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Here’s a story. A young ballplayer arrives in St. Louis at 20. No one can say his name. He pitches with passion. Fury? Soon, that name is a household name. In 1974, the reliever is fifth in Cy Young voting. In 1975, he’s third (13-3, 1.66 ERA, 22 saves, 97 1/3 innings, all out of the bullpen). Traded to the Royals. Then joins the Braves. But St. Louis, that is where, well, he made his name. Retired, he moves back. Raises a family. Starts doing some Cardinals broadcasting. For 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, now 40 years. He becomes a Cardinals ambassador. He becomes a celebrity in St. Louis sports culture. He becomes … a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

“He’s been here a long time — everybody knows who the Mad Hungarian is,� said former Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox, who pitched on the National League champs in 1985 and 1987 and still lives in the area. “Not only is he great as an alumni, but he's great to (young) guys coming up, guys who have been here in the past — and fans. He does so many events and emceed events throughout the whole city of St Louis and surrounding areas. I mean, for him to be in the Hall of Fame, it’s absolutely earned.�

On Saturday, Hrabosky got his red jacket. He was enshrined in the Cardinals Hall of Fame, along with former shortstop Edgar Renteria, who tallied three All-Star Games and two Gold Gloves in six St. Louis seasons, and the late executive Walt Jocketty, who rejuvenated the Redbirds in the mid-1990s, wooed Mark McGwire to town and built the powerhouse teams of the early-to-mid 2000s, including the world champs in 2006.

But for Hrabosky, 76, this Hall of Fame honor isn’t only because of his years on the mound (or behind it, where he’d first fire himself up to fire fastballs), but also because of his years after. It’s in essence a lifetime achievement award — and he’s one of few men who have devoted their adulthood to the St. Louis Cardinals — and done so with class and charisma.

“Hopefully I'm worthy of being up there with the red jackets — it means everything to me,� Hrabosky said. “I'm proud of my career, and to have the honor to be part of the broadcast team for 40-plus years, and to just witness so many great players and be around them. …

“And I treat the ambassadorship as truly an honor. I'm so proud of the Cardinal organization and what it's done for me. But, you know, it's all about the fans. And anytime I can give back to the fans, I just thoroughly enjoyed being part of their experience.�

You can call him Al. But many refer to him as The Mad Hungarian or Hungo. Alan Thomas Hrabosky became so famous around here, some people don’t call it a “Fu Manchu,� but instead an “Al Hrabosky mustache.� Imagine being that famous in any town. Of course, Al Hrabosky’s Al Hrabosky mustache, once dark and intimidating, is now gray and — who am I kidding? — still intimidating.

Now, one of the coolest things about Hrabosky is that he cares about the Cardinals. Genuinely. Authentically. Al’s all in. And thus, as he explained, “I’ve just fed off the energy of the Cardinal fans. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were a big part of my success, and I thoroughly have enjoyed every minute as an ambassador. I get to go to the ballpark every day, your ego gets fed. You get to go where you used to pitch. And the best part is — my ERA doesn't go up any more.â€�

Over the decades — generations, really — he’s met so many St. Louis people. Infants to elderly. Lifers to transplants. Carpenters to Chris Carpenter. And Hrabosky has a special pride for the troops. Red, one would surmise, is his favorite color, but white and blue must be right up there, too. The annual 'This One's for You' game broadcast was always a beautiful homage to the men and women who serve — and Hrabosky would provide the perfect touch to it.

And over the years, Hrabosky has cherished his encounters with courageous kids.

“I got a text last night from a friend,� Hrabosky said. “He had brought his son's friend, who was one of the longest living cystic fibrosis patients. Said that I made his day, just going down and seeing him during batting practice, and seeing his son. The kid has since passed away, but just how much that meant to the family. And you hear those stories all the time, and it takes you back.�

Hrabosky finished his eight-year Cardinal career with a 40-20 record and a 2.93 ERA. He pitched in 329 games, starting just one. And he logged 451 1/3 innings, back in the days when relievers were seldom relieved.

He and his wife still live in St. Louis. He has two daughters. Six grandchildren. And now, his life’s work for the St. Louis Cardinals will be remembered long after his life.

