Willson Contreras, the first baseman for the Cardinals, had a straightforward message for St. Louis fans after Sunday’s thrilling 7-0 victory over Zach Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies.
As he urged reporters, “Don’t stop believing in this team…” “This clubhouse has everything we need to compete. And it’s incredible how much energy we’ve been displaying since day one.”
Sunday’s victory marks the first series the Redbirds (7-8 overall) grabbed from the Phillies since 2017. In their last three wins this season, the Cardinals have defeated a trio of all-star quality starting pitchers in Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Pittsburgh Pirates fireballer Paul Skenes.
In Sunday’s victory, Contreras went two for four with two RBI and a home run. He ended a 25-game homer-less streak with his first of the season, a 364-foot round tripper off Wheeler in the fourth inning.
Contreras has nine hits in his last 35 at-bats, including three doubles and the home run, since starting the 2025 season 0-for-22 at the plate. He talked about testing a “torpedo bat,” the latest fad sweeping Major League Baseball, this past weekend after Sunday’s game.
According to Contreras, “I think it is more mental than anything else,” “Physically, you can do all the stuff and you can practice and be great at practice, but mentally I think is the base of everything.” “I had to try the ‘torpedo’ because everybody is doing it.” he stated. Before this past weekend’s matchup, Contreras, who experimented with using the bat during spring training, switched back.
“I was down in the basement trying to find myself, thinking of the swing, thinking of my feelings,” he stated. And for a brief while, I believe I found it. I must continue. Monday night at Busch Stadium, Contreras and the Cardinals will try to maintain their offensive momentum against Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros.
