The New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals are set to wrap up their three-game interleague series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday, August 17, 2025. With the first pitch scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET, fans are eager to see if the Yankees can complete the sweep over a slumping Cardinals squad or if St. Louis can halt its losing skid and salvage the finale.
Coming into Sunday's contest, momentum is squarely on the side of the Yankees. New York has taken the first two games of the series, including a wild 12-8 victory on Saturday that saw the visitors pound out 15 hits. Ben Rice stole the show, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and a jaw-dropping seven RBIs. That offensive explosion helped the Yankees secure their fourth win in the past five games, while the Cardinals suffered their fourth straight loss—all at home.
The Yankees now boast a 66-57 record and lead the season series 2-0 against the Cardinals, who have tumbled to 61-63. St. Louis, which was nine games over .500 as recently as June 30, has struggled mightily since, posting a 14-25 record over its last 39 games. The Redbirds are in desperate need of a turnaround, and Sunday’s matchup offers a chance to stop the bleeding—though it won’t be easy against a Yankees team firing on all cylinders.
On the mound, the Yankees will send right-hander Will Warren (7-5, 4.34 ERA) to make his 26th start of the season. Warren has been a steady presence in the rotation, racking up 140 strikeouts in 122 1/3 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .240 average. He’s coming off a strong performance against the Minnesota Twins, where he tossed 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Warren has five quality starts this year and is riding a five-game streak of pitching at least five innings. Notably, he’s registered a 1.93 ERA over his last four starts, signaling that he’s found his groove at a crucial juncture in the season.
Warren’s only prior meeting with the Cardinals came last year, when he surrendered four earned runs over four innings. But with his recent form, the Yankees are banking on him to give them a solid outing and keep the team’s winning streak alive.
Opposing him will be Cardinals veteran Miles Mikolas (6-9, 4.97 ERA), who’s set for his 24th start. Mikolas has worked 117 2/3 innings this season, striking out 79 and walking just 25. His last outing was a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies, where he pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowed two earned runs on four hits, and struck out three. At home, Mikolas has been more effective, with a 3.56 ERA at Busch Stadium, and he’s posted seven quality starts this season. However, history shows that Mikolas has sometimes faded late in the season, and he’ll need to dig deep to contain a Yankees lineup that leads all of Major League Baseball in home runs with 195.
Offensively, the Yankees have been a juggernaut. Their .250 team batting average ranks 12th in MLB, but it’s their power that sets them apart. With 413 extra-base hits and a .447 slugging percentage, New York sits atop the league’s power rankings. They’ve scored the third-most runs in the majors (628) and have a .330 on-base percentage, good for fourth in MLB. Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ superstar slugger, has reached base safely in 98 of his 112 games this season and continues to be a steady force in the lineup. Even when he went 0-for-4 on Friday, Judge managed to draw a walk in the ninth inning, underscoring his value at the plate.
On the Cardinals’ side, the offense has been inconsistent. St. Louis matches New York’s .250 team batting average, but their power numbers lag behind. The Cardinals have hit just 118 home runs—25th in MLB—and posted a .388 slugging percentage. They average 4.3 runs per game, ranking 16th in the league, and their .318 on-base percentage is middle of the pack. Victor Scott II and Pedro Pagés have provided some recent highlights, with Scott delivering an RBI double and Pagés scoring on a wild pitch during Friday’s 4-3 loss. But the Cardinals have struggled to string together big innings, a problem that’s been magnified during their current skid.
Pitching has also been a sore spot for St. Louis. On Friday, Andre Pallante allowed four runs in five innings despite a season-high eight strikeouts. Sonny Gray, who started Saturday’s game, was tagged for six runs in five innings and saddled with the loss. For the Yankees, Max Fried picked up the win on Saturday despite giving up seven runs over five innings—a testament to the Yankees’ offensive firepower bailing out their pitching staff when needed.
Defensively, the Yankees received a boost with Paul Goldschmidt making his first appearance at Busch Stadium since his stint with the Cardinals from 2019 to 2024. Goldschmidt, dealing with a mild right knee sprain, entered as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday, drawing applause from fans who remembered his contributions to the home team.
As for the betting landscape, the Yankees enter Sunday as road favorites, with most sportsbooks listing them around -150 on the moneyline. The Cardinals are home underdogs at +125, and the over/under for total runs is set at nine. New York has thrived in the favorite’s role this season, winning 57 of 103 games as the betting favorite and going 38-24 when favored by -150 or more. St. Louis, meanwhile, has won 32 of 66 games as an underdog but is just 10-15 when listed at +125 or worse.
Looking ahead, the Yankees aim to extend their dominance and keep pressure on the postseason race, while the Cardinals are desperate to stop their slide and regain some confidence. With two potent offenses, intriguing pitching matchups, and plenty of playoff implications, Sunday’s series finale promises to deliver more fireworks at Busch Stadium.
Fans can catch the action on FDSMW and YES, with live streaming available on Fubo (regional restrictions may apply). With the Yankees surging and the Cardinals searching for answers, all eyes will be on St. Louis as these two storied franchises close out their weekend showdown.
