2015 St. Louis Cardinals season

2015 St. Louis Cardinals
National League Central Champions
League	National League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Busch Stadium
City	St. Louis, Missouri
Record	100–62 (.617)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	William DeWitt, Jr. Fred Hanser
General managers	John Mozeliak
Managers	Mike Matheny
Television	Fox Sports Midwest (Dan McLaughlin, Al Hrabosky, Rick Horton, Tim McCarver)
Radio	KMOX (1120AM) St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network (Mike Shannon, John Rooney, Al Hrabosky, Rick Horton, Mike Claiborne)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
Seasons

The St. Louis Cardinals 2015 season was the 134th for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 124th season in the National League, and the 10th at Busch Stadium III. They entered the 2015 season as two-time defending National League Central champions and having made four consecutive NLCS appearances.

The Cardinals' 2014–15 offseason began tragically with the death of rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras in a traffic collision on October 26. On November 17, they acquired right fielder Jason Heyward and pitcher Jordan Walden from the Atlanta Braves in a blockbuster trade for pitchers Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins. The Cardinals inducted Curt Flood, Bob Forsch, George Kissell and Ted Simmons into the franchise Hall of Fame. Forbes valued the Cardinals at $1.2 billion in 2015, ranking them 27th out of all sports franchises in the world, and the sixth-highest in all MLB.

By winning 22 of their first 29 games of the season, the Cardinals secured their best start since 1887, and became the first major league team of the year to reach 50 wins, the fastest since the Chicago White Sox in 2005. Outfielder Matt Holliday set a new National League record by reaching base in his first 45 games of the season. In June, reports surfaced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating an incident involving the Cardinals hacking into the Houston Astros' computer networks, the first known such case of corporate espionage in professional sports.

By winning their 100th game on September 30, the Cardinals clinched their third consecutive division title. It was the first time since 2005 they had won at least 100 games in a season, and they became the first team to do so since the 2011 Phillies. However, they lost to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS, ending their streak of four straight NLCS appearances.

Off-season

Overview

The St. Louis Cardinals ended their 2014 regular season as the National League Central division champions with a 90–72 won–loss record, their second consecutive Central division title and ninth overall. They finished sixth in the league in batting average (.253), fifteenth (last) in home runs (105), and ninth in runs scored (619). They also ranked seventh in earned run average (3.50).

St. Louis finished two games ahead of the runner-up Pittsburgh Pirates, who qualified for the Wild Card Game. In the National League Division Series (NLDS), the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, three games to one. They surrendered the National League Championship Series (NLCS) in five games to the San Francisco Giants, the eventual World Series champions. Despite the NLCS defeat, the Cardinals already had four consecutive LCS appearances, the first team to do so since the New York Yankees from 1998–2001 in the American League Championship Series. Since 2000, it was their ninth NLCS appearance.

Right fielder Oscar Taveras, who died in a car accident on October 26, 2014

However, tragedy launched Major League Baseball's 2014–15 off-season when Cardinals rookie right fielder Oscar Taveras was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on October 26, 2014. It was 10 days after the conclusion of the NLCS, and moments before the first pitch of Game 5 of the World Series. Reports confirmed alcohol intoxication on Taveras' part, making it the second alcohol-related fatality of a Cardinals player in a car accident since pitcher Josh Hancock in 2007. General manager John Mozeliak lamented the circumstances of both players' deaths, amplifying that the team would take a greater role in instructing young players "to avoid reckless actions."

Just 22 years old, Taveras was an immensely popular athlete and heralded prospect with fans, around Major League Baseball, and in his native Dominican Republic. On October 28, the Cardinals left the right field lights on at Busch Stadium and released a Twitter photo of the scene the next day. The following January, Cardinals chairman William DeWitt, Jr., announced plans for the team to renovate a baseball field in Taveras' hometown of Sosúa in his honor, and that the team would also wear black circular patches inscribed with the initials "OT" inside a white circle on their jerseys for the 2015 season. Further, a large decal was posted in his memorial on the wall of the home team bullpen of Busch Stadium along with those of Hancock and Darryl Kile, another pitcher who died during the 2002 season while still active as a player.

Bench coach Mike Aldrete vacated the Cardinals on October 27 for the same avocation with the Oakland Athletics. The day after the World Series ended, October 30, Mark Ellis, Justin Masterson, Jason Motte, Pat Neshek, and A. J. Pierzynski all filed for free agency. Four of the five players in the group signed with different teams in the 2014–15 off-season. Only Motte, a former closer, had played for the Cardinals prior to 2014. He acceded a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs. The only free agent who did not endorse with another club was Ellis, who announced his retirement as a player on February 26, 2015.

The Cardinals picked up the 2015 option on starting pitcher John Lackey's contract on October 30, equivalent to the minimum salary of $507,000 ($652,529.1 today), an unusually low number on for a veteran of his achievement level and competitiveness. Acquired from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline in 2014, he signed his current contract as a free agent before the 2010 season. The Red Sox inserted a provision in the contract that, in lieu of paying insurance in case he missed any season due to an elbow injury, the club could choose to pick up an option in 2015 for the league minimum salary. At that time, the Red Sox medical staff demonstrated concern that Lackey's elbow was found not to be fully sound during a physical examination. When he missed the 2012 season due to Tommy John surgery, the league-minimum option for 2015 was actuated. The Cardinals added performance bonuses before the start of the season.

Jason Heyward and Shelby Miller headlined a trade with the Atlanta Braves before the start of the 2015 season.

The Houston Astros appointed longtime scout Charlie González as a special assistant on November 1. Two days later, the Cardinals signed assistant hitting coach David Bell to a two-year contract to replace Aldrete as bench coach. To fill the position Bell vacated, the Cardinals hired former Cubs hitting coach Bill Mueller as assistant hitting coach on November 17.

With a void in right field that emerged following the death of Taveras, the Cardinals settled a surprising blockbuster trade with the Atlanta Braves on November 17. St. Louis arrogated former Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Jason Heyward and relief pitcher Jordan Walden in exchange for starting pitcher Shelby Miller and reliever Tyrell Jenkins. For the second time in the 2014–15 off-season, the Athletics drew from the Cardinals' staff, hiring director of scouting Dan Kantrovitz to be assistant general manager on November 24. To replace Kantrovitz, director of baseball development Chris Correa was promoted to director of scouting on December 2. One week later, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame announced former ace Chris Carpenter as an inductee in their 2015 class.

The Cardinals signed free agents relief pitcher Matt Belisle (December 2), from the Colorado Rockies, and first baseman Mark Reynolds (December 11) from the Milwaukee Brewers. They initially imported veteran reliever Carlos Villanueva on a minor league deal in February, but selected him for the major league roster out of spring training.

In March 2015, Forbes appraised the Cardinals' outright value at $1.4 billion, making them the 27th-most valuable sports franchise in the world, and sixth-principal franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB). It was an increase from an $800 million pricing and eighth in the echelon in 2014. Their revenue was $294 million while their operating income was $73.6 million, and their overall assessment was approximately $200 million higher than the MLB average of $1.2 billion. Mike Ozanian of Forbes remarked that the Cardinals were "baseball's biggest anamoly", with outsize value outpacing their status as one of baseball's "smallest markets", and the recently opened Ballpark Village – adjacent to Busch Stadium – was a popular destination for dining and entertainment. The Cardinals' local television ratings (7.76) graded the highest among all major league teams.

Acquisitions, departures and roster moves

Ownership, club officials, managers, and coaches

Club officials

Charlie González Departed St. Louis Cardinals Scout Hired by Houston Astros Promoted to Special assistant November 1, 2014 Dan Kantrovitz Departed St. Louis Cardinals Director of scouting Hired by Oakland Athletics Promoted to Assistant general manager November 24, 2014 Chris Correa From St. Louis Cardinals Director of baseball development Remained with St. Louis Cardinals Promoted to Director of scouting December 2, 2014

Managers and coaches
Mike Aldrete Departed St. Louis Cardinals Bench coach Hired by Oakland Athletics To Bench coach October 27, 2014 David Bell From St. Louis Cardinals Assistant hitting coach Remained with St. Louis Cardinals Promoted to Bench coach November 3, 2014 Bill Mueller Departed Chicago Cubs Hitting coach Hired by St. Louis Cardinals To Assistant hitting coach November 17, 2014

Players

See also: Major League Baseball transactions

Contract options
October 30, 2014 John Lackey (RHP) $500,000 team option for 2015 St. Louis Cardinals Exercised

Trades

November 17, 2014 To St. Louis Cardinals Jason Heyward (RF) Jordan Walden (RHP) To Atlanta Braves Tyrell Jenkins (RHP) Shelby Miller (RHP) November 20, 2014 To St. Louis Cardinals Ty Kelly (IF) (added to the 40-man roster and assigned to the Memphis Redbirds) To Seattle Mariners Sam Gaviglio (RHP) February 3, 2015 To St. Louis Cardinals Michael Ohlman (C) (added to the 40-man roster and assigned to the Springfield Cardinals) To Baltimore Orioles Cash considerations March 28, 2015 To St. Louis Cardinals Cash considerations or a player to be named later To Texas Rangers Sam Freeman (LHP)

Major league free agents

Mark Ellis (IF) Departed St. Louis Cardinals October 30, 2014 Contracts expired after World Series Retired as a player February 26, 2015 Justin Masterson (RHP) Signed with Boston Red Sox December 12, 2014 1 year, $9.5 million Jason Motte (RHP) Signed with Chicago Cubs December 15, 2014 1 year, $4.5 million Pat Neshek (RHP) Signed with Houston Astros December 15, 2014 2 years, $12.5 million A. J. Pierzynski (C) Signed with Atlanta Braves January 7, 2015 1 year, $2 million Matt Belisle (RHP) Departed Colorado Rockies October 30, 2014 Contract expired Signed with St. Louis Cardinals December 2, 2014 1 year, $3.5 million Daniel Descalso (IF) Departed St. Louis Cardinals December 2, 2014 Non-tendered contract as arbitration-eligible player Signed with Colorado Rockies December 16, 2014 2 years, $3.6 million Mark Reynolds (1B) Departed Milwaukee Brewers November 4, 2014 Contract expired Signed with St. Louis Cardinals December 11, 2014 1 year, $2 million

Minor league free agents

Dean Anna (IF) Departed Indianapolis Indians AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates November 4, 2015 To St. Louis Cardinals Added to 40-man roster Optioned to Memphis Redbirds November 11, 2014 Marcus Hatley (RHP) Departed Iowa Cubs AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs November 4, 2014 To St. Louis Cardinals Signed to minor league contract with invite to spring training November 19, 2014 Miguel Socolovich (RHP) Departed Las Vegas 51s AAA affiliate of the New York Mets November 4, 2014 To St. Louis Cardinals Signed to minor league contract with invite to spring training November 11, 2014 Shane Robinson (OF) Released by St. Louis Cardinals November 18, 2014 To Minnesota Twins Signed to minor league contract with invite to spring training December 4, 2014 Carlos Villanueva (RHP) Departed Chicago Cubs October 30, 2014 To St. Louis Cardinals Signed to minor league contract with invite to spring training February 4, 2015

Arbitration-eligible players

Peter Bourjos (OF) St. Louis Cardinals Tendered contracts December 2, 2014 Signed $1.65 million, one-year contract January 15, 2015 Troy Cruz (C) Signed $775,000, one-year contract January 15, 2015 Jon Jay (OF) Signed $10.975 million, two-year contract February 9, 2015 Lance Lynn (RHP) Signed $22 million, three-year contract January 15, 2015 Jordan Walden (RHP) Signed $6.3 million, two-year contract with team option for year three December 23, 2014 Daniel Descalso (IF) St. Louis Cardinals Did not tender contract December 2, 2014 Became major league free agent

40-man roster moves

October 26, 2014 Oscar Taveras (OF) Killed in a car accident Removed from 40-man roster November 3, 2014 Ed Easley (C) Purchased from AAA Memphis Redbirds Added to 40-man roster Reassigned to Memphis Redbirds November 18, 2014 Cody Stanley (C) Purchased from AAA Memphis Redbirds Added to 40-man roster Reassigned to Memphis Redbirds Keith Butler (RHP) Cleared waivers Removed from 40-man roster Outrighted to AAA Memphis Redbirds March 30, 2015 Carlos Villanueva (RHP) Under minor league contract Signed to major league contract Added to 40- and 25-man roster April 3, 2015 Two-player move Designated for assignment Jacob Wilson (IF) Cleared waivers and assigned to AA Springfield Cardinals Claimed off waivers from San Francisco Giants Gary Brown (OF) Added to the 40-man roster

Waiver moves (non-40-man roster)
*November 3, 2014: RHP Eric Fornataro was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals. November 3, 2014: RHP Jorge Rondón was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies.

Miscellaneous transactions
*November 11, 2014: IF Scott Moore was re-signed by the Cardinals to a minor league contract and extended an invitation to spring training. December 11, 2014: RHP Tyler Waldron of the Indianapolis Indians (AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) was signed in the AAA-phase of the Rule 5 draft.