“(Family members) can walk down that street, see the Hall of Fame and the Maryville Walk of Fame and the plaque there (in Ballpark Village),� Hrabosky said. “They can go over and see the museum. So that is special.�

“It’s in there,� Saggese recalled them saying. “It’s in there, Walk.�

“I told him how good of a hitter he is,� Walker said. “He told me how good of a hitter I am.�

“We can do this,� Saggese responded.

And they did.

Saggese laced a single to center that scored the Cardinals’ first run, and Walker followed by piercing his own personal and prolonged slump with the first walk-off hit of his career. Walker pounced on the first pitch he saw from the Giants’ closer and pulled it down the left field line, off third baseman Matt Chapman’s glove and onto the scoreboard for a two-run double and a 3-2 victory. The Cardinals’ sixth walk-off win of the season ended Walker’s 0-for-25 skid.

His teammates’ euphoric celebration, which found Walker on the field, came at the end of a difficult week when his approach, his swing and his preparation became fodder for articles in publications like this one, talk radio and comments from him, his manager and the hitting coach.

“Cool moment for him,� Saggese smiled.

“He’s had a tough week,� manager Oli Marmol said. “Everyone in this industry at some point is going to go through something publicly that just doesn’t feel great. I think he’s handled it really well. An at-bat like that can instill a lot of confidence in you.�

How the ninth even reached Walker and put him position to end his difficult stretch with that reassuring swing took rebounds and resilience from multiple teammates.

Andre Pallante had not thrown a quality start since July, but opposite Justin Verlander’s six scoreless innings, the Cardinals right-hander did just that. Nolan Gorman struck out three times in his first three at-bats Saturday, but he opened the ninth with a leadoff single that sparked the dramatics. Saggese misplayed the first grounder of the game into an error, and there he was at the end of it to deliver an RBI single that scored Gorman.

And then came Walker.

Trapped in a 0-for-22 free fall when the game started and looking for his first hit in more than a week, Walker had grounded out in three previous at-bats.

“It’s tough, man,� Walker said. “Honestly, it’s tough when things don’t feel as good. In that moment, I couldn’t think of it. I had just one goal and one approach that I had to think about.�

The Giants had won 11 of their previous dozen games, and in a win Friday, they peppered the Cardinals with 18 hits. Pallante cooled the Giants by limiting them to two runs on five hits through six innings. Pallante complicated some of his innings with two hit batters and two wild pitches — and those only contributed to the ragged feel of the game at times.

The offense didn’t help.

When Verlander responded to the hit batters by plunking Masyn Winn, the Giants then committed an error to give the Cardinals a chance to capitalize. A ground out ended that idea.

In the fifth, a single by Victor Scott II and a broken-bat single by Jose Fermin got the top of the lineup around with two on and one out. The inning fizzled when Scott was thrown out trying to steal third before leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar had a chance for the one-out hit.

Verlander struck out the side in order in the sixth to finish his evening and leapfrog former Giants great Gaylord Perry into eighth all time in career strikeouts. Verlander finished the day with 3,536 to Perry’s 3,534. Don Sutton, at seventh, is next with 3,574.

The strikeout that surpassed Perry was against Gorman in the sixth.

The Cardinals infielder entered the game 2 for 2 with two home runs against Verlander. The veteran didn’t flinch. Verlander defied Gorman with his fastball, and in the sixth, Gorman got him to a full count. That was when the right-hander dotted a 94 mph fastball that tickled the lowest edge of the zone for a called third strike.

The next time Gorman came up, in the ninth, he did so with advice.

“It was short approach and single him to death,� Marmol said, repeating what hitting coach Brant Brown told the batters. “And guys did a really nice job of not trying to do a whole lot against their closer there. It showed. It was just getting the next guy up. These guys have done a nice job of flushing whatever happened and going after what’s next.�

Gorman flushed the three strikeouts and delivered a leadoff single.

Winn flushed an 0-for-2 opening and an achy knee with a single to right field.

Rookie Jimmy Crooks flushed a quick 0-2 against Walker when he had a chance to drive home a run for his first big league RBI that wasn’t himself. The right-handed Walker started Crooks off with a 97.4 mph sinker — or what the rookie called “one of the nastiest sinkers I’ve seen.� He called time after the first one to take a breath and reset. Crooks then saw four more sinkers. He fouled off one to avoid a strikeout. The fifth sinker of the plate appearance drilled him.

