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I still remember his eyes.

Watery. Weary.

As spring games started, Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown stood off to the side on February morning, not too far from first base, as batting practice finished. He described the nature of offense his young hitters could chase around the bases if they did so less around the strike zone.

He noted their speed and stressed pitch recognition. He described how every at-bat is a situation that can get a “runner closer to home,� and while it may take young hitters time to increase their power or impact, he had a phrase for the offense the could be daily:

The Cardinals did the little things needed to win Wednesday's series finale vs. the Guardians and take the series, they say.

Here's what manager Oliver Marmol as well as starting pitcher Dustin May, first baseman Alec Burleson and closer Riley O'Brien had to say afterwards.

The comeback didn’t have to be as mighty but proved to be just as effective Wednesday afternoon to seize the series from the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cardinals turned constant pressure on the bases and a timely series of singles and productive outs into a late-game chain of runs and, technically, another come-from-behind victory at Busch Stadium. Nathan Church had three hits, scored a run in the decisive rally and added an RBI later as the Cardinals beat the rain and the Guardians for a 5-3 victory.

Before he unloaded on a change-up from Guardians starter Joey Cantillo on Tuesday night to give the Cardinals their first run — and give him his first homer of the season — Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera felt the pitch he offered at before Cantillo threw the change-up provided him “a little extra confidence.�

Ahead 2-1 in the count against Cantillo, Herrera was offered a fastball that Cantillo located on the outer half of the plate. All Herrera was able to do was get a piece of it and foul it into the ground, but the swing itself felt “smooth� enough to provide some assurance that his swing was headed in the direction he wants.

The at-bat Yohel Pozo stepped up to the plate for in the ninth inning Tuesday night at Busch Stadium is one he was no stranger to. He got familiar with them during the 2025 season.

In a role as a backup catcher and pinch-hit bat, Pozo produced a .379 batting average and drove in eight runs in 31 plate appearances in games that were late and close. Enveloped in that production were game-winning hits against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and a walk-off single vs. the Reds at home.

Buck's back on baseball.

That has a ring to it — and it should. St. Louisan Joe Buck, who broadcast Cardinals games early in his career while ascending to call more World Series on national television than anyone else ever has, is set to return to the baseball broadcasting business Wednesday night for just the third time since leaving Fox four years ago to become the voice of "Monday Night Football" for ESPN.