Season standings

National League Central

NL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	100	62	.617	—	55‍–‍26	45‍–‍36
Pittsburgh Pirates	98	64	.605	2	53‍–‍28	45‍–‍36
Chicago Cubs	97	65	.599	3	49‍–‍32	48‍–‍33
Milwaukee Brewers	68	94	.420	32	34‍–‍47	34‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds	64	98	.395	36	34‍–‍47	30‍–‍51

National League playoff standings

Playoff standings

Division Leaders Team W L Pct. St. Louis Cardinals 100 62 .617 Los Angeles Dodgers 92 70 .568 New York Mets 90 72 .556 Wild Card teams (Top 2 teams qualify for postseason) Team W L Pct. GB Pittsburgh Pirates 98 64 .605 +1 Chicago Cubs 97 65 .599 — San Francisco Giants 84 78 .519 13 Washington Nationals 83 79 .512 14 Arizona Diamondbacks 79 83 .488 18 San Diego Padres 74 88 .457 23 Miami Marlins 71 91 .438 26 Milwaukee Brewers 68 94 .420 29 Colorado Rockies 68 94 .420 29 Atlanta Braves 67 95 .414 30 Cincinnati Reds 64 98 .395 33 Philadelphia Phillies 63 99 .389 34

National League head-to-head records

Head-to-head records

2015 National League record Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2015 Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL LAD MIA MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL Arizona — 3–3 2–4 6–1 13–6 6–13 5–2 5–2 2–5 2–4 1–5 9–10 11–8 0–7 3–4 11–9 Atlanta 3–3 — 1–6 3–4 1–6 3–3 10–9 5–2 8–11 11–8 2–4 2–5 3–4 4–2 5–14 6–14 Chicago 4–2 6–1 — 13–6 4–2 3–4 3–3 14–5 7–0 2–5 11–8 3–3 5–2 8–11 4–3 10–10 Cincinnati 1–6 4–3 6–13 — 2–4 1–6 3–4 9–10 0–7 4–2 11–8 2–4 2–5 7–12 5–1 7–13 Colorado 6–13 6–1 2–4 4–2 — 8–11 2–5 5–1 0–7 5–2 1–6 7–12 11–8 3–4 3–3 5–15 Los Angeles 13–6 3–3 4–3 6–1 11–8 — 4–2 4–3 3–4 5–2 1–5 14–5 8–11 2–5 4–2 10–10 Miami 2–5 9–10 3–3 4–3 5–2 2–4 — 4–2 8–11 9–10 1–6 2–5 5–2 1–5 9–10 7–13 Milwaukee 2–5 2–5 5–14 10–9 1–5 3–4 2–4 — 3–3 7–0 10–9 5–2 1–5 6–13 3–4 8–12 New York 5–2 11–8 0–7 7–0 7–0 4–3 11–8 3–3 — 14–5 0–6 2–4 3–3 3–4 11–8 9–11 Philadelphia 4–2 8–11 5–2 2–4 2–5 2–5 10–9 0–7 5–14 — 2–5 5–1 1–5 2–5 7–12 8–12 Pittsburgh 5–1 4–2 8–11 8–11 6–1 5–1 6–1 9–10 6–0 5–2 — 5–2 6–1 9–10 3–4 13–7 San Diego 10–9 5–2 3–3 4–2 12–7 5–14 5–2 2–5 4–2 1–5 2–5 — 8–11 4–3 2–5 7–13 San Francisco 8–11 4–3 2–5 5–2 8–11 11–8 2–5 5–1 3–3 5–1 1–6 11–8 — 2–4 4–3 13–7 St. Louis 7–0 2–4 11–8 12–7 4–3 5–2 5–1 13–6 4–3 5–2 10–9 3–4 4–2 — 4–2 11–9 Washington 4–3 14–5 3–4 1–5 3–3 2–4 10–9 4–3 8–11 12–7 4–3 5–2 3–4 2–4 — 8–12

Regular season summary

April

First-ever MLB Opening Night

For the first time in his career, 23-year-old Carlos Martínez made the Cardinals starting rotation, earning the fifth starter spot out of spring training. Participating in the first-ever night game Opening Day to commence an MLB season, the Cardinals faced off against the Chicago Cubs on April 5, partners in an historic sports rivalry. Also dubbed "Opening Night", Adam Wainwright made his fourth career Opening Day start. St. Louis, in turn, made team history as they won 3–0. Their four stolen bases (SB) set a team record for Opening Day, and Yadier Molina became the first catcher in club history with 11 consecutive Opening Day starts. Right fielder Jason Heyward debuted for the Cardinals in this game, garnering three hits, including two doubles, and a stolen base. Left fielder Matt Holliday opened the season with a 12-game hitting streak. His 12th game was also his first four-hit performance of the season.

Matt Carpenter was named the National League Player of the Week on April 19.

Opening Night starting lineup
at Wrigley Field, April 5, 2015
defeated CHC, 3–0
No.	Name	Pos.
13	Matt Carpenter	3B
22	Jason Heyward	RF
7	Matt Holliday	LF
27	Jhonny Peralta	SS
32	Matt Adams	1B
4	Yadier Molina	C
16	Kolten Wong	2B
19	Jon Jay	CF
50	Adam Wainwright	P

Matt Carpenter's doubles in seven consecutive games

From April 12–19, third baseman Matt Carpenter netted seven consecutive games with at least two hits and one double, tying Ripper Collins for the franchise record he set in 1935. That same streak was also the longest in the Major Leagues since Paul Molitor achieve the same as a member of the Brewers in 1991. Carpenter also batted .480 with an .880 slugging percentage (SLG), seven doubles, one home run (HR), five runs batted in (RBI) and an-NL leading 22 total bases. MLB subsequently named him to his first NL Player of the Week Award for that period.

Making his 99th career start on April 15, starter Lance Lynn earned his 50th career win in a 4–2 victory over Milwaukee. It was his 13th win in the month of April since 2012, the highest total in MLB. Setup man Kevin Siegrist earned his first major league save by pitching the last two innings of a 6−1 win against the Reds on April 17. Heyward hit his first home run as a Cardinal on April 18 against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium.

Harris first Naval Academy graduate in MLB in 94 years, Wainwright out for season

The club placed OF Peter Bourjos on three-day paternity leave on April 21, replacing him on the 25-man roster with RHP Mitch Harris. Harris was the first United States Naval Academy graduate to be called up to the majors since pitcher Nemo Gaines of the Washington Senators in 1921. On April 25, Harris made his major-league debut, substituting for Wainwright in a game against Milwaukee after he suffered an ankle injury, and struck out his first batter, Adam Lind. Catcher Cody Stanley, who replaced Wainwright on the 25-man roster, got a hit in his first major league at bat. The Cardinals announced that Wainwright had an Achilles tendon rupture and would likely miss the remainder of the season.

Left-handed pitcher (LHP) Tim Cooney took Wainwright's next spot in the rotation. It was his major league debut, but was a disappointment, going only 2+1⁄3 innings and giving up seven hits and a walk. The following day, the Cardinals called up RHP Miguel Socolovich and sent down Cooney. To make room on the 40-man roster, OF Tommy Pham was moved to the 60-day disabled list. Through his first four starts of the season, Martínez' ERA was 1.89. Through the month of April, Holliday maintained an MLB-best .500 OBP.

May

Sweep of each game of home series with walk-off hits

The month of May increased the trend of unique and rare achievements for the Cardinals, both affirmative and dubious. In the May 1–3 series at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals swept by winning each game in extra innings. In the last game of that series, Kolten Wong hit his second career regular-season walk-off home run; his first also occurred against the Pirates. St. Louis became the first team since 1925 to sweep by winning each game in extra innings when the Cincinnati Reds did so against the Boston Braves from June 4–7. Of course, because the games were at Busch Stadium, St. Louis each won in walk-off fashion: first baseman Matt Adams with a bases-loaded single in the first game, and Carpenter with a sacrifice fly in the second.

Best 25-game start since at least 1900

Miguel Socolovich made his Cardinals debut on May 3 against the Reds, completing one inning with a strikeout and no hits or walks. Setup man Jordan Walden went on the DL on May 3 because of a biceps injury, and it changed manager Mike Matheny's bullpen strategy by using his most capable relief pitchers more, including closer Trevor Rosenthal, setup man Matt Belisle and middle reliever Seth Maness. Each were either injured or because less effective later in the season. Kevin Siegrist, who originally filled the seventh inning, moved to the eight-inning setup role, leaving a hollow in the seventh inning.

The Cardinals defeated the Cubs on May 4 for their seventh straight win, making their record on the season an MLB-best 19–6. It was their best start after 25 games since at least 1900. In that contest, Mark Reynolds hit his fourth career grand slam in the 10–9 score. Despite getting a no-decision, Martínez allowed seven of the nine runs in this game. In the next game, also against the Cubs, Reynolds' pinch-hit double drove in the go-ahead runs as the Cardinals were victorious, 7–4.

The Cardinals called LHP Tyler Lyons up from Memphis to take Wainwright's next turn in the rotation on May 5. Lyons completed 4+1⁄3 innings with seven strikeouts, two walks, six hits, and four runs (three earned). In 7+2⁄3 IP against the Cubs on May 7, RHP John Lackey struck out 10. He also drove in his third career run with a double, his third career extra base hit in a 5–1 win.

Flood, Forsch, Kissell and Simmons announced as new Cardinals Hall of Fame inductees

Four new members of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum were announced on May 5, including Curt Flood, Bob Forsch, George Kissell and Ted Simmons. In 12 seasons with St. Louis, center fielder Flood won seven Gold Gloves, was a three-time All-Star, and a member of the 1964 and 1967 championship clubs. However, Flood is best known for challenging the reserve clause, which in spite of the United States Supreme Court ruling in MLB's favor, eventually led to free agency. Forsch, the only pitcher in franchise history to throw two no-hitters, ranked third with 163 wins and second with 401 starts. Kissell spent 65 years in the Cardinals organization as a minor league player, manager, scout and instructor. Simmons, a catcher, played 13 years in St. Louis, was a six-time All-Star, and set the National League record for hits (188) by a catcher in 1975. He batted .298 with 172 HR and 929 RBI as Cardinal.

Molina hit into first-ever 4–5–4 triple play in MLB

In the next series against the Pirates on May 9, Martínez continued to struggle as he allowed 14 runs on 16 hits and 11 walks including the previous two starts totaling nine innings. His ERA jumped from 1.89 from before the previous start against the Cubs to 4.73 after the start against the Pirates. The next day, the Cardinals fell victim to the first "4–5–4" triple play (where the second baseman records the out, throws to the third baseman, who records a second out, and finally back to the second baseman, who records a third and final out of the inning, all in one play) in MLB history. In this play, Molina lined out to Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker, who threw to third baseman Jung-ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta for the second out. Kang briefly pirouetted the ball in his hand, albeit confused, then threw back to Walker to tag Jason Heyward for the final out.

Cardinals batters struck out record 18 times

Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians struck out 18 Cardinals on May 13, setting a record for a Cardinal opponent and tying Bob Feller for the Indians' nine-inning franchise record in Cleveland's 2–0 win. After striking out five times on May 18, Grichuk followed up with two doubles and a triple the next night against the New York Mets as the Cardinals prevailed 10–2. A 3–1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on May 17 gave Mike Matheny his 300th win as manager. Jaime García, reactivated from the 60-day disabled list for a start against the Mets on May 21, made his first MLB appearance in nearly one year. He completed seven innings but received the loss, allowing five hits, two runs (both earned), five walks, and striking out three.

Mike Matheny guided the Cardinals to his 300th win while managing on May 17 against Detroit.

The Cardinals won each of Michael Wacha's first nine starts while he received the win in seven of them. That ninth game spanned through May 24 against the Kansas City Royals. His ERA was 1.87. Wacha was the first Cardinal pitcher to start with a 7–0 record since Matt Morris started 8–0 in 2005. Matt Carpenter homered for his 500th career hit and 300th career run scored. On May 25, Jhonny Peralta hit a walk-off home run in the tenth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, his seventh home run of the season. García's first win in nearly a year was on May 26 against the Diamondbacks, in which worked six innings in a 6–4 victory.

Matt Holliday's record on-base streak

Holliday reached base each of his first 43 games of the season through May 27 against the Diamondbacks, breaking Albert Pujols' franchise and National League records, which he set in 2008. Holliday had also reached base in 45 consecutive games dating back to 2014, which was 10 short of Stan Musial's overall franchise record, and 29 short of Ted Williams' MLB record. Heyward's home run in the ninth inning that game tied the game at 3–3, and the Cardinals eventually won, 4–3. IF Matt Adams was placed on the 15-day disabled list May 28 with a torn right quadriceps and replaced on the 25-man roster with C Ed Easley. He had surgery May 29 and was expected to miss three to four months, effectively the rest of the season.

Tribute to Taveras

On May 31, the Cardinals paid an official tribute to the deceased Oscar Taveras, who debuted for them in the major leagues exactly one year earlier. They played the Los Angeles Dodgers that day. Martínez, the Cardinals starting pitcher and close of friend of Taveras, struck out eight and extended a personal scoreless inning streak to 20+1⁄3 innings as St. Louis prevailed, 3–1. It was the longest scoreless-inning streak in the NL for a starting pitcher through that point in the season.

Through their first 50 games and two of the months of the season, the Cardinals were an MLB-best 33–17 (.660 winning percentage), including 20–6 at home. They produced the best run differential at plus-60 and were the only team with a staff ERA lower than 3.00, at 2.73. The bullpen had a 2.21 ERA. The offense produced a seventh-best .737 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

June

Matt Holliday set the National League record for reaching base in the most consecutive games to start a season with 45.

In his third start of the season on June 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers, García logged seven innings, while allowing one run and striking out four with less than 90 pitches. However, he ended up with a 1–0 loss, bringing his record for the season to 1–2 with a 2.70 ERA. In his time with the Cardinals through June 1, Peralta ranked first in extra-base hits (80) and home runs (29), third in RBI (101), second in slugging percentage (.461) and OPS (.804) and fourth in on-base percentage (.361) among MLB shortstops. On defense, although he did not rely on heavily on range, but on smart positioning and making the routine plays, qualifying him for +1 defensive runs saved after saving 17 the year before. Holliday's National League-record on-base streak to start the season ended at 45 games – 47 overall – on June 2 against the Brewers in a 1–0 win. Umpire Joe West ejected him for arguing a called third strike in the seventh inning, and also ejected manager Mike Matheny, who had joined the argument. It was the longest such streak in the major leagues since Derek Jeter garnered 53 in 1999.

Holliday, the second Cardinal of the season with a torn quadriceps muscle

Martínez' next start, also against the Dodgers, came on June 5. Over seven innings, he gave up just one run on three hits and struck out 11, a new career high, in a 2–1 victory. By giving up the run in the second inning, the scoreless inning streak stopped at 21+2⁄3, also a career-high. On June 8, Holliday suffered a right quadriceps strain while attempting to catch a fly ball off the bat of Carlos González during a game against the Colorado Rockies. The Cardinals placed Holliday on the 15-day DL, and recalled Socolovich to take his place on the roster. At the time, Holliday was batting .303 with three HR and 26 RBI, and was third overall in the NL All-Star balloting. He was second among outfielders to Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, which would translate as a spot as a starting outfielder in the All-Star Game if that placement held for the final vote tally. In the MLB Draft, the Cardinals selected outfielder Nick Plummer with the 23rd overall and team's number-one pick from Brother Rice High School in Michigan. In a June 12 start against the Royals, Jaime García netted his 500th career strikeout by getting Omar Infante as the Cardinals won 4–0. It was García's 102nd career start; he had also not issued a walk in his first 30 IP of the season.

Lyons, whom the Cardinals recalled from Memphis to take the place of an injured Lance Lynn on June 13, stopped a winless streak of 13 MLB starts by pitching a 3–2 victory over the Royals. He struck out five in six innings. Closer Trevor Rosenthal strung together a 17+2⁄3 scoreless inning streak while saving his NL-leading 21st game of the season. The Cardinals' first back-to-back home runs of the season occurred on June 15 against the Twins, which Molina and Reynolds accomplished. It was Molina's first home run of the season and first in 95 games, dating back to June 27, 2014. The Cardinals' previous back-to-back home runs occurred when Holliday and Grichuk delivered against the Reds on September 19, 2014.

First alleged case of cyber espionage in professional sports

Reports surfaced on June 16 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were reviewing an alleged incident involving Cardinals' front office officials hacking into the Houston Astros' database of players, scouting reports and proprietary statistics. It was regarded as the first known case of corporate espionage involving computer network hacking in professional sports.

Rookies Grichuk, Garcia and Scruggs help deliver wins

In his first major league action of 2015, second baseman Greg Garcia collected two hits in 12–4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on June 19. Molina, Wong and Grichuk all homered as Lyons earned his second win of the season. At the plate, Lyons collected both his first major league run batted in and base on balls and while hitting two singles. He reached base and scored in all three plate appearances. Garcia and IF Xavier Scruggs had been called up from Memphis on June 19 in preparation for the series against the Phillies, with Harris and Easley optioned back to the AAA club. The Cardinals were also victorious the next game by a 10–1 score. Grichuk followed with a two more home runs and his second consecutive three-hit game. Heyward also contributed three hits and two RBI. Lackey, the Cardinals' starting pitcher, completed seven innings, for the fourth time in five starts. He improved his record to 6–4 with a 3.41 ERA.

Scruggs provided three hits and two RBI, Heyward hit his eighth home run, and Reynolds drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded infield single on June 23 against the Miami Marlins in a 4–3 win. The Cardinals activated Lynn from the DL the next day prior to the series finale against the Marlins. Heyward homered again the next game, and Wong hit his ninth HR as García improved to 3–3 in a 6–1 victory and series win over the Marlins. The Cardinals optioned Lyons back to Memphis to make room on the roster for Lynn, who started the next game against the Marlins, pitching six scoreless innings in a 5–1 victory and series sweep. Wong's RBI double broke a scoreless tie and put the Cardinals ahead for good. Pete Kozma, filling in for Peralta at shortstop, scored on that double had three hits and reached base in four plate appearances, snapping an 0–21 streak that dated back to May 19.

Greg Garcia's first major league home was on June 26 in the eighth inning against Pedro Strop of the Cubs, tying the score in an eventual 4–3 Cardinals win, where they walked off when Bourjos scored on an error in the 10th inning. The Cardinals improved to an MLB-best 27–7 at home.

Best start in MLB in ten years

The Cardinals won their fifth straight game on June 27 by a score of 8–1, also at home against the Cubs, extending their major league-best record to 50–24. Scruggs provided another three-hit night as all nine starters collected at least one hit. Wacha improved to 10–3 and Carlos Villanueva pitched the last three innings for his first save of the season and fourth career with three or more innings pitched. Each of the second, third and fourth innings with the Cubs batting ended with a double play.

The Cardinals became the first club of the season to reach 50 wins and the fastest to win 50 since the Chicago White Sox in 2005. In the last 50 years, the 2015 Cardinals were just the 18th club to reach 50 wins before losing their 25th game, of which, 13 went on to win 100 or more games and only two missed the playoffs. The only other time in Cardinals' history with such a start or better occurred in 1944 (52–21–2), a season that concluded with 105 regular-season wins and the World Series title. The 2015 club held the major leagues' best run-differential at +95, and their staff ERA (2.63) was the lowest through 74 games in a season since the Baltimore Orioles in 1972 (2.31).

Wacha and Martínez both with nine wins before July

Winning again against the Cubs on June 28, the Cardinals swept as Martínez won his ninth decision. Thus he and Wacha were the first teammate duo aged 23 and under to win nine games or more in their team's first 75 since Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez did so with the Mets in 1986. On June 30 against the Chicago White Sox, the Cardinals again fell victim to a strikeout record against an American League Central pitcher. By striking out 12 Cardinals hitters, Chris Sale matched Pedro Martínez with 10 or more strikeouts in each of eight consecutive games, which Martínez accomplished in 1999. The Cardinals fell to the White Sox, 2–1, in extra innings for just their second loss at home of the month. Grichuk hit a 448 feet (137 m) home run off Sale into the Big Mac Land section, the longest home run of the year at Busch Stadium by a Cardinals player through that point. The bullpen finished with an MLB-best 1.52 ERA for the month of June.

July

Dismissal of Correa for unauthorized access

On July 2, news reports including those by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch indicated that the Cardinals had dismissed scouting director Chris Correa after he had admitted to illegally accessing the Astros' scouting database in 2013.

On January 8, 2016, Correa pleaded guilty in federal court to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer from at least March 2013 through June 2014. Officials in MLB's commissioner's office said they will review the results of the federal investigation and determine if and when any penalties will be assessed against the Cardinals.

End of Rosenthal's scoreless streak

Trevor Rosenthal's 23+2⁄3 IP scoreless streak ended on July 3 against the San Diego Padres. Jedd Gyorko singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth to send the Cardinals to their fourth consecutive loss. Rosenthal's streak, which dated back to May 5, was the longest among relief pitchers in the National League to that point in the season. The Cardinals recalled Harris and optioned Greg Garcia back to Memphis on July 4.

Pham's first MLB double and home run help win two games

On July 4, the Cardinals defeated the Padres 2–1 as center fielder Tommy Pham, just recalled from Memphis, was influential in helping snap the four-game losing streak. He doubled for his first major league hit, then, later in the game, pilfered his first stolen base and scored the winning run. The next game, Pham hit his first major league home run and drove in his first major league runs, driving in all three runs in a 3–1 victory and propelling the Cardinals to the series split with the Padres. The Cardinals placed Jaime García with a right groin strain and recalled Cooney from Memphis. García sustained the injury on June 24 while running the bases against Miami.

Six selected for All-Star Game

Yadier Molina was selected for his seventh consecutive All-Star game in 2015.

Six Cardinals were selected to compete for the National League All-Star team in the 86th All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, including Matt Holliday, Carlos Martínez, Yadier Molina, Jhonny Peralta, Trevor Rosenthal and Michael Wacha. Peralta and Holliday were voted to start the game by fan vote on July 6. Peralta garnered the most votes among NL shortstops, while Holliday placed third among NL outfielders, which automatically assured him one three starting outfield spots. Molina and Rosenthal were selected by fellow players on July 7; NL manager Bruce Bochy also selected Wacha that day. Additionally, Martínez was nominated as a contender for the All-Star Final Vote, which he won on July 10 for was his first All-Star selection.

Although it was Holliday's seventh All-Star selection, it was first time he was selected by fan vote, and thus, as a starter. He was held out of participating due to the quadriceps injury. Peralta made his third All-Star team and first playing for the National League. Molina was selected for his seventh appearance, and Rosenthal and Wacha were both selected for the first time. Through July 10, Martínez completed 107+1⁄3 innings and notched a 10–3 record with a 2.52 ERA. Over his previous 10 outings, his totals included 10 consecutive quality starts with a 1.20 ERA and 7–1 W–L. Rosenthal elected not to play due to a sore arm.

In the Reds' clubhouse for the All-Star Game, Molina was assigned the locker of second baseman Brandon Phillips. A rift had developed between the two in 2010 when Phillips called the Cardinals a derogatory name to the press, and an altercation between them during one of Phillips' at bats the following game ignited a bench-clearing brawl. Since then, the two mended their schism, and Molina has a photograph of their two families together. When informed with whom he shared, Molina replied, "This is Phillips' locker? How about that? I'll have to write something to him."

While the pregame roster introductions were made, Reds fans booed all six Cardinals players, and even former Cardinal Albert Pujols. When Molina was introduced, the booing reached a crescendo, and he smiled and turned and pointed his thumbs toward the back of his jersey. Pujols provided levity when he then joined in the booing. After the game, Molina remarked to reporters, "when you spend 12 years coming to Cincinnati and you beat them so many times, they're going to boo you." In his career to that point, he hit .319 with a .352 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage in 270 career at-bats at Great American Ball Park.

Pirates' three straight wins over Cardinals to end first half

In the morning of July 12, the Cardinals dropped their second straight game (that had started the night before) to the second place Pirates, after Andrew McCutchen hit a walk off home run off Nick Greenwood in the bottom of the 14th inning. Earlier in this game, Mark Reynolds hit his first multiple home run game of the season – and 22nd of his career – while John Lackey delivered his sixth straight quality start, and 12th in 15 outings. The next game ended with a 6–5 extra-inning defeat of the Cardinals, this time in the bottom of the tenth inning. The loss shrunk the Central division-leading Cardinals' lead over the Pirates to 2+1⁄2 games; it was also the Pirates' third consecutive victory over the Cardinals in as many days. Gregory Polanco's bases loaded single in the bottom of the tenth off Rosenthal gave the Pirates the win. Rosenthal's first blown save since May 3, it stopped a streak of 18 consecutive conversions. This match was the tenth meeting between the two clubs to this point in the season, of which they had split evenly, and the fifth to go into extra innings.

Despite withstanding both a three-game and four-game losing streak within their previous 14 games, the Cardinals entered the All-Star break with the best record in the major leagues at 56–33. According to STATS LLC, St. Louis abdicated a 2.71 ERA, the leading at-the-break ERA in the majors since the 1981 Astros allowed a 2.81 ERA. Between Lackey, Lynn, Martínez, and Wacha – the four with the most starts – their unified ERA was 2.84, the top figure for the club since 1968, the season of Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA. Their record at Busch Stadium was 31–11 for a .738 winning percentage, the highest in the major leagues. They also had a 2.31 ERA at home.

Start of second half

On July 18, the Cardinals defeated the Mets 12–2 behind Lackey's seven innings and one run performance, Heyward's five hits and Grichuk's six RBI. Through his previous seven starts, Lackey's ERA was 1.63. Grichuk also had two home runs in the game, and a seven-game hitting streak, with 13 hits in 25 at bats (.520). It was his first six-RBI game. Heyward's five hits were his first in a game in two years. In the last game of the series, the Mets defeated the Cardinals 3–1 in 18 innings, in spite of stranding 25 runners, which tied their franchise record set in 1974. The game lasted five hours and 55 minutes.

Matt Holliday's first home run in his return from the disabled list was a grand slam against Carlos Rodon of the Chicago White Sox in an 8–5 win on July 21. It was his sixth career grand slam. Stephen Piscotty, appearing in his first major league game, singled in his second at bat for his first MLB hit. In the next game, also against the White Sox, Piscotty hit his first career double. With the bases loaded, Molina hit his first triple since 2011 and in more than 2,000 at bats. This triple provided the decisive run in a 3–2 outcome and made the Cardinals the first team of the season to 60 wins.

Cooney earned his first major league win by pitching a career-high seven innings in a 4−2 win over the Atlanta Braves on July 24. He had previously received no-decisions in each of his first five major league starts. Further, Cooney had a 12-inning scoreless streak that ended in the sixth inning. Grichuk hit a two-run home run, and, setup man Kevin Siegrist, filling in for closer Trevor Rosenthal, recorded his fifth save of the season. On July 25, Martínez pitched his 11th consecutive quality start, tying him with Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers for longest current streak, and the longest for the Cardinals since Chris Carpenter in 2010. Piscotty's sacrifice fly scored Kozma and was the only run of the game, giving the Cardinals a 1–0 win. It was Piscotty's first MLB RBI.

Kolten Wong's second career grand slam provided the margin in a 4–1 win over the Reds on July 27. The Reds then shut out the Cardinals on consecutive days. Holliday reaggravated the quadriceps injury on July 29 that he had sustained the month prior, and was placed on the 15-day DL. Lackey gave up just one run with eight strikeouts while allowing one walk and two hits. It was the fewest hits he allowed through that point in the season. He also allowed three runs or fewer in all but of one of his prior 17 starts.

However, the Cardinals' offense returned the following night (July 30) in a 9–8 home victory over the Colorado Rockies. After slumping to a .216 batting average over three months since being moved down in the order, Matt Carpenter returned to the lead off position for his first career multi-home run game. He also had four hits, four runs scored and four RBI. The game involved multiple lead changes, poor fundamental play and angry exchanges between the two clubs. Starting pitcher Carlos Martínez hit DJ LeMahieu with a pitch in the fifth inning; when the inning was completed, Martínez flashed an obscene gesture on full public display toward the visitors' dugout with Rockies players and personnel. Corresponding aggressive verbal exchanges ensued, including those between Molina and Nolan Arenado. In the seventh inning, Rockies pitcher Christian Friedrich hit Kolten Wong. The umpires issued warnings in the fifth inning but no ejections followed. Kevin Siegrist committed two throwing errors in the eighth inning involving Rockies baserunners, that, along with Randal Grichuk's throwing mistakes from center field (not officially ruled as errors), allowed Colorado to take an 8–6 lead. The Cardinals came back in the bottom of the ninth, winning on Greg Garcia's bases loaded walk-off walk. Carpenter was again instrumental, starting the rally with a ground rule double. Jhonny Peralta later delivered a game-tying two-run single before the Cardinals loaded the bases and Garcia drew the decisive walk. Martínez' streak of 11 quality starts ended with this game after allowing five runs in five innings.

Non-waiver trade deadline acquisitions

The Cardinals augmented their bullpen by adding former closers Jonathan Broxton and Steven Cishek and their lineup with Brandon Moss before the July 31 trade deadline. Cishek and Broxton were the fourth and fifth pitchers with at least 30 saves in one season to play for the Cardinals in 2015.

To help offset the loss of batting production from Holliday's return to the DL, the Cardinals acquired first baseman and outfielder Brandon Moss from the Indians for LHP Rob Kaminsky. The following day, the Cardinals acquired another former closer in Jonathan Broxton, who was Milwaukee's setup man. The Brewers also sent cash, as the pitcher's 2015 salary was $9 million ($11,583,356.8 today), and he would have been arbitration eligible in 2016 with a $2 million ($2,574,079.3 today) buyout. The Cardinals sent outfielder Malik Collymore (minors, not on 40-man roster) to the Brewers.

On July 30, it was announced the Cardinals had agreed to a new television deal with Fox Sports Midwest. It was an extension of the current deal, which would expire at the end of the 2017 season. The new deal would extend through 2032 and be worth $1 billion overall. It also guaranteed the franchise a minority stake in the network. The Cardinals' current deal would have been worth about $35 million in its final year, then climb to roughly $55 million in 2018, increasing with inflation each year afterward.

August

Moss' first RBI for St. Louis occurred on August 2, a game-winning single that scored Jason Heyward in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Rockies. Carpenter hit five home runs from July 30 to August 5. On August 5 against the Reds at Great American Ball Park, Grichuk doubled in the sixth inning and hit the game-winning home run in the top of the 13th for a 4–3 win. After closing out a 6–0 contest against Milwaukee on August 7 with three scoreless innings, Carlos Villanueva earned his second save of the season, and second of three innings. By shutting out the Brewers 3–0 on August 8, Cardinals pitchers induced 36 consecutive scoreless innings. Jaime García was the starter and winning pitcher in this game, improving to 4–4. The Cardinals extended their season-high scoreless streak to 38 innings against the Brewers on August 9, but lost the contest 5–4. They had also completed 62 innings without allowing a home run, which also ended in this game.

Due to his increased frequency of home runs, Carpenter received consideration for a second NL Player of the week Award for August 9. He batted .348 with four home runs, eight RBI, seven runs scored, a 1.000 SLG and .423 OBP. Baseball America released their annual Tool Box Awards for 2015 on August 12, rated by managers and coaches league-wide. Those rating at or near the top of various categories included Carpenter for "best strike zone judgment" (third), Yadier Molina for both "best hit and run artist" (tied for first) and "best defensive catcher" (first), Trevor Rosenthal for "best reliever" (third), and Mike Matheny for "best manager" (second).