“Got to 0-2, and it’s battle mode,� Crooks said. “Fouled one off. Took one. And then he threw one at me, and I wore it for the team, wore it for the club. And then let Walk do this thing.�

First, Saggese did.

Saggese lifted one of Walker’s 97 mph sinkers to center, and that RBI cleaved the Giants’ lead in half while keeping the bases loaded for Walker.

It’s in there, Saggese had said.

It’s in there, Saggese had done.

It’s in there, Walk.

The game was over one pitch later.

“Him coming through right there and getting that big RBI,� Walker said. “I just felt like that energy was passed on.�

The walk-off hit was the first of Walker’s career.

The Giants left the field still looking for their first out in the ninth.

The ninth was all about redemption – both for individuals and the Cardinals.

Nolan Gorman struck out three times in the game before opening the ninth with a single. Thomas Saggese committed the error that began the game, but he singled home the first run of the ninth and kept the bases loaded against Giants reliever Ryan Walker. After four consecutive teammates reached base, up came Walker to end his freefall with the swing that upended the Giants’ lead and radically altered the look of a ragged game.

Although they began this past week fairly close in the standings, the visiting Giants and Cardinals have played the weekend series like vastly different teams. San Francisco appears to be putting it together for a late run at a playoff berth, and the Cardinals have come apart due to injuries that have rewritten their lineup and rearranged their defense, and neither for the better.

Veteran right-hander Justin Verlander was in line to win his third consecutive game before the blown save in the ninth.

Since Verlander has been around for so long, it’s telling that the lineup the Cardinals sent forth Saturday had so little experience against him. A group of young players and players filling in for everyday players managed three hits against Verlander – and all of them were singles. Only a broken-bat single put any semblance of a rally in motion against Verlander and that ended when the Cardinals tried to steal third.

Only one Cardinal reached that far safely all evening until the ninth.

The Giants lost for only the second time in their past 13 games, and in the past week they’ve vaulted to 72-70 at the same time the Cardinals are not far off, at 71-72.

Andre Pallante authored his first quality start since July 28. He limited the Giants to two runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out three, and minimized an inning that could have gone sideways with a key strikeout. Pallante contributed to the frayed feeling of some innings with two hit batters and two wild pitches. The Cardinals also got thrown out trying to steal, helped a rally a hit batter, and tried to force a hit on a 3-0 pitch that screeched the eighth to a halt with the tying run at the plate.

Pallante completed six innings and had a better start than any of his six in August.

Bruise and broken bat: 2 innings falter

In what could be described as a nod to Masyn Winn’s status with the Cardinals and place within the lineup Saturday, veteran right-hander Verlander must have completely, absolutely lost his grip on a pitch that plunked the Cardinals shortstop near his back pocket.

By the time Winn came to the plate in the fourth inning as the Cardinals’ cleanup hitter for the evening, two Giant infielders, both of them All-Stars, had been hit by a pitch.

Willy Adames was hit in the first inning.

Pallante misplace da pitch that hit Matt Chapman to open the second.

Verlander had two outs in the fourth inning, the bases empty, and the ideal teaming to level the events. He let a pitch get away, low and well inside on Winn. After the plunk, Winn grinned as he made his way to first base.

It wouldn’t have been a big deal until it almost was.

With Winn on first base, Jimmy Crooks pulled a groundball to first baseman Rafael Devers that he misplayed. Crooks reached on the error and Winn took third. All of a sudden, Verlander had the tying run on base and the Cardinals had their first baserunner in scoring position.

The inning went nowhere from there, ending on a groundout.

The Cardinals were back threatening in the fifth against Verlander, but they ran their way out of what could have been at least a dent in the right-hander’s evening. Victor Scott II roped a single to center, and Jose Fermin snapped his bat on a looper to center for a single. The Cardinals had two runners and one out with the top of the order around.

They got aggressive.

Scott took off for third base as the lead of an attempted double steal. Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, one of the best defensive players in the National League, had a clear throw to third with the left-handed Lars Nootbaar at the plate. Bailey did not miss. His throw found Chapman’s glove for the quick tag and the out call by crew chief CB Bucknor.

The Cardinals challenged the call.

