The St. Louis Cardinals are struggling to stay relevant after being a model of consistency for so long.

Evan Carter hasn’t been overwhelmed since jumping right into the playoff chase with the Texas Rangers.

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina have played their final games with the Cardinals, who were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League wild-card series.

The Phillies scored six times in the ninth inning off the stingy St. Louis bullpen, highlighted by a bases-loaded single by Jean Segura, and Philadelphia beat the NL Central champion Cardinals 6-3 in the opening game of their National League wild-card series.

Albert Pujols hit his 698th home run, a tying two-run drive in the sixth inning that sparked the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 6-5.

Paul Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman homered, and St. Louis scored the winning run when Tyler O’Neill was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, leading the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Adam Wainwright pitched seven spotless innings with longtime catcher Yadier Molina back behind the plate, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0.

When Juan Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year deal to stay with the Washington Nationals, it ensured Tuesday’s trade deadline would have a little juice.

It would take a blockbuster deal for the Detroit Tigers to trade Tarik Skubal, their most valuable player. But two of the most dialed-in MLB insiders are reporting it could happen before next week’s trade deadline.

Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera slammed the ball to the ground in frustration when he was removed from the game, prompting a stern response from manager Oliver Marmol moments before St. Louis closed out a 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Red Sox lefty Chris Sale is set to make his season debut when he starts against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

Kyle Gibson kept the ball in the park against St. Louis this time, Alec Bohm broke a scoreless tie with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies edged the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0.

Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning for the first walkoff RBI of his major league career, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals over Cincinnati 5-4 in yet another Reds bullpen collapse.

Shane McClanahan pitched eight superb innings to win his fifth consecutive start and the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-1 victory.

Matt Swarmer followed up his first major league start with his first big-league win and Frank Schwindel homered in a three-hit showing to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

Paul Goldschmidt homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, Corey Dickerson went deep twice, and the St. Louis Cardinals pounded the Chicago Cubs 14-5.

Hours after the Mets learned Max Scherzer will join fellow ace Jacob deGrom on the injured list, Pete Alonso kept New York rolling with a two-run homer in the 10th inning for a 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina set a major league record for wins by a starting battery as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the San Francisco Giants 15-6 in a game that ended with longtime slugger Albert Pujols on the mound.

Rylan Bannon became just the third Baltimore player since 2000 to get a hit on the first pitch of his big league career, Jorge Mateo and Anthony Bemboom homered and the Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2.

The New York Mets’ hit-by-pitch frustrations boiled over when reliever Yoan López threw a pitch near Nolan Arenado’s head, sparking a benches-clearing brawl that led to Arenado’s ejection in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 10-5 victory.

Nolan Arenado hit three doubles and a single, Paul DeJong homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2.

Rookie of the Year winners Randy Arozarena and Yordan Álvarez and All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette were among 16 players whose contracts were renewed by their teams rather than reach negotiated agreements.

Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays has won AL Rookie of the Year honors, following up his 2020 postseason heroics with a stellar 2021 season.

Dylan Carlson, Nolan Arenado and Jose Rondon homered to back Adam Wainwright, and the St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to 17 games and clinched an NL wild card berth with a 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record with their 15th straight win, boosted when catcher Yadier Molina and center fielder Harrison Bader helped pull off a wild double play in an 8-5 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill homered as the St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th straight game, extending their lead for the second NL wild-card spot and beating the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers 10-2.

Adam Wainwright won his fifth straight start in a rare matchup of 40-year-old pitchers, and the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the New York Mets 7-0.

Daniel Vogelbach delivered a pinch-hit grand slam off Alex Reyes to cap a five-run rally in the ninth inning that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Miguel Cabrera and Robbie Grossman hit back-to-back home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 interleague victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Six St. Louis relievers combined to allow three runs in seven innings, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the Cardinals hung on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6, completing a three-game sweep.

Franmil Reyes homered twice, the first a second-inning blast that bounced out of Progressive Field and almost dinged a bicyclist pedaling past on the street, and the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2.

Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5.

Max Kranick pitched five perfect innings in his major league debut before a 64-minute rain delay forced him from the game, and the Pittsburgh Pirates went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2.

The Detroit Tigers are hosting the St. Louis Cardinals for a brief interleague series this week, so we might as well talk about how these two appear to be perfect trade partners ahead of the deadline.

The Detroit Tigers are hosting the St. Louis Cardinals for a brief interleague series this week, so we might as well talk about how these two appear to be perfect trade partners ahead of the deadline.

Braves starter Charlie Morton has not allowed a hit through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cody Bellinger had a grand slam and six RBIs as the Dodgers scored their most runs in one inning of a regular-season game since moving to Los Angeles, piling up 11 in the bottom of the first during a 14-3 blowout over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chris Taylor drove in three runs with a tiebreaking double that capped a 14-pitch at-bat in the sixth inning, rallying the Los Angeles Dodgers past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 to snap a three-game skid.

Adam Wainwright came off the COVID-19 injured list and hung tough, St. Louis got a lights-out performance from its bullpen and the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-5 for their fifth straight win.