In a 10–5 loss to the Pirates on August 13, starter Lance Lynn recorded just two outs while allowing seven runs total, three earned, in the first inning. Lynn allowed six hits while throwing 41 pitches. The Pirates scored four unearned runs after Matt Carpenter's throwing error. Pedro Álvarez, with six hits in 12 at bats, two home runs, and two doubles in the series, also homered in the first inning. That gave him 18 home runs in 80 games against the Cardinals. Lynn became the first Cardinals starter since Anthony Reyes on October 1, 2006, to fail to complete the first inning by reason other than injury. Tyler Lyons, making his first relief appearance of the season, took over for Lynn and completed 5+1⁄3 scoreless innings. It was the Cardinals' first scoreless relief outing of at least five innings since Manny Aybar did so in 1999.

Jaime García pitched 8+1⁄3 innings against the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium on August 14 in a 3–1 win. One of the hits he allowed was to Ichiro Suzuki, his 4,191st hit in top-level professional baseball, matching Ty Cobb.^[a] Ichiro passed Cobb the next night with two singles as the Cardinals won, 6–2. John Lackey (10–7) was the Cardinals' starter and recorded his 12th consecutive season with at least 10 victories. In 8+1⁄3 IP, he struck out six, and allowed the two runs after nine hits and one walk. At one point, he retired nine consecutive batters. Randal Grichuk and Mark Reynolds both homered and Stephen Piscotty collected three hits. Piscotty then hit a home run in the next game, also against the Marlins, for his in the major leagues, and Jason Heyward homered twice for his first multi-home run game with the Cardinals. It was not enough run support as Miami won, 6–4.

After injuring his right elbow, the Cardinals placed Grichuk on the DL on August 17 due to a strain, and recalled Tommy Pham in his place. With his first major league triple, Piscotty set up the go-ahead run in a 2–1 win over the San Francisco Giants on August 17. Molina's 100th career home run on August 19 was well-timed, becoming the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning at Busch Stadium in a 4–3 win over the Giants.

The Cardinals won seven of ten games on their West Coast road trip from August 21–30. After losing the first two games of the series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park by a combined 17–3 score, the Cardinals won on August 23, 10–3. Piscotty set a new career high with five RBI, and his first multi-home run game. Michael Wacha won his 15th game.

The Cardinals swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in four games at Chase Field August 24–27. After saving his 40th game on August 26, Rosenthal became the third-youngest MLB pitcher to record back-to-back 40 save seasons, and just the second Cardinals pitcher to do so. Lee Smith registered 40 saves each season from 1991–93. In the final game of the series against the Diamondbacks, Brandon Moss hit his first home run as a Cardinal, and Tony Cruz hit his first home run of the season in a 5–3 win. The Cardinals announced on August 28 that they had chosen Randy Flores, a former relief pitcher who had played for the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship team, as their next director of scouting. Matt Carpenter reached 20 home runs for the first time in his career on August 30 in a 7–5 win over the Giants. Reynolds and Moss also homered, and Heyward singled, doubled, and tripled, and Siegrist got his sixth save. It was the final game of the West Coast road trip.

September and October

John Lackey, who led the Cardinals in innings pitched and posted a career-best 2.77 ERA, started Game 1 of the NLDS.

St. Louis won their second successive, 8–5, come-from-behind victory at Busch Stadium over the Washington Nationals on September 1. Brandon Moss provided a three-run, walk-off home run. Marco Gonzales made his first appearance of the season in this game, allowing four runs in less than three innings. This win placed the club at 40 games above .500 for the first time on the season. The club activated center fielder Jon Jay from the disabled list on September 4 after missing 57 games due to a wrist injury. Jaime García achieved his 50th career win in a 4–1 decision over the Pirates on September 5, also reaching 100 IP in a season for the first time since 2012.

The Cardinals reactivated Grichuk on September 6. Four days later, he played center field against the Cubs, but was not permitted to throw as his elbow had still not fully recovered. In an eight-game stretch, the Cardinals allowed 52 runs (6.5 per game), while scoring just 20, including a loss of 9–0 to the Cubs and another loss of 11–0 to the Reds. First baseman Matt Adams, on the DL since late May, returned to play on September 11. On September 12, MLB announced an 80-game suspension of catcher Cody Stanley after testing positive for 4-Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone, a prohibited substance under their drug policy. The club activated reliever Matt Belisle from the DL on September 12, and reactivated Matt Holliday three days later after missing 41 games.

The Cardinals swept the September 15–17 series against Milwaukee to give them their first four-game winning streak of the month. On September 16, Pham tripled and hit his first multi-home run game in a 5–4 victory. He actually homered in three consecutive plate appearances spanning his last at bat previous to the game, September 13 against Cincinnati. In the next game, Pham's line drive ricocheted off the head of starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson. Although Nelson had to leave the game, he was able to walk off the field in his own ability, and a magnetic resonance image (MRI) revealed a contusion. The Cardinals won, 6–3. Pham doubled and tripled in this game, giving him six hits and eight RBI in consecutive games against Milwaukee. With seven scoreless innings, Lackey reached 200 IP for the sixth time in his career and first time since 2010. He had a 2.23 ERA over his last 17 starts. By reaching 200 IP, he triggered a $400,000 bonus, bringing his earnings for the season over $2 million.

With the Cubs seven games back, the first-place Cardinals visited Wrigley Field on September 18 to start a three-game series, continuing a renewed Cardinals–Cubs rivalry with Chicago being more competitive than in recent years. After Cubs pitcher Dan Haren hit Matt Holliday in the back of the head in the fifth inning, Belisle grazed Anthony Rizzo behind the knee in the seventh inning, prompting his ejection. The Cubs won, 8–3. Remarked Cubs manager Joe Maddon about Belisle hitting Rizzo, "I have no history with the Cardinals except I used to love them growing up. That really showed me a lot today in a negative way. I don't know who put out the hit. I don't know if Tony Soprano is in the dugout. I didn't see him in there. But we're not going to put up with it, from them or anybody else."

Chicago defeated St. Louis again the next game, 5–4, but the Cardinals clinched at least a spot in the wild-card play-in game with the Giants' loss to the Diamondbacks, the first team of the season to advance to the playoffs. Matheny became the first manager in MLB history to guide his club to the postseason in each of his first four full seasons. In the third game of the series against the Cubs on September 20, the bases were loaded with no outs in the eight inning. Addison Russell hit a fly ball that Heyward caught running and threw home to Molina to tag out Rizzo by two steps, helping preserve a 4–3 win. However, Molina injured his left thumb as he applied the tag. An MRI revealed a partial ligament tear the following day. The same day, the Cardinals announced Adam Wainwright was cleared to resume baseball activities ahead of schedule after diligently rehabilitating his Achilles tendon rupture throughout the season. Pham drove in two of the runs in a 3–1 win over the Reds on September 22.

Catcher Travis Tartamella debuted on September 23 in the eighth inning of a 10–2 win against the Reds and singled on the first pitch of his first plate appearance. Martinez' season ended early in a start against the Brewers on September 25 in which threw only seven pitches; he also missed the postseason. The injury was a shoulder strain; however, surgery was not deemed necessary and that he would recover in time for the 2016 season. While playing the Pirates on September 28, Piscotty was injured on a fly ball into left field when he collided with Bourjos' knee, which hit him in the head. He suffered a bruise, but tests results were negative for injury, including concussion. The Cardinals won the contest 3–0, and Rosenthal gained his 48th save, establishing a new single-season franchise record.

Making his first appearance of the season since April, Wainwright pitched an inning of relief in the first game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh on September 30, an 8–2 loss. He gave up one run on two hits with a strikeout and no walks. He had returned from injury at least four months ahead of schedule. In the second game, the Cardinals won their 100th game of the season while clinching their third consecutive National League Central division title by an 11–1 score. The Pirates, who had kept close with the Cardinals for nearly the entire season, had won their 96th game of the season earlier in the day. They already qualified as one of two wild card entrants, along with the Cubs. Heyward hit a grand slam to highlight the second game, the second of his career, and robbed both Francisco Cervelli and Michael Morse of hits. Tyler Lyons, filling in for the injured Carlos Martínez, completed seven scoreless innings with just four hits and no walks allowed. Carpenter doubled and tripled, and Peralta added three RBI. Seigrist, making his major league-leading 80th appearance of the season, became just the third left-handed pitcher in franchise history to make that many appearances in a season.

The Cardinals finished their regular season October 1–3 against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, which the Braves swept. They held the Cardinals scoreless in their final 27 innings of the regular season.

Schedule and results

Game log

2015 St. Louis Cardinals Game Log (100–62)
April: 15–6 (.714) (Home: 8–2 ; Away: 7–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 1 April 5 @ Cubs 3–0 Wainwright (1–0) Lester (0–1) Rosenthal (1) 35,055 1–0 1–0 – April 7 @ Cubs Postponed (inclement weather) (Makeup date: July 7th) 2 April 8 @ Cubs 0–2 Arrieta (1-0) Lynn (0-1) Rondón (1) 26,814 1–1 1–1 3 April 10 @ Reds 4–5 Hoover (2-0) Walden (0-1) Chapman (2) 30,808 1–2 1–2 4 April 11 @ Reds 4–1 Wacha (1-0) Cueto (0-1) Rosenthal (2) 41,525 2–2 2–2 5 April 12 @ Reds 7–5 (11) Villanueva (1-0) Gregg (0-1) – 41,446 3–2 3–2 6 April 13 Brewers 4–5 Garza (1-1) Wainwright (1-1) Rodríguez (1) 47,875 3–3 3–3 7 April 15 Brewers 4–2 Lynn (1-1) Peralta (0-1) Rosenthal (3) 40,826 4–3 4–3 8 April 16 Brewers 4–0 Lackey (1-0) Fiers (0-2) – 40,079 5–3 5–3 9 April 17 Reds 6–1 Wacha (2-0) Cueto (0-2) Siegrist (1) 46,462 6–3 6–3 10 April 18 Reds 5–2 Martínez (1-0) Bailey (0-1) Rosenthal (4) 45,906 7–3 7–3 11 April 19 Reds 2–1 Wainwright (2–1) Leake (0–1) Walden (1) 40,742 8–3 7–3 12 April 21 @ Nationals 1–2 (10) Barrett (2-0) Villanueva (1-1) – 27,021 8–4 7–3 13 April 22 @ Nationals 7–5 Siegrist (1-0) Treinen (0-2) Rosenthal (5) 25,771 9–4 8–2 14 April 23 @ Nationals 4–1 Wacha (3-0) Scherzer (1-2) Rosenthal (6) 26,990 10–4 8–2 15 April 24 @ Brewers 3–0 Martínez (2-0) Garza (1-3) Rosenthal (7) 26,286 11–4 8–2 16 April 25 @ Brewers 5–3 Belisle (1-0) Peralta (0-3) Maness (1) 35,919 12–4 9–1 17 April 26 @ Brewers 3–6 Blazek (1-0) Lynn (1-2) Rodríguez (3) 32,758 12–5 8–2 18 April 27 Phillies 1–4 Hamels (1-2) Lackey (1-1) Papelbon (5) 40,052 12–6 7–3 19 April 28 Phillies 11–5 Wacha (4-0) González (0-1) – 40,143 13–6 7–3 20 April 29 Phillies 5–2 Martínez (3-0) Harang (2-2) Rosenthal (8) 40,399 14–6 7–3 21 April 30 Phillies 9–3 Villanueva (2-1) Buchanan (0-5) – 40,715 15–6 7–3
May: 18–11 (.621) (Home: 12–4 ; Away: 6–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 22 May 1 Pirates 2–1 (10) Choate (1–0) Scahill (0–2) – 40,912 16–6 7–3 23 May 2 Pirates 2–1 (11) Villanueva (3-1) Hughes (0-1) – 45,095 17–6 8–2 24 May 3 Pirates 3–2 (14) Socolovich (1-0) Liz (1-2) – 44,382 18–6 8–2 25 May 4 Cubs 10–9 Socolovich (2-0) Strop (0-2) Maness (2) 41,981 19–6 8–2 26 May 5 Cubs 7–4 Harris (1-0) Jackson (1-1) Rosenthal (9) 41,613 20-6 8–2 27 May 6 Cubs 5–6 Lester (2-2) Lynn (1-3) Rondon (6) 42,207 20–7 8–2 28 May 7 Cubs 5–1 Lackey (2-1) Arrieta (3-3) Rosenthal (10) 44,472 21–7 9–1 29 May 8 @ Pirates 8–5 Wacha (5-0) Liriano (1-2) Rosenthal (11) 33,507 22–7 9–1 30 May 9 @ Pirates 5–7 Scahill (1-2) Martínez (3-1) Melancon (6) 38,068 22–8 8–2 31 May 10 @ Pirates 3–4 Hughes (1-1) Harris (1-1) Melancon (7) 34,036 22–9 7–3 32 May 12 @ Indians 8–3 Lynn (2-3) Carrasco (4-3) – 12,615 23–9 7–3 33 May 13 @ Indians 0–2 Kluber (1-5) Lackey (2-2) Allen (5) 12,313 23–10 6–4 34 May 14 @ Indians 2–1 Siegrist (2-0) Rzepczynski (1-1) Rosenthal (12) 15,865 24–10 6–4 35 May 15 Tigers 4–10 Greene (4-2) Martinez (3-2) – 45,601 24–11 5–5 36 May 16 Tigers 3–4 Hardy (1-0) Belisle (1-1) Soria (12) 45,313 24–12 4–6 37 May 17 Tigers 2–1 Lynn (3-3) Simón (4-2) Rosenthal (13) 43,654 25–12 5–5 38 May 18 @ Mets 1–2 (14) Torres (2-2) Tuivailala (0-1) – 23,338 25–13 4–6 39 May 19 @ Mets 10–2 Wacha (6-0) Niese (3-4) – 21,157 26–13 4–6 40 May 20 @ Mets 9–0 Martínez (4-2) Colón (6-3) – 23,726 27–13 5–5 41 May 21 @ Mets 0–5 deGrom (5-4) García (0-1) – 32,783 27–14 5–5 42 May 22 @ Royals 0–5 Young (4-0) Lynn (3-4) – 37,379 27–15 4–6 43 May 23 @ Royals 2–3 (6) Vólquez (4-3) Lackey (2-3) – 38,676 27–16 4–6 44 May 24 @ Royals 6–1 Wacha (7-0) Ventura (3-4) – 36,342 28–16 4–6 45 May 25 Diamondbacks 3–2 (10) Rosenthal (1-0) Ramirez (1-1) – 42,853 29–16 5–5 46 May 26 Diamondbacks 6–4 García (1-1) Bradley (2-2) Maness (3) 41,107 30–16 6–4 47 May 27 Diamondbacks 4–3 Maness (1-0) Ziegler (0-1) – 43,715 31–16 6–4 48 May 29 Dodgers 3–0 Lackey (3-3) Bolsinger (3-1) Rosenthal (14) 44,223 32–16 7–3 49 May 30 Dodgers 1–5 Frías (4-2) Wacha (7-1) – 44,754 32–17 6–4 50 May 31 Dodgers 3–1 Martínez (5-2) Anderson (2-3) Rosenthal (15) 45,285 33–17 6–4
June: 18–8 (.692) (Home: 9–2 ; Away: 9–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 51 June 1 Brewers 0–1 Fiers (2-5) García (1-2) Rodríguez (9) 40,689 33–18 6–4 52 June 2 Brewers 1–0 Lynn (4-4) Cravy (0-1) Rosenthal (16) 42,835 34–18 6–4 53 June 3 Brewers 7–4 Lackey (4-3) Nelson (2-6) Rosenthal (17) 41,567 35–18 7–3 54 June 4 @ Dodgers 7–1 Wacha (8–1) Frías (4–3) – 45,058 36–18 8–2 55 June 5 @ Dodgers 2–1 Martínez (6-2) Anderson (2-4) Rosenthal (18) 44,649 37–18 8–2 56 June 6 @ Dodgers 2–0 Kershaw (5-3) García (1-3) Jansen (6) 47,655 37-19 7–3 57 June 7 @ Dodgers 4–2 Siegrist (3–0) Nicasio (1–2) Rosenthal (19) 41,500 38-19 7–3 58 June 8 @ Rockies 3–11 Hale (2–0) Lackey (4–4) – 32,043 38-20 6–4 59 June 9 @ Rockies 4–3 de la Rosa (3–2) Wacha (8–2) Axford (11) 33,731 38–21 6–4 60 June 10 @ Rockies 4–2 Martínez (7-2) Bettis (2-1) Rosenthal (20) 30,698 39–21 6–4 61 June 12 Royals 4–0 García (2-3) Ventura (3–6) – 45,909 40–21 7–3 62 June 13 Royals 3–2 Lyons (1–0) Guthrie (4–4) Rosenthal (21) 45,981 41–21 7–3 -- June 14 Royals Postponed (inclement weather) (Makeup date: July 23) 63 June 15 Twins 3–2 Lackey (5–4) May (4–5) Siegrist (2) 43,174 42–21 7–3 64 June 16 Twins 3–2 Wacha (9–2) Gibson (4–5) Siegrist (3) 41,203 43–21 7–3 65 June 17 @ Twins 1–3 Milone (3-1) Martínez (7-3) Perkins (23) 34,381 43–22 6–4 66 June 18 @ Twins 1–2 Boyer (2-2) Villanueva (3-2) – 34,648 43–23 6–4 67 June 19 @ Phillies 12–4 Lyons (2–0) Aumont (0–1) – 21,169 44–23 6–4 68 June 20 @ Phillies 10–1 Lackey (6–4) Harang (4–9) – 24,256 45–23 7–3 69 June 21 @ Phillies 2–9 Morgan (1–0) Wacha (9–3) – 30,423 45–24 7–3 70 June 23 @ Marlins 4–3 Martínez (8–3) Dyson (3–3) Rosenthal (22) 21,759 46–24 7–3 71 June 24 @ Marlins 6–1 García (3-3) Latos (2-5) – 18,492 47–24 7–3 72 June 25 @ Marlins 5–1 Lynn (5-4) Haren (6-5) – 20,733 48–24 7–3 73 June 26 Cubs 3–2 (10) Maness (2-0) Grimm (1-2) – 45,558 49–24 7–3 74 June 27 Cubs 8–1 Wacha (10-3) Roach (0-1) Villanueva (1) 46,407 50–24 7–3 75 June 28 Cubs 4–1 Martínez (9-3) Hammel (5-3) Rosenthal (23) 45,384 51–24 8–2 76 June 30 White Sox 1–2 (11) Webb (1-0) Socolovich (2-1) Robertson (16) 45,626 51–25 8–2
July: 15–12 (.556) (Home: 10–7 ; Away: 5–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 77 July 1 White Sox 1–7 Quintana (4–7) Lackey (6–5) – 41,696 51–26 8–2 78 July 2 Padres 3–5 (11) Kelley (1–2) Villanueva (3–3) Kimbrel (20) 42,926 51–27 7–3 79 July 3 Padres 1–2 Benoit (5–3) Rosenthal (1–1) Kimbrel (21) 47,330 51–28 6–4 80 July 4 Padres 2–1 Maness (3–0) Maurer (5–1) Rosenthal (24) 44,690 52–28 6–4 81 July 5 Padres 3–1 Lynn (6–4) Kennedy (4–8) Siegrist (4) 42,764 53–28 6–4 82 July 6 @ Cubs 6–0 Lackey (7–5) Lester (4–7) – 37,609 54–28 6–4 83 July 7 @ Cubs 4–7 Arrieta (9–5) Lyons (2–1) – 34,368 54–29 5–5 84 @ Cubs 3–5 Wood (5–3) Maness (3–1) Motte (5) 35,703 54–30 4–6 85 July 8 @ Cubs 6–5 Socolovich (3–1) Strop (1–4) Rosenthal (25) 37,993 55–30 4–6 86 July 9 @ Pirates 4–1 Martínez (10–3) Locke (5–5) Rosenthal (26) 35,183 56–30 5–5 87 July 10 @ Pirates 2–5 Cole (13–3) Lynn (6–5) Melancon (29) 36,825 56–31 5–5 88 July 11 @ Pirates 5–6 (14) Worley (3–4) Greenwood (0–1) – 37,318 56–32 5–5 89 July 12 @ Pirates 5–6 (10) Caminero (1–1) Rosenthal (1–2) – 33,544 56–33 5–5 ASG 86th All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Box July 14 American 6, National 3 Price (AL, DET) Kershaw (NL, LAD) – 43,656 43−41–2 Representing the Cardinals: Holliday, Martínez, Molina, Peralta, Rosenthal, and Wacha 90 July 17 Mets 3–2 Lynn (7–5) Syndergaard (4–5) Rosenthal (27) 44,540 57–33 5–5 91 July 18 Mets 12–2 Lackey (8–5) Colón (9–8) – 45,852 58–33 5–5 92 July 19 Mets 1–3 (18) Torres (3–4) Martínez (10–4) – 43,194 58–34 4–6 93 July 21 @ White Sox 8–5 Wacha (11–3) Rodon (3–3) Rosenthal (28) 29,728 59–34 5–5 94 July 22 @ White Sox 3–2 Socolovich (4–1) Duke (3–4) Rosenthal (29) 30,046 60–34 6–4 95 July 23 Royals 4–3 Lackey (9–5) Young (8–6) Rosenthal (30) 46,003 61–34 6–4 96 July 24 Braves 4–2 Cooney (1–0) Banuelos (1–2) Siegrist (5) 44,778 62–34 6–4 97 July 25 Braves 1–0 Martínez (11–4) Miller (5–7) Choate (1) 45,862 63–34 7–3 98 July 26 Braves 2–3 Wisler (5–1) Wacha (11–4) Johnson (9) 44,870 63–35 7–3 99 July 27 Reds 4–1 Lynn (8–5) Iglesias (1–3) Rosenthal (31) 42,553 64–35 8–2 100 July 28 Reds 0–4 Leake (9–5) García (3–4) – 41,466 64–36 7–3 101 July 29 Reds 1–11 DeSclafani (6–7) Lackey (9–6) Chapman (21) 42,334 64–37 6–4 102 July 30 Rockies 9–8 Villanueva (4–3) Axford (3–4) – 43,518 65-37 7–3 103 July 31 Rockies 7–0 Wacha (12-4) Kendrick (4-12) – 42,568 66–37 7–3
August: 19–9 (.679) (Home: 8–4 ; Away: 11–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 104 August 1 Rockies 2–6 de la Rosa (7–4) Lynn (8–6) – 45,216 66–38 6–4 105 August 2 Rockies 3–2 Rosenthal (2–2) Oberg (2–2) – 44,743 67–38 6–4 106 August 4 @ Reds 2–3 DeSclafani (7–7) Lackey (9–7) Chapman (23) 25,969 67–39 5–5 107 August 5 @ Reds 4–3 (13) Maness (4–1) Axelrod (0–1) – 34,700 68–39 5–5 108 August 6 @ Reds 3–0 Wacha (13–4) Lorenzen (3–7) Rosenthal (32) 26,053 69–39 6–4 109 August 7 @ Brewers 6–0 Lynn (9–6) Cravy (0–3) Villanueva (2) 28,869 70–39 6–4 110 August 8 @ Brewers 3–0 García (4–4) Peralta (2–7) Rosenthal (33) 34,327 71–39 7–3 111 August 9 @ Brewers 4–5 Smith (2–2) Broxton (1–3) Rodríguez (26) 34,993 71–40 7–3 112 August 11 Pirates 4–3 Martínez (12–4) Locke (6–7) Rosenthal (34) 41,273 72–40 7–3 113 August 12 Pirates 4–2 Wacha (14–4) Cole (14–6) Rosenthal (35) 41,493 73–40 7–3 114 August 13 Pirates 5–10 Liriano (8–6) Lynn (9–7) – 41,501 73–41 7–3 115 August 14 Marlins 3–1 García (5–4) Koehler (8–10) Rosenthal (36) 42,025 74–41 7–3 116 August 15 Marlins 6–2 Lackey (10–7) Hand (2–3) – 44,706 75–41 8–2 117 August 16 Marlins 6–14 Narveson (1–0) Martínez (12–5) Ramos (19) 43,826 75–42 7–3 118 August 17 Giants 2–1 Siegrist (4–0) Strickland (2–2) Rosenthal (37) 40,088 76–42 7–3 119 August 18 Giants 2–10 Vogelsong (9–8) Lynn (9–8) Casilla (29) 40,297 76–43 6–4 120 August 19 Giants 4–3 Siegrist (5–0) Strickland (2–3) Rosenthal (38) 40,278 77–43 6–4 121 August 21 @ Padres 3–9 Cashner (5–12) Lackey (10–8) – 32,734 77–44 6–4 122 August 22 @ Padres 0–8 Kennedy (8–11) Martínez (12–6) – 44,816 77–45 5–5 123 August 23 @ Padres 10–3 Wacha (15–4) Rea (2–1) – 33,756 78–45 5–5 124 August 24 @ D-backs 5–3 Lynn (10–8) Chacín (0–1) Rosenthal (39) 19,892 79–45 6–4 125 August 25 @ D-backs 9–1 García (6–4) Ray (3–10) – 18,720 80–45 6–4 126 August 26 @ D-backs 3–1 Lackey (11–8) Hernandez (1–4) Rosenthal (40) 17,572 81–45 6–4 127 August 27 @ D-backs 5–3 Martínez (13–6) De La Rosa (11–6) Rosenthal (41) 22,036 82–45 7–3 128 August 28 @ Giants 4–5 López (1–0) Siegrist (5–1) – 41,577 82–46 7–3 129 August 29 @ Giants 6–0 Lynn (11–8) Vogelsong (9–10) – 41,796 83–46 7–3 130 August 30 @ Giants 7–5 García (7–4) Heston (11–8) Siegrist (6) 41,770 84–46 7–3 131 August 31 Nationals 8–5 Siegrist (6–1) Janssen (1–3) Rosenthal (42) 42,081 85–46 8–2
September: 15–13 (.536) (Home: 8–7 ; Away: 7–6 ) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 132 September 1 Nationals 8–5 Harris (2–1) Janssen (1–4) 42,589 86–46 9–1 133 September 2 Nationals 3–4 Martin (1–0) Broxton (1–4) Papelbon (23) 41,489 86–47 8–2 134 September 4 Pirates 3–9 Happ (8–7) Martínez (13–7) – 44,338 86–48 7–3 135 September 5 Pirates 4–1 García (8–4) Morton (8–7) – 45,139 87–48 7–3 136 September 6 Pirates 1–7 Cole (16–8) Lackey (11–9) – 46,011 87–49 6–4 137 September 7 Cubs 0–9 Haren (9–9) Lynn (11–9) – 45,986 87–50 5–5 138 September 8 Cubs 5–8 Hammel (8–6) Wacha (15–5) Rondon (27) 42,206 87–51 5–5 139 September 9 Cubs 4–3 Broxton (2–4) Richard (3–1) Rosenthal (43) 43,557 88–51 5–5 140 September 10 @ Reds 11–12 Lamb (1–3) García (8–5) – 16,363 88–52 4–6 141[b] September 11 @ Reds 2–4 Hoover (8–1) Broxton (2–5) Chapman (30) 31,427 88–53 3–7 142 September 12 @ Reds 1–5 DeSclafani (9–10) Lynn (11–10) – 41,137 88–54 2–8 143 September 13 @ Reds 9–2 Wacha (16–5) LeCure (0–1) – 29,900 89–54 3–7 144 September 15 @ Brewers 3–1 (10) Siegrist (7–1) Thornburg (0–2) Rosenthal (44) 30,349 90–54 4–6 145 September 16 @ Brewers 5–4 García (9–5) Peralta (5–9) Rosenthal (45) 19,827 91–54 4–6 146 September 17 @ Brewers 6–3 Lackey (12–9) Nelson (11–13) – 23,734 92–54 5–5 147 September 18 @ Cubs 3–8 Hunter (4–2) Maness (4–2) – 40,846 92–55 5–5 148 September 19 @ Cubs 4–5 Cahill (1–3) Wacha (16–6) Strop (3) 40,994 92–56 5–5 149 September 20 @ Cubs 4–3 Martínez (14–7) Lester (10–11) Rosenthal (46) 40,962 93–56 5–5 150 September 21 Reds 2–1 Broxton (3–5) Hoover (8–2) Rosenthal (47) 43,902 94–56 6–4 151 September 22 Reds 3–1 Lackey (13–9) LeCure (0–2) Cishek (4) 43,981 95–56 7–3 152 September 23 Reds 10–2 Lynn (12–10) Finnegan (4–1) – 43,729 96–56 8–2 153 September 24 Brewers 7–3 Wacha (17–6) Jungmann (9–7) – 43,243 97–56 8–2 154 September 25 Brewers 3–4 Smith (7–2) Rosenthal (2–3) – 45.057 97–57 7–3 155 September 26 Brewers 5–1 García (10–5) Wagner (0–1) – 45,561 98–57 7–3 156 September 27 Brewers 4–8 Goforth (1–0) Rosenthal (2–4) Rodríguez (37) 45,021 98–58 6–4 157 September 28 @ Pirates 3–0 Broxton (4–5) Melancon (3–2) Rosenthal (48) 30,198 99–58 7–3 － September 29 @ Pirates Postponed (rain). Makeup date: September 30. 158 September 30 @ Pirates 2–8 Cole (19–8) Wacha (17–7) – 29,747 99–59 7–3 159 September 30 @ Pirates 11–1 Lyons (3–1) Morton (9–9) – 34,729 100–59 7–3
October: 0-3 (.000) (Home: 0–0 ; Away: 0-3 ) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Box/L10 160 October 2 @ Braves 0–4 Teherán (11–8) García (10–6) – 24,481 100–60 6–4 – October 3 @ Braves Postponed (rain). Makeup date: October 4. 161 October 4 @ Braves 0–6 Miller (6–17) Lackey (13–10) – 31,441 100–61 5–5 162 @ Braves 0–2 Wisler (8–8) Lynn (12–11) Jackson (1) 31,441 100–62 4–6
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Cardinals team member