The final word from the replay officials in New York was that the call at the base stood. That is different from saying it was confirmed. The video replay did not show enough evidence or angles to overturn the call – and almost as quickly as the rally started and the runners got their jump the inning was over. Lars Nootbaar grounded out to keep Verlander’s shutout rolling.

Giants capitalize on a throw

Outside of two hit batters and an early error, the Giants did not muster much against Pallante.

A day after riddling the Cardinals pitching staff with 18 hits, the Giants had to be more opportunistic than bombastic.

A pair of singles to open the fourth inning gave them that chance, but an assist came from the Cardinals defense. With Dominic Smith at first, Chapman sent a single to center field. He was able to take second behind the plate when Scott threw to third base. The throw was off line and Smith took third without a contest. But the throw gave up 90 feet to Chapman.

That helped the Giants to a two-run inning.

Smith scored on a sacrifice fly to center, and Chapman took third.

So instead of standing still at first with one out, Chapman was now at third base with one out and a short walk from a 2-0 lead. He scored easily then on Drew Gilbert’s double to left field. There’s no guarantee he would have scored from first on the same hit, but he definitely did from third to add to the Giants lead.

Limited familiarity, less success

As a lineup, the Cardinals entered Saturday’s game with only six at-bats combined against Verlander. Three of them belonged to Winn.

The most successful of them belonged to Gorman.

In two previous swings against the veteran, Gorman homered in both of his at-bats. He entered Saturday’s game 2-for-2 against Verlander with a walk for a 4.000 slugging percentage and a 5.000 OPS.

Verlander flipped that script on Gorman.

Gorman struck out in all three of his at-bats against Verlander. As Verlander struck out the side in the sixth inning, Gorman got him to a full-count pitch before watching a 94-mph fastball tickle the lowest edge of the strike zone.

Verlander also got nine swings and misses in the game, but he did so with variety of pitches. He struck out Fermin with a sweeper in the third inning. Gorman missed on a fastball in the first inning, and in the fourth inning Verlander got him chasing after a sweeping slider. Verlander got three swings and misses on his slider, his fastball, and his sweeper for his second consecutive scoreless start and third of the past month.

“I think Whiteyball would take over this game right now, to be totally honest with you,� said Terry Pendleton, the former Cardinals third baseman and NL MVP.

A confluence of events this weekend brought members of the Cardinals’ charismatic and beloved ’85 club to town for a 40th reunion at the same time as the team welcomed its newest class of Hall of Famers. The inductees included shortstop Edgar Renteria and the architect of the 2000s Cardinals, Walt Jocketty. The juxtaposition was striking. At a time when the current club is seeing record low attendance and trying to recapture its fans and its brand, the Cardinals celebrated Whitey Herzog’s ’85 club that energized a city and still captivates fans while it also honored Jocketty, the shrewd general manager who returned them to the World Series and turned sold-out crowds into stargazers.

The type of trades Jocketty sprang to grab a higher-priced star like Mark McGwire or Larry Walker or even a player like Scott Rolen from another team are rare these days. The industry has prioritized development and prospects, especially for mid-market clubs as free-agent prices skyrocketed. The style of building teams has changed, but could a retro style for a team still play — and, in the current Cardinals’ case, help reanimate a fan base familiar with it?

Is Whiteyball like the Sony Discman of the same era — still functional but surpassed in power and efficiency — or is it the paperclip, streamlined and perpetual useful?

“It would have to play today,� former Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox said. “Good defense. Good pitching. What are they always looking for? Good defense. Good pitching. That’s part of the game. I think now they try to put a little too much emphasis on certain aspects of the game instead of the whole game — getting a guy over, getting him in late. That means a lot. You get that once, twice a game, and someone has to score two or three runs to get you. If you’re always looking for that (home run) you’re missing out on opportunities in games that present themselves.

“Whitey was good at seeing something happen to make that happen,� Cox concluded. “As you watch the game (today), I see a lot of things in the game that aren’t being used that make you better. Whitey was good at using all of those facets to make us better.�

By even modern measures, the 1985 Cardinals were a dynamo — if also what today’s analytics might consider a unicorn. They did not hit home runs. They the 19th-best slugging percentage cobbled together from singles. Advanced metrics capture them well. They lapped the field with 22.6 baserunning runs above average, per FanGraphs. No other team in 1985 had more than 15. The Cardinals’ 93.0 defensive runs above average, per FanGraphs, was nearly twice as many as the next closest club in the majors.

