Riley O'Brien - MLB News, Rumors, & Updates

Aims to add muscle over offseason O'Brien said recently that he wants to put on "as much muscle as I can" this offseason in order to help his body absorb the toll of the 2027 season, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Loui...

Impact O'Brien finished tied for the National League lead with 38 saves this season, but he faded after the All-Star break, posting a 5.11 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 25:16 K:BB over 24.2 innings while blowing four of 18 save chances. The 31-year-old also saw his velocity dip in the second half, as he averaged 97 mph with his four-seamer after averaging 98.2 mph with the pitch in the first half. As things stand right now, O'Brien is the clear favorite to open next season as the Cardinals' closer again.

OCTOBER 7 • ROTOWIRE

Dispatches Nationals for 38th save O'Brien threw a clean ninth inning to earn the save Sunday against the Nationals.

Impact The All-Star closer made quick work of Washington, retiring the side on just six pitches (all strikes). O'Brien has had a shaky month of September, converting only four of his last seven save chances, but Sunday's performance was a step in the right direction as he looks to end the campaign on a positive note. He has a 4.08 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 64:29 K:BB over 64 innings, piling up 38 saves in 46 opportunities.

SEPTEMBER 20 • ROTOWIRE

Bernal, Herrera homer in eighth inning to help Cardinals beat Nationals 5-3

Iván Herrera hit a pair of home runs, and Leo Bernal also homered as the St. Louis Cardinals scored three runs in the eighth inning to come from behind and beat the Washington Nati...

SEPTEMBER 20 • Associated Press

Troubles continue in ninth loss O'Brien (3-9) took the loss Wednesday as the Cardinals were downed 6-5 in 10 innings by the Giants, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk in an inning of work. He...

Impact With the game tied 4-4, O'Brien got the call in the top of the 10th inning but hung a first-pitch slider to Drew Gilbert, who launched it 415 feet to right-center field for a game-winning homer. It's only the fifth long ball of the season O'Brien has served up, but three of them have come since Aug. 23, a 10-inning stretch that's seen him blow three of seven save chances and get tagged for five losses while stumbling to a 10.80 ERA, 2.30 WHIP and 9:7 K:BB. The right-hander's late-season struggles could prompt St. Louis to look for another closing option to begin the 2027 campaign, despite his career-high 37 saves this season.

SEPTEMBER 16 • ROTOWIRE

Why Cardinals Fans Shouldn't Quit on Riley O'Brien as Closer Yet One of the earliest success stories of the 2026 season for the St. Louis Cardinals was the emergence of closer Riley O'Brien. He leads the N...

SEPTEMBER 16 • SI.COM

Escapes trouble for save O'Brien allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Monday's 2-1 win over the Giants.

Impact It was another queasy performance for O'Brien, who put two on base and then unleashed a wild pitch that put them both in scoring position. He was able to get Christian Koss on a groundout to end the threat. O'Brien has 37 saves on the season, but he's converted just three of his six chances in September while allowing multiple baserunners four times in seven outings this month. Overall, O'Brien has a 4.13 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 62:28 K:BB across 61 innings.

SEPTEMBER 15 • ROTOWIRE

Quinn Mathews pitches Cardinals past Giants 2-1 as Alec Burleson adds to MLB-best RBI total

Quinn Mathews took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Alec Burleson had an RBI single to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants

SEPTEMBER 15 • Associated Press

Struggling late in season O'Brien (3-8) allowed two runs on a hit and a walk while striking out two over one inning, taking the loss and a blown save in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the White Sox.

Impact O'Brien was tagged for a two-run home run by Randal Grichuk in the ninth inning. With three blown saves over his last five appearances, O'Brien is limping to the finish line in 2026. He's now at a 4.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 60:27 K:BB through 60 innings while converting 36 of 44 save chances.

SEPTEMBER 13 • ROTOWIRE

Grichuk hits a 9th inning HR to help White Sox beat Cardinals 6-5

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, helping the Chicago White Sox break a four-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals

SEPTEMBER 13 • Associated Press

Falters in extras O'Brien allowed an unearned run on a hit and two intentional walks while failing to log a strikeout over one inning, taking a blown save in Monday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the G...

Impact O'Brien has blown two of his four save chances in September. It's part of a longer stretch of shaky pitching in which he's allowed 11 runs (nine earned) over his last six innings. The closer now has a 4.03 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 57:26 K:BB through 58 innings while converting 36 of 43 save chances on the year.

SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE

Secures 36th save of season O'Brien earned the save in Friday's 7-6 win over the Rockies after allowing one hit while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.

Impact A three-run go-ahead home run from Ivan Herrera allowed O'Brien the opportunity to earn the save in the bottom of the ninth, and the star closer didn't disappoint, getting the job done in 12 pitches (10 strikes). O'Brien worked through some trouble, though, as a throwing error in a pickoff attempt moved the potential tying run into scoring position after a single from TJ Rumfield, but he sealed the win by striking out Cole Carrigg. O'Brien bounced back after being tagged with a blown save Thursday against the Dodgers and has gone 12-for-14 in save chances since the All-Star break despite a 5.60 ERA.

SEPTEMBER 5 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals Pros and Cons of Removing Riley O'Brien as Closer Should the St. Louis Cardinals make a change with closer Riley O'Brien?

SEPTEMBER 4 • SI.COM

Converts 35th save O'Brien allowed an unearned run and struck out one without giving up a hit or a walk over one inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 8-6 extra-inning win over the Dodgers.

Impact O'Brien surrendered the run on a groundout in the 10th inning, which plated the initial runner. After a bumpy end to August with seven runs allowed over his last 2.2 innings, O'Brien will be looking to stabilize in September. He's 35-for-40 on save chances this season, leading the National League in conversions and trailing only Bryan Baker (39) in the majors. O'Brien has added a 3.88 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 55:23 K:BB across 55.2 innings.

SEPTEMBER 3 • ROTOWIRE

Rebounds for 34th save O'Brien earned the save in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Orioles, allowing a hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

Impact It was a much-needed clean outing for O'Brien. The closer had taken losses in each of his last two appearances while allowing seven runs over just 1.2 innings. O'Brien is now 34-for-39 in save chances this season with a 3.95 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 54:23 K:BB across 54.2 innings.

AUGUST 27 • ROTOWIRE

Jordan and Urías homer as Cardinals beat Orioles 7-5 to snap 5-game losing streak

Blaze Jordan and Ramón Urías homered early to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-5, snapping a five-game losing streak

AUGUST 27 • Associated Press

Encarnacion-Strand hits tiebreaking RBI double in the 9th as Orioles outlast Cardinals 8-7

Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a tiebreaking RBI double, Leody Taveras and Pete Alonso homered and the Baltimore Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7 on Wednesday night after...

AUGUST 27 • Associated Press

MLB home run leader Schwarber punctuates Phillies' unlikely comeback win over the Cardinals

All Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber could do was smile as he surveyed the situation while heading to the plate Sunday in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied game with the...

AUGUST 23 • Associated Press

Schwarber's 2-run HR with 2 out in 9th rallies Phillies for a 6-4 win over the Cardinals

Kyle Schwarber’s MLB-leading 39th homer of the season was a two-run shot with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied from a four-run deficit...

AUGUST 23 • Associated Press

Implodes vs. