St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks

For the second straight year, the Cardinals began the second half with a series at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks having put together a first half that outpaces most preseason projections for the club. Even the records are nearly identical, as St. Louis closed the first half of 2025 at 51-46 and rolled into Friday’s series opener at a nearly identical 50-45. But that’s where the similarities begin to come apart, as this year’s Cardinals are a very different club, and no player demonstrates that contrast more than Jordan Walker. Walker, the newly crowned Home Run Derby champion, is coming off an MVP-caliber first half that saw him post a .294/.354/.532 slash line, good for a 148 OPS+ and 3.8 bWAR. He’s head and shoulders the biggest reason the Cardinals find themselves tied for the third and final National League Wild Card spot after Friday’s 5-4 victory over the D-backs. Athletes can be obsessive creatures of habit, but Walker said he’s not worried about the time off during the break or the drama of the Derby taking him off his game. “I think the break is good, honestly,” Walker said. “Even if it does \[disrupt the rhythm\