Cox joked that his preferred game was 27 groundballs to Ozzie Smith.

Pitcher John Tudor said on Friday: “Mistakes we made just didn’t show up on the scoreboard.�

The baserunning put pressure on opposing pitchers.

The defense took pressure off Cardinals pitchers.

Quite a recipe.

“We knew, in our minds, we were the best defensive team in baseball,� Pendleton said. “We knew we could wreak havoc (on the bases). … I think with Whiteyball, if you brought that back into the game it would be tough for a lot of teams to win (against), especially because we pitched and played defense. We’ve got so many teams going out there trying to hit the three-run homer and by then we’re up 2-0, 3-0, and the three-run homer never comes. Nothing against all these teams, but there’s a lot of strikeouts going on in the game. For us, we put the ball in play. We made you play defense. I think sometimes guys on the field are looked at now for their offense and not necessarily their defense. So you’ll have guys out there playing different positions even on the infield who don’t have range to catch the baseball. But they’re hitting the ball and can hit the ball out of the ballpark.

“That is looked at more than defense.�

Pendleton, a Gold Glove-winner in 1989 with the Cardinals, then pivoted to describing modern teams that carry a whiff of Whiteyball in their play. He declined to name them, but he didn’t exactly hide who he was talking about either.

“You guys in this division see one,� he said, referencing division leader Milwaukee. “You’ve seen one that does it a lot. And they’re where they are now because of what they do.�

The Brewers rank in the top five in defensive runs above average and by the same FanGraphs baserunning measurement above they lead the majors, at 14.3.

The dimensions of ways Whiteyball can influence a game have changed with the shape of ballparks. The cookie cutters are gone, as is turf the Cardinals covered like kudzu. Bigger outfields have been replaced to bring fans closer to cater to a brawnier game, just not at Busch Stadium, which remains a pitcher’s playground.

And there are areas where this year’s Cardinals made allusions to Whiteyball.

Hitting coach Brant Brown has urged several of the Cardinals’ players to be “hit collectors� because they don’t have the profile for power. Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II have shown flashes of the speed game. Winn, Scott and Nolan Arenado have the gloves of a sterling defensive team. Manager Oli Marmol has often said this season that the way for the current club to win relies on zero-defect defense and fundamentals. A pitch-to-contact rotation rests on an elite defense, and volume offense — not a decibel lineup — plays close games.

The 2025 Cardinals lead the majors in Outs Above Average, according to Statcast, and Winn is attempting to become the first Cardinal with more than 20 Outs Above Average defensively in the Statcast era. He leads the league.

In Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar the Cardinals also have hitters comfortable batting with two strikes, and that too was a key part of Whiteyball as Tom Herr explained.

“I give Whitey a lot of credit,� Herr said. “I was not the prototypical three-hole hitter. One thing I could do was hit deep in the count, and I could put the ball in play with two strikes. When Vice (Coleman) and Willie (McGee) would get on the base, I had to take pitches so they could steal. I was hitting with a runner on second, runners on second and third, and two strikes a lot of times.�

Cox said the players would predict it: “Here comes a Cardinal rally.�

“A rally to us would be Vince would get on, steal second, steal third, and we’d have a ground out (to score) and that was a Cardinal rally,� the pitcher said. “I just think it was a unique team stealing all those bases and a lot of defense. Our whole who we were was based on defense.�

Even in the days of damage, defense still plays.

And what is timeless, from the teams Herzog managed to the rosters Jocketty built to all the players in town this weekend to be celebrated for their achievements Cardinals, was the talent that, like a paperclip, put whatever style it was together.

“I just think Whiteyball would still be special in this game,� Pendleton said. “Because of the talent.�

But is it even possible to be one of the leading forces behind a World Series team and win the NL Most Valuable Player award anonymously?

Former Cardinals third baseman Terry Pendleton, who won his own MVP with the Atlanta Braves in 1991, said without any deliberation or a hint of wavering that he’d never seen anyone play better over the course of a single season than McGee in 1985.

