What Went Wrong for Cardinals in Heartbreaking Loss to Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals came very close to sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road for the first time since 2018. In fact, Riley O'Brien was two outs away from making that happen before Teoscar Hernandez drove in the winning runs.

St. Louis dropped back under the .500 mark before their series with the Colorado Rockies, though they did obviously still manage to win the series with the Dodgers. Several things went wrong on Thursday night as the Cardinals failed to win the game.

Here is a brief list of everything that plagued St. Louis in the loss to the Dodgers.

Riley O'Brien's struggles continue

Sep 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Riley O'Brien seemed to hit a wall at the end of August. He allowed six unanswered runs to the Philadelphia Phillies on August 23, took the loss against the Baltimore Orioles a few days later, and couldn't get the job done in Los Angeles.

He notched the save on Wednesday night, but Thursday was a different story. In his last 30 games, he is 0-4 with a 4.55 ERA and has watched his ERA for the entire season go up to 4.18. Unfortunately, O'Brien doesn't seem like closer material for St. Louis, so that's something they might want to look into at the end of the season to shore up the bullpen.

Alec Burleson's pinch-hit appearance

The Cardinals knocked Tarik Skubal out of the game in the sixth inning, then the Dodgers went to right-hander Edgardo Henriquez to face Pedro Pages. Oli Marmol countered with Alec Burleson, who is the first left-handed hitter to record 100 or more RBI for the Cardinals in a single season since Jim Edmonds in 2004.

St. Louis was ahead 2-1 and with two outs, had a chance to add on with Burleson at the plate and two runners aboard. Unfortunately, Burleson was called out on strikes, and the Cardinals missed perhaps their best chance to put the game out of reach.

Nothing else happened from there, and the Cardinals ultimately did not have enough to pull off the sweep. It was the right move by Marmol for sure, but it just didn't pan out, and if it had gone differently, the game could have had a better outcome for St. Louis.

Quinn Mathews' pitch count

Quinn Mathews pitched long enough and well enough to win, allowing just one run over five innings. However, his pitch count was a problem. He was already well over 60 pitches before getting out of the third inning. After the Cardinals had a bullpen game on Wednesday, the relief corps was understandably taxed.

But St. Louis needed a little more length out of Mathews, and had they gotten in, perhaps the bullpen would have been a little more rested. There are certainly things that could have gone better in Mathews' start.

Add us as a preferred source on Google