The St. Louis Cardinals have lost each of the first two games of their series against the San Francisco Giants, falling 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Now, they’ll look to avoid the sweep Wednesday afternoon. Ahead of the action, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol made a notable change to his starting lineup involving slugger and first-time All-Star Jordan Walker.
Cardinals Announce Walker Decision
After going 1-for-8 across the first two games of the series, Marmol decided to keep Walker out of the lineup for the finale and give him a day off.
Bryan Torres will start in left field, Nathan Church will play center field and Joshua Báez will start in right field.
Here’s the full Cardinals lineup:
Via Underdog MLB: “Cardinals 9/9 B. Torres LF I. Herrera DH A. Burleson 1B L. Bernal C J. Báez RF N. Gorman 3B T. Saggese 2B M. Winn SS N. Church CF.”
Cardinals 9/9
B. Torres LF
I. Herrera DH
A. Burleson 1B
L. Bernal C
J. Báez RF
N. Gorman 3B
T. Saggese 2B
M. Winn SS
N. Church CFA. Pallante SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 9, 2026
Walker’s 2026 Season
Walker is in his fourth season with the Cardinals, and he’s having the best year of his career despite slowing down a bit after the All-Star break following his Home Run Derby victory.
He’s currently hitting .282 across 142 games and 557 at-bats, recording 90 runs, 157 hits, 28 home runs and 100 RBIs while slugging .490 with a .828 OPS.
Cardinals Right Now
St. Louis has struggled since mid-July. And they’ve put itself in a tough position with just 16 games remaining in the regular season.
The Cardinals are now 72-74 overall, leaving them six games out of the final Wild Card spot. Barring a late-season miracle, St. Louis appears headed for a fourth consecutive season without a postseason appearance.
St. Louis Cardinals Announce Sudden Jordan Walker Decision During Giants Series