“That is something a lot of people don’t understand, and nobody talks about it,� Pendelton said. “Willie, in 1985, won the National League MVP and was silent. He did it quietly. And folks will look up and go, ‘Wow. Willie McGee won an MVP award?’ That’s how quiet he did it. But he did it every day. Everyday there was something new. There was something special.�

Pendleton spoke with reporters in a meeting room at the Live! By Loews downtown hotel on Friday morning. He’s one of several members of the 1985 team in St. Louis this weekend as the Cardinals celebrate the anniversary of the pennant-winning club.

That season, a 26-year-old McGee led the NL in batting average (.353), hits (216) and triples (18). Yes, 18 triples. He won an NL Gold Glove as an outfielder, claimed a Silver Slugger award, earned an All-Star selection (the second of his career), and he also led the Cardinals in runs scored (114).

McGee’s 56 stolen bases were tied for fourth-most in the majors, though they were second on his own team to MLB leader Vince Coleman (110).

If there’s any doubt about the “value� McGee brought to his club that season, the website credits McGee as having led the NL in what has become an all-encompassing popular modern metric: Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

McGee’s 8.2 WAR put him well ahead of sluggers like Atlanta’s Dale Murphy and Cincinnati’s Dave Parker, who each bashed more than 30 home runs. Imagine that, an MVP who dominated the game and hit just 10 home runs all season. That seems preposterous in today’s baseball climate.

McGee, now an assistant to the president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, had an type season 16 years before Ichiro ever stepped on an MLB field.

In fact, the numbers from their respective MVP seasons have an eerie similarity. Ichiro won the AL MVP in 2001 with a .350 batting average, 242 hits, eight triples, 56 stolen bases and eight home runs. He also won a batting title, a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and was an All-Star that season.

Ichiro’s WAR that season was 7.7, so McGee still would’ve edged him out.

With McGee there was no signature backflip or “Wizard� moniker like , nor did he have the regular jaw-dropping displays of speed that folks remember about Coleman.

Though McGee’s exploits and mannerisms still remain memorable to those who were around him on a daily basis.

“Willie wasn’t as fast as Vince (Coleman) in probably a 60-yard race, but from first to third I think Willie was the fastest guy I ever played with,� former Cardinals workhorse starting pitcher John Tudor said. “He’d get into that lean and — we still give him a hard time about the lean (laughing).

“Kenny Dayley saw him today and Willie leaned to give him a little hug, and Kenny said, ‘Careful Willie. You get into that lean now and you may fall over.’�

McGee was as impactful as all get out, but the spotlight wasn’t for him. Teammates recognized his influence and don’t forget it.

“Defensively, Willie was outstanding,� Tudor said. “Willie was the quiet leader. Willie never said anything. He still doesn’t.�

But how does such a masterful season, like the one McGee had in 1985, fly under the radar?

“The reason I think it was so quiet is because Willie is who he is,� Pendleton said before looking up and pointing to the television cameras and microphones and added, “This right here, he’d never want to do. It’s just not him.�

Pendleton also recalled a story of McGee’s behind-the-scenes influence on him, specifically, as a young player.

Pendleton, a California native like McGee, stayed at the hotel near the ballpark when he first joined the team. He recounted how McGee grabbed him one day and told him he wasn’t staying at the hotel anymore.

McGee told Pendleton he had a spare bedroom with a phone hooked up for Pendleton to use, and McGee didn’t give Pendleton the option to say no.

“It’s all yours and there’s no maybe,� Pendleton recalled McGee saying. “Get your stuff. Get in the car. We’re going.�

McGee even gave Pendleton a spare car key so Pendleton could use his car whenever needed. All McGee asked was to make sure the car always had gas.

One Sunday after a day game, the two were heading home from the ballpark and the gas tank was near empty, and Pendleton started to panic.

“Luckily, we made it to the gas station,� Pendleton said, remembering the event vividly four decades later. “He probably won’t tell you this, but I got a speech the whole way. The whole entire way.�

Not long after Pendleton and several of his former teammates spoke to reporters, McGee finished up his obligations for the Cardinals and started down a hallway in the hotel.

True to form, McGee headed for the elevator without stepping foot in that meeting room with the cameras and microphones. Always polite, McGee greeted a few reporters in the hallway, exchanged brief pleasantries, and shook their hands before he exited.

Even 40 years later, the catalyst for the 1985 NL championship still bows out of the spotlight.

Why?

It’s like Pendleton said, “Because Willie is Willie.�

Don’t fixate.

Move on.