Roster

See also: St. Louis Cardinals all-time roster and List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches

2015 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 37 Matt Belisle 30 Jonathan Broxton 36 Randy Choate 28 Steve Cishek 66 Tim Cooney 54 Jaime García 56 Marco Gonzales 62 Nick Greenwood 40 Mitch Harris 67 Marcus Hatley 41 John Lackey 31 Lance Lynn 70 Tyler Lyons 61 Seth Maness 18 Carlos Martínez 44 Trevor Rosenthal 46 Kevin Siegrist 63 Miguel Socolovich 64 Samuel Tuivailala 33 Carlos Villanueva 52 Michael Wacha 50 Adam Wainwright 53 Jordan Walden		Catchers 48 Tony Cruz 23 Ed Easley  4 Yadier Molina 43 Cody Stanley 68 Travis Tartamella Infielders 32 Matt Adams 13 Matt Carpenter 35 Greg Garcia 30 Dan Johnson 38 Pete Kozma 21 Brandon Moss 27 Jhonny Peralta 12 Mark Reynolds 59 Xavier Scruggs 16 Kolten Wong		Outfielders  8 Peter Bourjos 15 Randal Grichuk 22 Jason Heyward  7 Matt Holliday 19 Jon Jay 60 Thomas Pham 55 Stephen Piscotty Other batters 65 Dean Anna		Manager 26 Mike Matheny Coaches 25 David Bell (bench) 49 Blaise Ilsley (bullpen) 34 Derek Lilliquist (pitching) 47 John Mabry (hitting) 77 Chris Maloney (first base)  3 Bill Mueller (assistant hitting) 11 José Oquendo (third base) 39 Jamie Pogue (bullpen catcher) 76 Kleininger Teran (bullpen catcher)

Injury report

Name	Duration		Injury type	Disabled list	Games missed	Ref.
	Start	End
Jaime García (1)	July 5, 2014	May 21, 2015	Thoracic outlet syndrome	60-day	116
Tommy Pham	March 13, 2015	June 6, 2015	Quadriceps grade 2 strain (left)	60-day	57
Randal Grichuk (1)	April 18, 2015	May 16, 2015	Back strain	15-day	26
Adam Wainwright	April 26, 2015	Current – Out for season	Achilles tendon rupture (left)	60-day	145 (estimated)
Jordan Walden	May 3, 2015	Current	Biceps inflammation	60-day
Jon Jay (1)	May 14, 2015	May 28, 2015	Wrist tendinitis (left)	15-day	13
Matt Adams	May 28, 2015	September 9, 2015	Quadriceps grade 3 strain (right)	60-day	92
Matt Holliday (1)	June 8, 2015	July 17, 2015	Quadriceps grade 2 strain (right)	15-day	31
Jaime García (2)	June 25, 2015	July 28, 2015	Groin strain (right)	15-day	28
Matt Belisle	June 30, 2015	September 12, 2015	Right forearm strain	60-day	66
Jon Jay (2)	July 1, 2015	September 4, 2015	Wrist stress reaction (left)	15-day	57
Mitch Harris	July 11, 2015	July 27, 2015	Groin strain	15-day	13
Matt Holliday (2)	July 29, 2015	September 15, 2015	Quadriceps grade 2 strain (right)	15-day	41
Randal Grichuk (2)	August 17, 2015	September 6, 2015	Elbow strain (right)	15-day	18

In-season acquisitions and roster moves

See also: Major League Baseball transactions

Club officials
Chris Correa St. Louis Cardinals Director of scouting (Incumbent) Fired July 2, 2015 Randy Flores Departed USC Trojans Assistant coach Hired by St. Louis Cardinals As Director of scouting August 28, 2015

40-man roster moves matrix

Date To MLB roster Inactive 40-man roster& Disabled list Off 40-man roster Notes April 10 Ed Easley (C) Ed Easley Tony Cruz (OF) 3-day paternity list April 13 Tony Cruz (C) Ed Easley (C) Tony Cruz April 18 Dean Anna (IF) Dean Anna Randal Grichuk (OF) April 21 Mitch Harris (RHP) Mitch Harris Peter Bourjos (OF) 3-day paternity list Gary Brown # (OF) DFA, LAA claimed April 25 Peter Bourjos (OF) Dean Anna (IF) Peter Bourjos April 26 Cody Stanley (C) Cody Stanley Adam Wainwright (RHP) April 30 Tim Cooney[A] (LHP) Cody Stanley (C) Adam Wainwright ^ (RHP) Date To MLB roster Inactive 40-man roster& Disabled list Off 40-man roster Notes May 1 Miguel Socolovich[B] (RHP) Cooney (LHP) Tommy Pham ^ (OF) May 3 Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Sam Tuivailala Jordan Walden (RHP) May 5 Tyler Lyons (LHP) Sam Tuivailala (RHP) May 14 Xavier Scruggs (IF) Xavier Scruggs Jon Jay (OF) May 16 Randal Grichuk (OF) Xavier Scruggs (IF) Randal Grichuk May 17 Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Tyler Lyons (LHP) May 21 Jaime García (LHP) Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Jaime García May 28 Ed Easley (C) Ed Easley Matt Adams (1B) Jon Jay (OF) Miguel Socolovich (RHP) Jon Jay Date To MLB roster Inactive 40-man roster& Disabled list Off 40-man roster Notes June 6 Tommy Pham[C] (OF) Matt Adams ^ (1B) June 9 Miguel Socolovich (RHP) Miguel Socolovich Matt Holliday (OF) June 12 Tyler Lyons (LHP) Tyler Lyons Lance Lynn[D] (RHP) June 19 Xavier Scruggs (IF) Greg Garcia (IF) Mitch Harris (RHP) Ed Easley (C) June 25 Lance Lynn (RHP) Tyler Lyons (LHP) Lance Lynn June 30 Marcus Hatley[E] (RHP) Marcus Hatley Matt Belisle (RHP) Jordan Walden ^ (RHP) Date To MLB roster Inactive 40-man roster& Disabled list Off 40-man roster Notes July 2 Tim Cooney (LHP) Tim Cooney Jon Jay (OF) July 3 Tommy Pham (OF) Tim Cooney (LHP) July 4 Mitch Harris (RHP) Greg Garcia (IF) July 5 Tim Cooney (LHP) Tim Cooney Jaime García[F] (LHP) July 7 Tyler Lyons[G] (LHP) Marcus Hatley (RHP) July 8 Dan Johnson[H] (IF) Tyler Lyons (LHP) Aledmys Díaz (IF) DFA, cleared waivers and reassigned to Springfield July 11 Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Nick Greenwood (LHP) Xavier Scruggs (IF) Mitch Harris (RHP) July 17 Matt Holliday (OF) Nick Greenwood (RHP) Matt Holliday July 21 Stephen Piscotty[I] (OF) Tommy Pham (OF) Ty Kelly# (IF) DFA, TOR claimed July 24 Matt Belisle Matt Belisle ^ (RHP) July 25 Steve Cishek[J] (RHP) Tim Cooney (LHP) July 27 Mitch Harris (RHP) Mitch Harris Tim Cooney Tim Cooney (LHP) July 30 Greg Garcia (IF) Greg Garcia Matt Holliday (OF) Brandon Moss[K] (OF/1B) Dan Johnson Dan Johnson (1B) Marcus Hatley (RHP) DFA, cleared waivers and reassigned to Memphis July 31 Jonathan Broxton[L] (RHP) Marcus Hatley Date To MLB roster Inactive 40-man roster& Disabled list Off 40-man roster Notes August 6 Tyler Lyons (RHP) Greg Garcia (IF) August 17 Tommy Pham (OF) Tommy Pham Randal Grichuk (OF) August 23 Greg Garcia (IF) Tyler Lyons (RHP) August 25 Tyler Lyons (RHP) Greg Garcia[M] (IF) August 28 Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Sam Tuivailala Trevor Rosenthal (RHP) 3-day paternity list August 31 Trevor Rosenthal (RHP) Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Date To MLB roster Inactive 40-man roster& Disabled list Off 40-man roster Notes September 1 Marco Gonzales (RHP) Mitch Harris (RHP) Cody Stanley (C) Marco Gonzales Mitch Harris Cody Stanley September 2 Nick Greenwood (RHP) Tyler Lyons (LHP) Miguel Socolovich (RHP) Greenwood, Lyons, Socolovich Marco Gonzales (RHP) September 4 Jon Jay (OF) Nick Greenwood (RHP) (Sept 3) Jon Jay September 6 Randal Grichuk (OF) Randal Grichuk September 8 Sam Tuivailala (RHP) Sam Tuivailala September 9 Matt Adams (1B) Matt Adams September 12 Matt Belisle (RHP) Cody Stanley Cody Stanley[N] (C) Matt Belisle September 15 Matt Holliday (OF) Matt Holliday September 21 Travis Tartamella[O] (C) Xavier Scruggs Xavier Scruggs (1B) &: Names in this column indicate player was optioned to Memphis and off the active roster, or from Memphis and activated, in this transaction, unless otherwise noted. #: Indicates player departed the St. Louis Cardinals organization before or at season's end. ^: Indicates player was transferred to 60-day DL in this transaction. ^ Tim Cooney was added to both the 25- and 40-man rosters when Adam Wainwright was shifted to 60-day DL. ^ Miguel Socolovich was added to both the 25- and 40-man rosters when Tommy Pham was shifted to 60-day DL. ^ Matt Adams was moved to the 60-day DL and Tommy Pham was activated from the 60-day DL and optioned to Memphis. ^ Lance Lynn was placed on the 15-day DL with a right forearm strain, retroactive to June 8. ^ Marcus Hatley was added to both the 25- and 40-man rosters when Matt Belisle was placed on the 15-day DL and Jordan Walden was shifted to 60-day DL. ^ Jaíme Garcia was placed on the 15-day DL with a groin strain, retroactive to June 25. ^ Tyler Lyons was recalled from Memphis before the first game of the day-night doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs as the 26th man on the active roster and Marcus Hatley was optioned back to Memphis after the second game. ^ Dan Johnson was added to both the 25- and 40-man rosters when the Cardinals optioned Tyler Lyons to Memphis (off the 25-man roster), and designated Aledmys Díaz for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster. Díaz cleared waivers, and was placed on optional assignment with the Springfield Cardinals (AA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals), was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Johnson ^ Stephen Piscotty was added to both the 25- and 40-man rosters when the Cardinals optioned Tommy Pham to Memphis (off the 25-man roster) and designated Ty Kelly for assignment (off the 40-man roster), who the Toronto Blue Jays claimed the next day. ^ The Cardinals acquired Steve Cishek in a trade with the Miami Marlins for Kyle Barraclough, a minor league pitcher not on the 40-man roster. To make room for Cishek on the 25- and 40-man rosters, the Cardinals transferred Matt Belisle to the 60-day DL on July 24 (off the 40-man roster), and optioned Tim Cooney to Memphis (off the 25-man roster). ^ The Cardinals acquired Brandon Moss in a trade with the Cleveland Indians for Rob Kaminsky, a minor league pitcher not on the 40-man roster. To make room for Moss on the 25- and 40-man rosters, Dan Johnson was designated for assignment. ^ The Cardinals acquired Jonathan Broxton in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Malik Collymore, a minor league outfielder not on the 40-man roster. To make room for Moss on the 25- and 40-man rosters, Marcus Hatley was designated for assignment. ^ The Cardinals optioned Greg Garcia to AA Springfield. ^ Major League Baseball suspended Cody Stanley for 80 games for violating its drug policy, thus placing him on the Cardinals restricted list and off the 25-man roster. ^ Travis Tartamella was added to both the 25- and 40-man rosters when the Cardinals designated Xavier Scruggs for assignment (off the 40-man roster).

Trades
July 24 To St. Louis Cardinals Steve Cishek (RHP) To Miami Marlins Kyle Barraclough (RHP, minors) July 30 To St. Louis Cardinals Brandon Moss (OF/1B) To Cleveland Indians Rob Kaminsky (LHP, minors) July 31 To St. Louis Cardinals Jonathan Broxton (RHP) To Milwaukee Brewers Malik Collymore (OF, minors)

Postseason

See also: Major League Baseball postseason

Game log

2015 Postseason (1–3)
National League Division Series (1–3) Game Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Box 1 October 9 Cubs 4–0 Lackey (1–0) Lester (0–1) – 47,830 1–0 2 October 10 Cubs 3–6 Wood (1–0) García (0–1) Rondón (1) 47,859 1–1 3 October 12 @ Cubs 6–8 Arrieta (2–0) Wacha (0–1) – 42,411 1–2 4 October 13 @ Cubs 4–6 Cahill (1–0) Siegrist (0–1) Rondón (2) 42,411 1–3
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Cardinals team member

National League Division Series

Main article: 2015 National League Division Series

See also: Cardinals–Cubs rivalry

The Cardinals faced off in a best-of-five series against the rival Chicago Cubs in the postseason for the first time since joining the National League in 1892. The first two games took place at the Cardinals' home venue, Busch Stadium. John Lackey started Game 1 for the Cardinals, opposing Jon Lester, who had both faced St. Louis in the 2013 World Series as members of the Boston Red Sox. Lackey held the Cubs to hitless through the first five innings on the way to pitching 7+1⁄3 shutout innings in a 4–0 win. Rookies Stephen Piscotty and Tommy Pham both hit their first career postseason home runs. Jaime García, the starter for Game 2, pitched with illness and was ineffective, allowing five unearned runs in just two innings. Two errors, including his own, allowed the Cubs to take an early 5–1 lead. The Cardinals scored all runs on solo home runs from Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong, and Randal Grichuk.

The series shifted to Wrigley Field, the Cubs' home park, for the next two games. In the third game, the Cubs hit six home runs, and led 8–4 going into the ninth. After Piscotty's two-run home run, the Cardinals trailed by two, but this was the outcome as the Cubs won 8–6. The Cubs also won the final game, 6–4, to move on to the National League Championship Series and end the Cardinals' season. Anthony Rizzo hit his second home run in two days off reliever Kevin Siegrist for the go-ahead run.