Zack Wheeler took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Rhys Hoskins homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1.

Max Scherzer struck out nine in six scoreless innings to move up to No. 21 on the career Ks leaderboard, and Alex Avila drove in the game’s lone run with one of his two doubles, helping the Washington Nationals edge the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0.

Kyle Schwarber doubled in a run in his delayed Nationals debut, Andrew Stevenson had a pinch-hit homer and Washington beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.

Nolan Arenado hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning of his home debut with the Cardinals, lifting St. Louis over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 as fans returned to Busch Stadium for the first time since 2019.

SETBACK IN THE BULLPENBlue Jays right-hander Kirby Yates will miss several weeks because of a strained muscle in his forearm. He allowed one run and five hits, striking out five without a walk. Ross Stripling struck out seven and walked none in 3 2/3 innings, but gave up three runs and five hits. Bryan Abreu, a top Astros pitching prospect who turns 24 next month, started and pitched three perfect innings, striking out four. Baltimore starter John Means allowed four hits and walked three over 3 2/3 innings, striking out three.

Trevor Williams went five innings in his fourth start, allowing a run on three hits. Austin Gomber made his fourth start for Colorado, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out four in 4 1/3 innings. Dylan Cease made his second start, allowing three hits and three walks in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Matthew Boyd made his fourth start, allowing one run on four hits and a walk in four innings, striking out five. Tyler Anderson went five innings in his fourth start for Pittsburgh, giving up one run on two hits.

—INF Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates: Hayes, 24, provided some hope for lowly Pittsburgh in September, batting .376 with five homers in 24 games. The slick-fielding son of former big league infielder Charlie Hayes was selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2015 amateur draft. 6 pick in the 2018 amateur draft batted .291 with 23 homers over three minor league stops in 2019. —OF Ryan Mountcastle, Baltimore Orioles: Mountcastle made his major league debut on Aug. 21 and batted .333 with five homers and 23 RBIs in 35 games. Kim batted .306 with 30 homers, 109 RBIs and 23 steals for the KBO League's Kiwoom Heroes last season.

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., center, celebrates with teammates after the Padres defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in Game 3 of a National League wild-card baseball series Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in San Diego. San Diego became the first team in baseball history to use eight or more pitchers in three straight postseason games. The Padres rewarded their long-suffering fans by winning one of the most meaningful games of any kind in San Diego in a long time. The city’s only major professional championship remains the San Diego Chargers’ 1963 AFL title. The Padres lost 4-1 to the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series and were swept by the New York Yankees in the 1998 Fall Classic.

The Cardinals need one more win to eliminate the Padres from the postseason for the fourth time since 1996. San Diego native Tommy Edman singled and Goldschmidt homered to left. Dylan Carlson doubled, 38-year-old Yadier Molina hit an RBI single and Paul DeJong doubled before Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly. Paddack allowed three straight hits to open the third, including DeJong’s RBI single, before being replaced by Matt Strahm. Dexter Fowler hit an RBI single in the ninth off Trevor Rosenthal, who started his big league career with the Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals' Harrison Bader celebrates after scoring during the third inning in the second game of a baseball doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)ST. LOUIS Backup catcher Matt Wieters acknowledges he might have to get in better shape for the St. Louis Cardinals. Wieters hit 14 foul balls during a grueling 19-pitch at-bat that finished with a deep flyout with the bases loaded during a wild rally that sent the Cardinals over the Minnesota Twins 6-4 Tuesday night for a doubleheader split. Wieters set the Cardinals record for a plate appearance in that span, topping 17 pitches seen by Rick Ankiel in 2008. Everyone says St. Louis is a baseball town, and my father absolutely was a baseball guy.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright delivers during the first inning of a baseball game Cleveland Indians, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)ST. LOUIS Adam Wainwright turned back the clock with a complete game on his 39th birthday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 Sunday. St. Louis had mustered just three runs in the past 28 innings before the outburst. He was very sharp.PITCHING CYCLEWith the start against the Indians, Wainwright has made at least one versus every team except the Cardinals. Cardinals: RHP Dakota Hudson (0-2, 3.32 ERA) begins a three-game series in Cincinnati when he faces RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-1, 5.71) on Monday night.

CHICAGO After weeks of uncertainty, John Mozeliak watched the St. Louis Cardinals drop off their rental cars and prepare for work. Today feels very much like opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals, and there's a lot of excitement right now in that clubhouse, Mozeliak said. The Cardinals headed into the weekend having played all of five games this season, winning two. But, after what they confronted while they were away, the Cardinals were looking on the positive side. Yes, Mozeliak said.

Playing its first game since July 29, St. Louis looked much sharper than Chicago while improving to 3-3 on the season. Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright (2-0) pitched five innings of one-run ball in his second start of the year. The White Sox finished with just three hits two for Danny Mendick and never recovered after Lucas Giolito (1-2) got off to a shaky start. White Sox: RHP Reynaldo Lpez (shoulder soreness) threw Friday and is scheduled for another session Monday. Cardinals right-hander Dakota Hudson (0-1, 8.31 ERA) and White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel (2-2, 3.04 ERA) get the ball for the series finale Sunday.