Long season. Clunkers happen. Don’t look back. Turn the handle. Flush.

A dud of a game when a depleted lineup fails to produce a hit until the fifth inning and the pitchers allow 18 hits by the end of the eighth has all the makings of a flushable evening, and yet there were the Cardinals on Friday after their 8-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants going not so fast. A team at a different spot in the standings might “flush� the loss. The Cardinals, with their emphasis on development and eyes on the horizon, talking about doing something else.

Learn.

“Regardless of where you’re at in the season or what you’re competing for, you still don’t want to just flush a game,� manager Oli Marmol said. “You’ve got to learn from. I understand what you’re saying. There are certain games where you’re just like, ‘Hey, forget it, keep going.’ With as young guys as we’ve got you have to make the most of every opportunity and make sure you’re not missing an opportunity to teach or grow. There are still games where you don’t want to say, ‘Don’t worry about it. Keep going.’ There are certain moments you can learn from.�

How that takes place, Marmol explained, requires digging beyond the line score and deeper into the box score. They’ve got to go granular.

“You have to individualize it,� he said. “And not get frustrated with the overall result.�

On Thursday night, catcher Jimmy Crooks went to pitcher Michael McGreevy’s apartment to watch football. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were together when the lineup for Friday’s game went out to players and read how they would be reunited from their starts together earlier this season for Class AAA Memphis. A “let’s goâ€� was likely said. Or two. McGreevy said Crooks left earlier than expected so he could start working on a scouting report to bring to the right-hander at the ballpark the next day.

Crooks’ preparation has already impressed the major-league staff in his first week with the Cardinals, and detail-oriented, individualized lens Marmol mentioned after a loss like Friday’s is a fit for how to view the rookie battery.

“This is part of our future,� Marmol said.

Crooks came prepared and helped McGreevy navigate a raucous start to the game by the Giants and some of the pitches that weren’t behaving. Crooks also broke up Carson Seymour’s no-hit bid and the shutout in the fifth inning. Crooks led off with a single and scored a few batters later on Victor Scott II’s RBI single. Scott’s diving catch on a line drive into the left-center gap keep the fourth inning for erupting more on McGreevy. But how the right-hander got to the fourth inning was a sign of the details, the improvements that Marmol mentioned.

In the first inning, McGreevy tucked a curveball under the zone, and San Francisco star Rafael Devers was able to pry it up for a solo homer. Three innings later, McGreevy went even lower with a pitch, and Devers elevated it too for an RBI single. Two snappy pitches below the zone and two base hits for a top big-league hitter.

“Baseball is a very cruel game,� said McGreevy (6-3). “I was like, wow, that’s an incredible swing on a good pitch. Tip the cap. The second one was even lower and even farther out — three balls down — and he hit it. That’s when you get a little more frustrated.�

Devers was not alone.

Three pitches after Devers’ solo homer in the first, Willy Adames hit a sweeping slider for a solo homer and a quick 2-0 lead for the Giants. Thirteen pitches into his start McGreevy allowed three extra-base hits and two runs, and he got one visit from pitching coach Dusty Blake and Crooks. From there, McGreevy found some traction. He struck out three in the span of seven batters, and he was able to retire the Giants in order in the third without the ball leaving the infield.

The Giants arrived in St. Louis after scoring 25 runs in three games at Coors Field. In four of their past six wins, the Giants scored at least 10 runs.

They surged for four runs against McGreevy in the fourth inning with five hits. He allowed nine hits total in four innings — and four went for extra bases.

“This is a guy who lives on the ground,� Marmol said. “They did a nice job of not doing that.�

Beneath the surface statistics, the individualized and detailed lessons for McGreevy could be pitch use or pitch movement. The right-hander described how he wasn’t able to locate his four-seam fastball consistently, and there were times he was also unable to get the preferred movement on his cutter. The cut fastball is a pitch that snaps bats at its best and finds barrels at its worst. McGreevy threw a dozen of them and got four swings and misses on them.

He also had four cutters put in play — at an average mph of 95.6.

“I just wasn’t locating it up and in,� McGreevy said. “I was at the top of the zone. It being up and away gives lefty that split-second longer to stay on the ball and at least put it in play.�

McGreevy allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings.

Yet, he was detailing what went awry with one pitch.

This wasn’t a flush.

This was a study.

