost hard to remember the success that the organization had for so long. Back in 2013, Wacha was a rookie and was dominant as the club made it the World Series. He pitched in five postseason games and had a 4-1 record and 2.64 ERA to go along with his 33 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings pitched.

St. Louis isn't playing at that level any longer. The Cardinals lost the 2013 World Series, but seeing stats like this just brings back the memories of how the club dominated the National League for a long time.

That 2013 playoff run was right in the middle of a five-year run when St. Louis made the playoffs each year when there actually were fewer playoff teams than there are now. There was a brief hiatus from 2016-2018, but St. Louis got back into the playoffs from 2019-2022 and hasn't been back since.

The Cardinals have a completely uncertain offseason ahead as well in Chaim Bloom's first offseason as the team's president of baseball operations. There's no telling who will be back and who the club could add. All that is clear is that the Cardinals aren't where they used to be and seeing stats like this brings those feelings back up.

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