Cardinals Visit Diamondbacks as Trade Deadline Inches Closer

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By True Deck | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have some work to do following the All Star Break. Coming into their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks behind the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs by 6.5 games, Oliver Marmol and the Cardinals have numerous crucial series coming up in their schedule — starting with Arizona.

Alongside the Cubs near the top of the NL Central sit the Milwaukee Brewers, who are just one game behind the Chicago side. The Cincinnati Reds are making a push at the Cardinals, sitting just one game behind St. Louis after a two-game win streak.

The Cardinals — along with the Cubs — land on the easier side of remaining schedules and will look to take advantage before St. Louis finds itself out of the wildcard race.

Friday, July 18, 8:40 p.m. CT
How to watch/listen: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

Probable starters:
Cardinals: Andre Pallante (5-5, 4.49 ERA)
Diamondbacks: TBD

Saturday, July 19, 6:15 p.m. CT
How to watch/listen: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

Probable starters:
Cardinals: Sonny Gray (9-3, 3.5 ERA)
Diamondbacks: TBD

Sunday, July 20, 3:10 p.m. CT
How to watch/listen: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM

Probable starters:
Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (5-6, 4.94 ERA)
Diamondbacks:TBD

What to watch for:

Are the Cardinals going to be deadline buyers or sellers?
Speculation has risen whether the Cardinals are going to make a move that could change the course of the rest of the season. More rumors have risen of the Cardinals being sellers — potentially trading a piece of their bullpen — to build for a future. But St. Louis has easily been one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 MLB season; are the Cardinals ready to give that up?

Can St. Louis replicate its sweep? Can Arizona avoid it?
Last time the two teams met, the Cardinals hosted the Diamondbacks for a three-game series where the added up scores were 14-11 in favor of St. Louis; the Cardinals pulled off the sweep. In three one-possesion contests, St. Louis fans left Busch Stadium happy each night as Arizona fans look to do the same this weekend.

Can Mikolas turn the jets back on?
Just four years removed from being an all-star pitcher for the Cardinals, Mikolas, now 36, has struggled to find consistency on the mound for St. Louis. The right handed pitcher gets another shot with the Cardinals after a 10-day break, with Mikolas' last start coming July 10th.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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