Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals-Dodgers Showdown Included Improbable Web-Gem

The Cardinals may not be dead in the water yet...
Patrick McAvoy|
Jul 8, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) celebrates with catcher Pedro Pages (43) after hitting a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 8, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) celebrates with catcher Pedro Pages (43) after hitting a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsLos Angeles Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals had a bit of a sale ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline.

By now, you've likely heard all about it. If you haven't you can just look to the bullpen to see the changes. Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton are no longer with the organization. The Cardinals traded the trio as the club struggled heading into the deadline overall.

You'd think after a sale and placing a star on the Injured List in Nolan Arenado, that a team would struggle out of the gate. It's tough to bounce back from stuff like that. But, St. Louis has won two of three since the deadline, including a gutsy 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. It was a pitcher's duel between Sonny Gray and Tyler Glasnow. Both went seven innings and allowed one earned run each. From there, both bullpens held up for the most part. St. Louis was able to squeak to runs in, though, and come away on top.

One thing that certainly helped with this was an incredible diving play in the ninth inning by Lars Nootbaar to secure the first out of the inning. The video is better than any description, so check it out below.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had nothing but praise for the Cardinals outfielder after the play, as transcribed by MLB.com's John Denton.

"Nootbaar, I don't know the out probability on that one, but he went a long way to make that play," Roberts said. "They get a jam shot to go ahead, and they make a great play against us, and we don't get that flair. You got to give credit to those guys. Nootbaar made a heck of a play."

What a night and what a win.

More MLB: Dodgers Complete Post-Trade Deadline Move; Land Cardinals Slugger

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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