2 Things Cardinals Must Do to Stop Losing Streak

Jun 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore (32) pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

2 Things Cardinals Must Do to Stop Losing Streak

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Jun 27, 2026 2:00 PM ET

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The St. Louis Cardinals have played better than expected this season, especially when considering that they are a rebuilding club. They are five games above the .500 mark and are in playoff position with the month of June coming to a close soon.

However, they have lost three consecutive games, and it is fair for fans to wonder if the team might be coming back down to earth. The team can still certainly make the playoffs, but they'll need to turn things around quick with a tough schedule in the month of July.

Here are two things they must do.

Get Matthew Liberatore out of the the rotation

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Matthew Liberatore was the Cardinals opening day starter. However, he has not performed well or lived up to the expectations surrounding him. Instead, he allowed six runs in his last start and watched his ERA increase to 5.56.

The Cardinals have better options in the minor leagues that can replace him. They have Hunter Dobbins, Brycen Mautz and Quinn Mathews, all of whom could easily step into a rotation spot and get some experience.

But the Liberatore experiment has not gone well for St. Louis, and it's past time to put an end to it before things get worse for the Cardinals. In fact, Liberatore owns a 10.34 ERA in the month of June, so there just isn't any point in leaving him in the rotation.

Call up Joshua Baez and send Jimmy Crooks down

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Offensively, the Cardinals have struggled lately, and they also have stopped playing Jimmy Crooks. Sending him down to work on his hitting might be a good idea for the Cardinals. Instead of having him catch, the could make Ivan Herrera the primary catcher and leave the designated hitter spot open.

The best player to fill that role might just be outfielder Joshua Baez. The Cardinals No.3 prospect is hitting .270/.339/.617 with a .956 OPS, 26 home runs and 65 RBI. They already have Lars Nootbaar, Nathan Church and Jordan Walker in the outfield spots, but just having Baez in the lineup could change so many things for St. Louis and potentially even get them back on track offensively.

It will be interesting to see what Baez can do, but there is little more he needs to learn at the minor league level. Inserting him into the lineup could give St. Louis a huge offensive boost as they look to turn things around.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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