The Cardinals trailed 6-0 before Crooks got them their first hit, and offense could be scarce all weekend against the Giants. The Cardinals are playing without four of their opening day starters. Willson Contreras began his suspension Friday, and Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, and Alec Burleson will miss the entire series due to injuries.

Every Cardinal in the lineup was also someway in a position different from when they started the season. Masyn Winn was at shortstop, just as he was on opening day, but he hit cleanup. Around him were two fielders who began the year at Class AAA Memphis and Nolan Gorman making his first start of the year at first base.

Available reasons to dismiss Friday’s result or ample reasons to learn from it.

Marmol gave other examples of what can be mined from a ragged game like Friday’s. There were two double plays not turned, and in the seventh inning a fly ball that dropped between multiple Cardinals turned into a run when Jung Hoo Lee tripled for his third of four hits in the game. The game, Marmol explained, is only part of the evaluation. As he moves from position to position, Thomas Saggese — who started at third Friday — has been working before games to improve his fielding regimen. That ranges from when and where he takes groundballs to how he fits it into his overall pregame preparation.

He got feedback on that and any other plays immediately after the game from coach Stubby Clapp on Friday night.

Within the eighth inning, there was another individualized lesson plan. Reliever Chris Roycroft entered to face Devers and the heart of the Giants’ order. Roycroft buzzed a 97-mph sinker past Devers for a strikeout. Roycroft struck out Adames with a cutter. The two players who socked homers in the first inning turned back to the dugout against the Cardinals’ right-handed reliever. From two batters, Roycroft got two strikeouts. He would eventually strike out the side, but not before he couldn’t lockdown the inning with two outs.

He allowed two hits — a double and an infield bounder — and sandwiched a walk between them. That loaded the bases and the inning became wobbly. Roycroft went back to how he started the inning. He shoved fastballs, alternating between sinker and cutter through a six-pitch at-bat against Casey Schmitt. Five of the pitchers were strikes. The last one as a sinker biting low and in that Schmitt swung over.

The inning could have been a flush.

It turned out to be a lesson.

“There are little details that as we’re speaking right now they’re going over with (players) inside,� Marmol said. “So you’re looking at small details like that and making sure progress is being made. And you keep moving forward.�

Giants 8, Cardinals 2

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Ramos lf 6 1 2 0 0 0 .269

Devers dh 4 1 2 2 1 2 .256

Adames ss 5 1 1 2 0 1 .230

Smith 1b 5 0 2 0 0 0 .287

Chapman 3b 4 1 1 0 1 1 .234

Lee cf 5 2 4 1 0 0 .267

Schmitt 2b 5 1 2 1 0 3 .241

Gilbert rf 3 0 1 1 1 1 .264

Bailey c 5 1 3 1 0 1 .219

Totals 42 8 18 8 3 9

St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Nootbaar lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .240

Herrera dh 4 1 1 1 0 0 .283

Gorman 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .220

M.Winn ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 .253

Hampson ph-ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 .103

Crooks c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .182

Saggese 3b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .250

J.Walker rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .215

Scott cf 2 0 1 1 0 0 .225

Fermín 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .281

Totals 32 2 5 2 1 7

San Francisco 200 400 200 — 8 18 0

St. Louis 000 010 010 — 2 5 0

LOB: San Francisco 11, St. Louis 5. 2B: Smith 2 (12), Schmitt (13). 3B: Lee (11). HR: Devers (16), off McGreevy; Adames (27), off McGreevy; Herrera (14), off Beck. RBIs: Devers 2 (41), Adames 2 (78), Gilbert (11), Bailey (43), Lee (49), Schmitt (33), Scott (36), Herrera (54). CS: Gilbert (1). SF: Gilbert. DP: St. Louis 1.

San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Seymour, W, 1-2 5 2 1 1 1 2 4.25

Gage 1 1 0 0 0 2 2.33

Beck, S, 1-1 3 2 1 1 0 3 5.11

St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO ERA

McGreevy, L, 6-3 4 9 6 6 1 3 4.68

Graceffo 2 3 0 0 1 1 5.45

Fernandez 1 4 2 2 0 0 8.87

Roycroft 1 2 0 0 1 3 6.32

Granillo 1 0 0 0 0 2 4.71

HBP: Beck (Scott). T: 2:36. Att.: 25,837.