Postseason rosters

Playoff rosters

National League Division Series Pitchers: 30 Jonathan Broxton 31 Lance Lynn 33 Carlos Villanueva 41 John Lackey 44 Trevor Rosenthal 46 Kevin Siegrist 50 Adam Wainwright 52 Michael Wacha 54 Jaime García 61 Seth Maness 70 Tyler Lyons Catchers: 4 Yadier Molina 48 Tony Cruz Infielders: 12 Mark Reynolds 13 Matt Carpenter 16 Kolten Wong 21 Brandon Moss 27 Jhonny Peralta 35 Greg Garcia Outfielders: 7 Matt Holliday 15 Randal Grichuk 19 Jon Jay 22 Jason Heyward 55 Stephen Piscotty 60 Tommy Pham

Statistics

See also: Major League Baseball rosters

Batting statistics

	Key to symbols and categories
Names	* – left-handed batter or pitcher # – switch hitter Bold: active and on both 25-man roster and 40-man roster ''₤ – on 40-man roster but not 25-man roster Italics: on 10-day disabled list (DL) or 60-day DL (§)
Starting lineup / rotation	Table half above first double line: Appeared in most games at that position or top five pitchers in starts Below double line: Ranked by AB regardless of position for position players / Role, then IP for pitchers
Statistics	: Team leader Bold: Major League Baseball (MLB) leader or tied for lead Bold (non-italicized): American (AL) or National League (NL) leader or tied for lead † – top-ten in AL or NL

Pos	Player	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
C	Yadier Molina	136	530	488	34	132	23	2	4	61	32	59	3	1	.270	.310	.350	.660
1B	Mark Reynolds	140	432	382	35	88	21	2	13	48	44	121	2	3	.230	.315	.398	.713
2B	Kolten Wong*	150	613	557	71	146	28	4	11	61	36	95	15	8₡	.262	.321	.386	.707
3B	Matt Carpenter*	154	665	574	101₡	154	44	3	28₡	84	81₡	151₡	4	3	.272	.365	.505₡	.841₡
SS	Jhonny Peralta	155	640	579	64	159	26	1	17	71	50	111	1	4	.275	.334	.411	.745
LF	Matt Holliday	73	277	229	24	64	16	1	4	35	39	49	2	1	.279	.394	.410	.804
CF	Peter Bourjos	117	225	195	32	39	8	3	4	11	19	59	5	8₡	.200	.290	.333	.623
RF	Jason Heyward*	154	610	547	79	160	33	4	13	60	56	90	23₡	3	.293	.359	.439	.797
Pos	Player	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
OF	Randal Grichuk	103	350	323	49	89	23	7₡	17	47	22	110	4	2	.276	.329	.548	.877
LF	Stephen Piscotty	63	256	233	29	71	15	4	7	39	20	56	2	1	.305	.359	.494	.853
CF	Jon Jay*	79	245	210	25	44	5	1	1	10	19	36	0	2	.210	.306	.257	.563
1B	Matt Adams*	60	186	175	14	42	9	0	5	24	10	41	1	0	.240	.280	.377	.657
CF	Tommy Pham	52	173	153	28	41	7	5	5	18	19	41	2	0	.268	.347	.477	.824
C	Tony Cruz	69	151	142	6	29	7	1	2	11	6	32	0	0	.204	.235	.310	.545
1B	Brandon Moss*	51	151	132	11	33	7	1	4	8	17	42	0	1	.250	.344	.409	.753
IF	Pete Kozma	76	111	99	15	15	0	0	0	2	10	21	3	1	.152	.236	.152	.388
IF	Greg Garcia*	49	87	75	7	18	5	0	2	4	10	12	0	0	.240	.337	.387	.724
1B	Xavier Scruggs	17	43	42	5	11	2	0	0	7	0	10	1	0	.262	.279	.310	.589
1B	Dan Johnson*	12	21	19	1	3	0	0	0	2	2	4	0	0	.138	.258	.158	.396
C	Cody Stanley*	9	10	10	2	4	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	.400	.400	.500	.900
C	Ed Easley	4	7	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
C	Travis Tartamella	3	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500	.500	.500	1.000
IF	Dean Anna*	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Pos	Player	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
P	John Lackey	33	70	62	0	7	2	0	0	3	4	124	0	0	.113	.167	.145	.312
P	Carlos Martínez	32	63	56	2	8	2	0	0	0	1	23	0	0	.143	.172	.179	.351
P	Michael Wacha	30	62	52	5	8	1	0	0	4	4	20	1	0	.154	.214	.173	.387
P	Lance Lynn	31	55	50	3	8	2	0	0	1	0	26	0	0	.160	.160	.200	.360
P	Jaime García*	20	44	41	1	4	0	0	0	1	2	15	0	0	.098	.140	.098	.237
P	Tyler Lyons*	17	20	16	3	3	1	0	0	1	2	4	0	0	.188	.278	.188	.664
P	Tim Cooney*	6	11	10	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.300	.300	.400	.700
P	Carlos Villanueva	35	11	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
P	Adam Wainwright	7	10	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
P	Seth Maness	77	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
P	Randy Choate*	55	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—	1.000	—	—
P	Trevor Rosenthal	52	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
P	Mitch Harris	16	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
P	Miguel Socolovich	11	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
TEAM TOTALS		162	6139	5484	647	1386	288	39	137	619	506	1267	69	38	.253	.321	.394	.716
Rank of 15 teams in NL				9	11	6	4	4	11		4	6	11	10	6	5	9	8
Non-pitcher totals		162	5786	5173	632	1345	280	39	137	609	492	1144	68	38	.260	.330	.409	.738
Pitcher totals		152	353	311	15	41	8	0	0	10	14	123	1	0	.132	.172	.158	.329
		G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Pos Name G, Pennsylvania, AB, R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BB, SO, SB, CS, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS -->

Pitching statistics

	Key to symbols and categories
Names	* – left-handed batter or pitcher # – switch hitter Bold: active and on both 25-man roster and 40-man roster ''₤ – on 40-man roster but not 25-man roster Italics: on 10-day disabled list (DL) or 60-day DL (§)
Starting lineup / rotation	Table half above first double line: Appeared in most games at that position or top five pitchers in starts Below double line: Ranked by AB regardless of position for position players / Role, then IP for pitchers
Statistics	: Team leader Bold: Major League Baseball (MLB) leader or tied for lead Bold (non-italicized): American (AL) or National League (NL) leader or tied for lead † – top-ten in AL or NL

Role Name W L W-L& ERA G GS GF CG ShO SV IP H HR BB SO WHIP H/9 BB/9 SO/9 BB/9 SO/BB bgcolor="gold"| for leader in category -->

Role	Name	W	L	Win%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	ShO	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
SP	John Lackey	13	10	.565	2.77₡	33	33	0	1₡	0	0	218.0₡	211₡	21	53	175	1.183	8.7	2.2	7.2	3.30
	Michael Wacha	17₡	7	.708₡	3.38	30	30	0	0	0	0	181.1	162	19	58	153	1.213	8.0	2.9	7.6	2.64
	Carlos Martínez	14	7	.667₡	3.01₡	31	29	1	0	0	0	179.2	168	13	63	184	1.286	8.4	3.2	9.2₡	2.92
	Lance Lynn	12	11	.522	3.03	31	31	0	0	0	0	175.1	172	13	68₡	167	1.369	8.7	3.5	8.6	2.46
	Jaime García*	10	6	.625	2.43	20	20	0	0	0	0	129.2	106	6	30	97	1.049	7.4	2.1	6.7	3.23
Role	Name	W	L	Win%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	ShO	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
CL	Trevor Rosenthal	2	4	.333	2.10	68	0	57₡	0	0	48₡	68.2	62	3	25	83	1.267	8.1	3.3	10.9	3.32
SU	Kevin Siegrist*	7	1	.875	2.17	81	0	13	0	0	6	74.2	53	4	34	90	1.165	6.4	4.1	10.8	3.42
MR	Seth Maness	4	2	.667	4.26	76₡	0	13	0	0	3	63.1	77	7	13	46	1.421	10.9	1.8	6.5	3.54
LR	Carlos Villanueva	4	3	.571	2.95	35	0	20	0	0	2	61.0	50	6	21	55	1.164	7.4	3.1	8.1	2.62
MR	Matt Belisle	1	1	.500	2.67	34	0	10	0	0	0	33.2	34	1	15	25	1.455	9.1	4.0	6.7	1.67
Role	Name	W	L	Win%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	ShO	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
SP	Tyler Lyons*	3	1	.750	3.75	17	8	1	0	0	0	60.0	59	12	15	60	1.233	8.9	2.3	9.0	4.00
SP	Tim Cooney*	1	0	1.000	3.16	6	6	0	0	0	0	31.1	28	3	10	29	1.213	8.0	2.9	8.3	2.90
RP	Miguel Socolovich	4	1	.800	1.82	28	0	11	0	0	0	29.2	25	1	10	27	1.180	7.6	3.0	8.2	2.70
SP	Adam Wainwright	2	1	.667	1.61	7	4	0	0	0	0	28.0	25	0	4	20	1.036	8.0	1.3	6.4	5.00
LS	Randy Choate*	1	0	1.000	3.95	71	0	4	0	0	1	27.1	29	2	5	22	1.244	9.5	1.6	7.2	4.40
MR	Mitch Harris	1	1	.500	3.67	26	0	7	0	0	0	27.0	30	4	13	15	1.593	10.0	4.3	5.0	1.15
SU	Jonathan Broxton	3	3	.500	2.66	26	0	5	0	0	0	23.2	20	2	12	26	1.352	7.6	4.6	9.9	2.17
SU	Steve Cishek	0	0	—	2.31	27	0	8	0	0	1	23.1	18	2	13	20	1.329	6.9	5.0	7.7	1.54
RP	Sam Tuivailala	0	1	.000	3.07	10	0	2	0	0	0	14.2	13	2	8	20	1.432	8.0	4.9	13.2	2.50
SU	Jordan Walden	0	1	.000	0.87	12	0	2	0	0	1	10.1	7	0	4	12	1.065	6.1	3.5	10.5	3.00
SP	Marco Gonzales*	0	0	—	13.50	1	1	0	0	0	0	2.2	7	1	1	1	3.000	23.6	3.4	3.4	1.00
RP	Marcus Hatley	0	0	—	0.00	2	0	1	0	0	0	1.1	1	0	2	2	2.250	6.8	13.5	13.5	1.00
RP	Nick Greenwood*	0	1	.000	inf	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.0	2	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
TEAM TOTALS		100	62	.617	2.94	162	162	161	1	0	62	1464.2	1359	123	477	1329	1.254	8.4	2.9	8.2	2.79
Rank of 15 teams in NL		1	15		1				8	4	1	3	5	2	7	7
Role	Name	W	L	Win%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	ShO	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB

Records, awards, honors and milestones

Records

Performer	Organization	Accomplishment	Date	Ref.
St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Opening day record four stolen bases	April 5
Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	11 consecutive Opening Day starts as catcher	April 5
St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	18 strikeouts while batting	May 13
Matt Holliday	National League	45-game on-base streak to open a season	June 2
Mike Matheny	Major League Baseball	Playoff appearances in first four seasons as manager	September 19
Trevor Rosenthal	St. Louis Cardinals	Single-season saves total (48)	September 28

Accomplishments

Performer	Organization	Accomplishment	Date	Ref.
St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Best start after 25 games (19–6)	since 1900
Yadier Molina	Major League Baseball	Hit into first-ever 4–5–4 triple play	May 10
St. Louis Cardinals	Major League Baseball	Fastest team to 50 wins since 2005 Chicago White Sox	June 27
Randal Grichuk	St. Louis Cardinals	Longest home run of season at Busch Stadium, 448 feet (137 m)	June 30
St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Longest streak of season without home run allowed, 62 innings	August 1–9
St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Longest streak of season without run allowed, 38 innings	August 5–9
Tyler Lyons	St. Louis Cardinals	First scoreless relief appearance of 5+ IP since 1999	August 13
Trevor Rosenthal	Major League Baseball	Third-youngest pitcher with back-to-back 40-save seasons	August 26
Trevor Rosenthal	St. Louis Cardinals	Second pitcher with back-to-back 40-save seasons	August 26

Major League Baseball All-Star Game selections

Cardinals representing the National League (Primary source:)

Player	Pos.	Sel.	Notes	Ref.
Matt Holliday	OF	7	Voted to start by fans, but did not play due to injury
Carlos Martínez	RHP	1	Final Vote winner
Yadier Molina	C	7	Voted by fellow players
Jhonny Peralta	SS	3	Voted to start by fans
Trevor Rosenthal	RHP	1	Voted by fellow players, but did not play due to injury
Michael Wacha	RHP	1	Selected by manager

Awards

Regular season awards

Performer	Date	Accomplishment	Ref.
Randal Grichuk	2015	Baseball America All-Rookie Team Outfielder
Matt Carpenter	2015	Baseball America Toolbox Award for Best strike zone judgment (3rd)
Mike Matheny	2015	Baseball America Toolbox Award for Best manager (2nd)
Yadier Molina	2015	Baseball America Toolbox Award for Best hit and run artist (1st)
Yadier Molina	2015	Baseball America Toolbox Award for Best defensive catcher (1st)
Trevor Rosenthal	2015	Baseball America Toolbox Award for Best reliever (3rd)
Jason Heyward	2015	Fielding Bible Award at right field
Adam Wainwright	2015	Hutch Award
Matt Carpenter	April 12–19	National League Player of the Week
Jason Heyward	2015	Rawlings Gold Glove Award at right field
Yadier Molina	2015	Rawlings Gold Glove Award at catcher
Yadier Molina	2015	Rawlings Platinum Glove Award
Mitch Harris	2015	Tony Conigliaro Award
Randal Grichuk	2015	Topps All-Star Rookie at outfield

Awards voting results: National League Most Valuable Player Award: Carpenter, 12th; Heyward, 15th; Rosenthal 17th. National League Cy Young Award: Lackey, 9th. National League Rookie of the Year Award: Piscotty, 6th. National League Manager of the Year Award: Matheny, 2nd.

