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The Cardinals had lost their previous series.

And the series before that.

And yep, the series before that.

It’s early in the season, sure. But for a team that’s trying to set a tone — and for a group of guys who believe they’re better than many people think — losing a fourth straight series would’ve been deflating (if anything, at least for the fans, who already haven’t come to the ballpark as much as previous years).

So Sunday at Busch Stadium was the rubber match — and the Cardinals rose to the occasion. Give them credit. They scored a touchdown and kept Philadelphia scoreless. The Cards won, 7-0, and won the series, 2-1 — also, the first ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ series win against the Phillies since 2017 (including, dare I bring it up, the 2022 postseason series).

“We knew we had a chance to win the series today,� third baseman Nolan Arenado said, “but we were just focused on facing a good pitcher in (Zack) Wheeler today — and getting ready to attack.�

Attack. I like that word. It’s what we saw in the batter’s box. The Cardinals weren’t afraid of Wheeler, whom former Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright called baseball’s fourth-best player on MLB Network. The Cards got to him for four runs in six innings — in part because of four extra-base hits off the All-Star.

And it’s pretty simple, but when your best hitters are hitting, you often win baseball games. Arenado was on an 0-for-15 streak when he struck a single to center in Sunday’s fourth inning — 103.2 mph off the bat, while his bat speed (recorded on Baseball Savant) was at 76 mph, in line with many of his faster swings this year compared with last.

The next batter was Willson Contreras, also struggling, who torpedoed a pitch over the fence.

In Arenado’s next at-bat, he laced a double down the third base line. That sixth-inning hit drove in Brendan Donovan, which gave ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ a 3-0 lead (Arenado soon scored his second run on a double by Nolan Gorman).

If this Cardinals team that didn’t sign any offensive free agents is going to win, it must get production from Arenado in a bounce-back season. We saw it early on. But for a while there, it was looking like 2024. In the past six games, he was 2 for 25. Both singles. And he only struck out once. He was just mishitting pitches.

So yeah, Sunday was important for the Cardinals ... and the Cardinals’ most-famous player.

“Arenado, this is a guy that’s been grinding,â€� said ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ manager Oliver Marmol, whose team is 7-8. “Just took some really good swings today. ... He had a really, really good conversation — I was sitting in with him and (hitting coach Brant) Brown talking through some things that they wanted to stick to moving forward. It’s good to see guys continue to commit to the process and stay even keel, even when it’s not going well. Today was part of that — he took some really, really positive swings. He did what he wanted with that today. ...

“I feel really positive with where he’s at and headed and the way he’s working towards that. So it’s only a matter of time before we see both those guys — Nolan and Contreras — kind of just let loose.�

Arenado tallied two hits per game in four of the Cards’ wins so far — and had one hit in a fifth.

“My goal is just hit the ball hard, try not to worry about the result too much, you know?� said Arenado, whose OPS is up to .802 as he’s hitting .283. “But today, I feel like I was in a good spot. I was seeing the ball pretty good, compared to the last four days. That was good. But also at the same time, (pitcher Matthew) Liberatore did a great job today. He kind of set the tone for the whole game for us. And, really the credit goes to him for keeping the game close.�

Indeed, Libby was legit. For most of this season, the Cardinals have either hit well or pitched well but seldom both in the same game. Lately, it’s just been the pitching. But on Sunday, both came together in a statement win.

Of course, the big storyline of this nascent season has been the stunning lack of fans at some of the home games. On this sunny Sunday, there was a nice crowd of 32,509 (considering there was also a Battlehawks game downtown). But the 2025 Cardinals have to overcome a lot — and that’s not just games against Wheeler and Aaron Nola and Paul Skenes (all losers against the Cards this past week). To get fans to the stadium during this “transition� season, they need to overcome the odds and rise above the notions of their perceived or potential mediocrity.

One win isn’t going to change everything. But Sunday’s win prevented a four-series losing streak.

As for the fans, Contreras spoke directly into cameras when asked about their lack of support in some of the home games so far.

“We play for them!� the veteran said. “I don’t know why they’re not here. I know they have their reasons. But you guys give us energy. One thing that I’m going to say this is — don’t stop believing us in this team because we have everything ... We need to compete. ...

“Fans, they always want the best play for the team. I understand that. But we have the best out here and in this clubhouse. We have to believe in ourselves, like today. And the fans need to believe with us. ... If we clinch the playoffs, they’re all going to show up. So show up right now! Support us, we play for you guys. We’re human. We made mistakes. ... But we have to turn the page.�

They turned the page on the losing, at least in the short term.