Milestones

Regular season milestones

Performer	Accomplishment	Date	Ref.
Lance Lynn	50th career win	April 15
Kevin Siegrist	1st career save	April 17
Cody Stanley	1st career hit	April 26
Mike Matheny	300th career win as manager	May 17
Matt Carpenter	500th career hit	May 24
Matt Carpenter	300th career run scored	May 24
Jaime García	500th career strikeout	June 12
Tyler Lyons	1st career run batted in	June 19
Greg Garcia	1st career home run	June 26
Tommy Pham	1st career hit	July 4
Tommy Pham	1st career home run	July 5
Tim Cooney	1st career win	July 24
Stephen Piscotty	1st career run batted in	July 25
Matt Carpenter	1st career multi-home run game	July 30
John Lackey	12th consecutive season with 10+ wins	August 15
Stephen Piscotty	1st career home run	August 16
Stephen Piscotty	1st career triple	August 17
Yadier Molina	100th career home run	August 19
Stephen Piscotty	1st career multi-home run game	August 23
Trevor Rosenthal	2nd consecutive season with 40+ saves	August 26
Jaime García	50th career win	September 5
Tommy Pham	1st career multi-home run game	September 16
John Lackey	200 innings pitched for season	September 17
Travis Tartamella	1st career hit	September 23

Postseason milestones

Performer	Accomplishment	Date	Ref.
Stephen Piscotty	1st career home run	October 9
Tommy Pham	1st career home run	October 9

Executives and club officials

Source: Cardinals front office

Executive officers

• Chairman and chief executive officer: William DeWitt, Jr.
• President: William DeWitt III
• Senior vice president & general counsel: Mike Whittle
• Vice president of business development: Dan Good

Baseball operations department

• Senior vice president of baseball operations / general manager (GM): John Mozeliak
• Assistant general manager: Mike Girsch
• Special assistants to the GM: Ryan Franklin, Mike Jorgensen, Cal Eldred, Willie McGee, and Red Schoendienst
• Director of player development: Gary LaRocque
• Director of player personnel: Matt Slater
• Director of Major League administration: Judy Carpenter-Barada
• Director of baseball administration: John Vuch
• Baseball operations coordinator for player development: Tony Ferreira
• Director of scouting: Randy Flores^[c]
• Director of international operations: Moisés Rodríguez
• Assistant director of international scouting: Luís Morales
• Manager for baseball information: Jeremy Cohen
• Baseball development analysts: Matt Bayer, Kevin Seats, Dane Sorensen
• Baseball developers: Pat Casanta, Brian Seyfert
• Additional coaching staff
  • Senior medical advisor: Barry Weinberg
  • Head athletic trainer: Greg Hauck
  • Strength/conditioning coach: Pete Prinzi
  • Equipment manager: Rip Rowan
  • Traveling secretary: C. J. Cherre

Communications department

• Vice president: Ron Watermon
• Director: Brian Bartow

Cardinals Care and community relations department

• Vice president for community relations & executive director for Cardinals Care: Michael Hall
• Vice president for event services and merchandising: Vicki Bryant

Finance and administration department

• Senior vice president and chief financial officer: Brad Wood

Operations department

• Vice president: Joe Abernathy

Ticket sales, marketing & corporate sales department

• Senior vice president of sales & marketing: Dan Farrell

Minor league system and first-year player draft

Teams

See also: List of St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates, St. Louis Cardinals minor league players, and Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Division	Manager	W–L/Stats	Standing	Refs
AAA	Memphis Redbirds	Pacific Coast	American–South	Mike Shildt	73–71	5 GB / 2nd
AA	Springfield Cardinals	Texas	North	Dann Bilardello	64–76	7+1⁄2 GB / 3rd
A+	Palm Beach Cardinals	Florida State	South	Oliver Marmol	75–63 ‡	1⁄2 GB / 2nd
A	Peoria Chiefs	Midwest	Western	Joe Kruzel	75–63 ¤	13 GB / 4th
A (SS)	State College Spikes	New York–Penn	Pinckney	Johnny Rodriguez	41–35	5 GB / 3rd
Rookie	Johnson City Cardinals	Appalachian	West	Chris Swauger	27–38	11+1⁄2 GB / 5th
	GCL Cardinals	Gulf Coast	East	Steve Turco	34–25 ƒ	– GB / 1st
	DSL Cardinals	Dominican Summer	Boca Chica North	Fray Peniche	34–38	16 GB / 3rd

‡ – Clinched playoff berth with 43–25 record and first place in second half
¤ – Clinched playoff spot
ƒ – Clinched division title

Overview

Left-handed starting pitcher Tim Cooney, playing for the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week after allowing a 0.66 ERA in 13+1⁄3 IP against the New Orleans Zephyrs and Omaha Storm Chasers. He also held batters to a .143 batting average against (7-for-49). For the week ending June 7, Tyler Lyons, also a left-handed starter playing for Memphis, was named PCL Pitcher of the week after defeating both the Salt Lake Bees and Iowa Cubs. He allowed a 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP and .136 batting average against while striking out 13 in 13 IP.

Right-handed pitcher Alex Reyes was selected to represent the World team in the All-Star Futures Game. Just coming off a 13-strikeout performance on June 17 with the Class A Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals, he led all of the minor leagues with a 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, he was 2–5 with a 2.08 ERA, while striking 90 and walking 30 in 60+2⁄3 IP. Reyes' fastball could reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) and he also threw a power curveball. Luís Perdomo, pitching for the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League, replaced Reyes in the Futures Game due to injury. Converted from playing outfield after a major league tryout in front of scouts, he totaled 13 starts, a 2.79 ERA, 76 BB and 26 BB in 77+1⁄3 IP. Jim Callis ranked Reyes as the Cardinals' top prospect for 2015, and the best prospect not to make MLB.com's top 100 list of all professional baseball.

On July 2, reports emerged that the Cardinals had signed five international free agents, including Noel De Jesús (RHP from the Dominican Republic), Raffy Ozuna (shortstop, Dominican Republic), Brian Pirela (RHP, Venezuela), Álvaro Seijas (RHP, Venezuela), and Anthony Trompiz (RHP, Venezuela). At the time, Seijas, 16, was the 11th-ranked international prospect per MLB.com's top 30 list, and received a $762,500 signing bonus. Ozuna, also 16, received a $600,000 signing bonus.

While carrying out a rehabilitation assignment with the Peoria Chiefs on July 23, RHP Jaime García pitched in a combined no-hitter and 2–0 win against the Clinton LumberKings, a Seattle Mariners affiliate. The starter for the game, García pitched the first five innings and struck out six. Steven Sabatino and Cody Schumacher finished the contest.

Awards

• MLB.com's Cardinals 2015 top 30 prospects list
• Names in bold denote player appeared on Cardinals' major league roster in 2015.
• † – both a midseason and postseason All-Star selection

All-Star (midseason) selections

• Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game:
  • Luís Perdomo (RHP, Peoria Chiefs) (replaced Reyes)
  • Alex Reyes (RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals) (injured)

• Pacific Coast League (AAA): Box
  • Tim Cooney (LHP)
  • Sam Tuivailala (RHP)

• Texas League (AA): Box
  • Kyle Barraclough (RHP)
  • Joey Donofrio (RHP)
  • Jeremy Hazelbaker (RF)
  • Michael Ohlman (C)†
  • Arturo Reyes (RHP)†
  • Chris Thomas (RHP)
  • Charlie Tilson (CF)†

• Florida State League (A-Advanced): Box
  • Bruce Caldwell (IF)
  • Alex Reyes (RHP)
  • Luke Voit (DH)

• Midwest League (A): Box
  • Austin Gomber (LHP)†
  • Oscar Mercado (SS)
  • Daniel Poncedeleon (RHP)
  • Luís Perdomo (RHP)

All-Star (postseason) selections

• Texas League (AA):
  • Michael Ohlman (C)†
  • Arturo Reyes (RHP)†
  • Charlie Tilson (CF)†

• Midwest League (A):
  • Austin Gomber (LHP)†
  • Kyle Grana (RHP)
  • Darren Seferina (2B)

Monthly awards

• Florida State League Player of the Month:
  • July: Corey Littrell (LHP)
• Texas League Player of the Month:
  • June: Patrick Wisdom (3B)
• Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month:
  • April: Alex Reyes (RHP), Palm Beach
  • May: Luís Perdomo (RHP), Peoria
  • June: Arturo Reyes (RHP)†, Springfield
  • July: Luke Weaver (RHP), Palm Beach
  • August: Austin Gomber, Peoria
• Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month:
  • April: Xavier Scruggs (1B), Memphis
  • May: Greg Garcia (IF)
  • June: Patrick Wisdom (3B)
  • July: Anthony Garcia (OF), Springfield

Weekly awards

• Pitcher of the Week:
  • Will Anderson (RHP): May 4, Florida State League
  • Tim Cooney (RHP): May 17, Pacific Coast League
  • Thomas Lee (RHP) − 2×: May 10 and June 7, Texas League
  • Tyler Lyons (LHP): June 7, Pacific Coast League
  • Jimmy Reed (LHP): May 25, Florida State League
  • Arturo Reyes (RHP)†: June 7, Texas League
• Player of the Week:
  • Harrison Bader (OF): August 31, Midwest League
  • Jeremy Hazelbaker (OF): July 13, Pacific Coast League
  • Michael Ohlman (C): June 7, Texas League
  • Nick Thompson (OF): August 24, Midwest League
  • Patrick Wisdom (3B): June 15, Texas League

Baseball America All-Star Awards

• Minor League Classification All-Star Teams
  • High Class-A pitcher: Alex Reyes
  • High Class-A pitcher: Luke Weaver
  • Short season Class-A pitcher: Jacob Evans
  • Rookie leagues pitcher: Ryan Helsley

Baseball America Annual Toolbox Awards

Source:

• Pacific Coast League
  • Best strike zone judgment: Greg Garcia (2B)
  • Best control: Tim Cooney (LHP)
  • Best reliever: Sam Tuivailala (RHP)
  • Best defensive outfielder: Tommy Pham (CF)
• Texas League
  • Best defensive first baseman: Jonathan Rodriguez (1B)
• Florida State League
  • Best pitching prospect: Alex Reyes (RHP)
  • Best fastball: Alex Reyes (RHP)
  • Best breaking pitch: Alex Reyes (RHP)

Rawlings Gold Glove Award

• Rawlings Gold Glove Award for minor league catchers: Carson Kelly

St. Louis Cardinals minor league system awards

• Minor League Player of the Year: Stephen Piscotty (OF)
• Minor League Pitchers of the Year: Austin Gomber (LHP) & Alex Reyes (RHP)

Major League Baseball Draft

Main article: 2015 Major League Baseball draft

The Cardinals selected a total of 42 players in the annual 40-round draft that took place from June 8–10 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The club's first pick of the draft, and 23rd overall, was outfielder Nick Plummer from Brother Rice High School in Michigan. He was the first high school player from Michigan taken in the first round since 1997. The Cardinals acceded him with a $2.124 million signing bonus. The Cardinals also signed each of the following selectees of the first ten rounds: Jake Woodford (RHP, 1A), Jordan Hicks (RHP, third round), Paul DeJong (LF, fourth), Ryan Helsley, (RHP, fifth), Andrew Brodbeck, (2B ninth), and others in the later rounds. Other selections notified the Cardinals of their intention to continue playing college baseball: Kép Brown (10th round), Gio Brusa (23rd), Matt Vierling (30th) and Parker Kelly (34th).

Names in bold indicate the player was signed. Sources:

2015 St. Louis Cardinals complete draft list

Round Pick Name Position School Location Note 1 23 Nick Plummer OF Brother Rice High School Lathrup Village, Michigan Signed with $2.124 million bonus CB A 39 Jake Woodford RHP Henry B. Plant High School Tampa, Florida Signed with $1.8 million bonus 2 66 Bryce Denton 3B Ravenwood High School Brentwood, Tennessee Signed with $1.2 million bonus 3 100 Harrison Bader OF University of Florida Gainesville, Florida Signed for $400,000 Sup 105 Jordan Hicks RHP Cypress Creek High School Harris County, Texas Signed for $600,000 4 131 Paul DeJong 3B Illinois State University Normal, Illinois Signed for $200,000 5 161 Ryan Helsley RHP Northeastern State University Tahlequah, Oklahoma Signed for $225,000 6 191 Jacob Evans LHP University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Signed for $150,000 7 221 Jason Jenner C University of San Diego San Diego, California Signed for $10,000 8 251 Ian Oxnevad LHP Shorewood High School Shoreline, Washington Signed for $500,000 9 281 Andrew Brodbeck 2B Flagler College St. Augustine, Florida Signed for $5,000 10 311 Kép Brown CF Wando High School Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Did not sign 11 Paul Salazar RHP Lutheran South Academy Houston, Texas Signed 12 Jacob Schlesener LHP Logan-Rogersville High School Rogersville, Missouri Signed 13 Craig Aiken CF University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Signed 14 Carson Cross RHP University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut Signed 15 Ryan Merrill SS Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs, Iowa Signed 16 Max Almonte RHP Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania Signed 17 Chris Chinea C Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana 18 Josh Rolette C Shawnee High School Shawnee, Oklahoma 19 Ryan McCarvel C Howard College Big Spring, Texas Signed 20 Luke Doyle 2B Yavapai College Prescott, Arizona Signed 21 Cadyn Grenier SS Bishop Gorman High School Summerlin, Nevada 22 Hunter Newman 1B Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, Tennessee Signed 23 Gio Brusa RF University of the Pacific Stockton, California Did not sign 24 Daniel Martin 2B Azusa Pacific University Azusa, California 25 Kyle Molnar RHP Aliso Niguel High School Aliso Viejo, California 26 Brennan Leitao RHP California State University, Sacramento Sacramento, California 27 Greg Tomchick RHP Old Dominion University Norfolk, Virginia 28 Mitchell Traver RHP Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas 29 Ben Yokley RHP Air Force El Paso County, Colorado Signed 30 Matt Vierling OF Christian Brothers College HS St. Louis, Missouri Did not sign 31 Aaron Coates LHP Glasgow High School Newark, Delaware 32 Thomas Spitz CF Wingate University North Carolina 33 Chandler Hawkins LHP Arkansas State University Jonesboro, Arkansas Signed 34 Parker Kelly RHP Westview High School Portland, Oregon Did not sign 35 Luke Harrison RHP Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana 36 Dylan Tice 2B West Chester University West Chester, Pennsylvania Signed 37 Stephen Zavala C Whittier College Whittier, California Signed 38 Orlando Olivera OF Missouri Baptist University Creve Coeur, Missouri Signed 39 R. J. Dennard 1B Armstrong State University Savannah, Georgia 40 Joseph Hawkins SS Missouri State University Springfield, Missouri Signed

Non-drafted free agents signed
Name Position School Location Notes Brady Bowen LHP Friends University Wichita, Kansas Riley Drongesen C Menlo College Atherton, California Josh Swirchak INF Wilmington University New Castle, Delaware

References

Footnotes

• ^a Ichiro's hit on August 14 was his 2,913th hit in Major League Baseball (MLB), following 1,278 hits in nine seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB) in Japan. Although the achievement of surpassing Cobb received wide acclaim, as of 2015, Ichiro's combined totals in NPB and MLB were not counted toward either organization's official career hit records.
• ^b The September 11 game was interrupted by rain in the eighth inning and resumed the next day just prior to the official September 12 game. Because the September 11 game was tied 2–2 at the time of the delay, it was declared suspended rather than ended early.
• ^c Flores assumed the role of scouting director on September 1, replacing Chris Correa, who was dismissed July 2.

Source notes

External links

• St. Louis Cardinals official site Archived November 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
• 2015 St. Louis Cardinals at ESPN
• 2015 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference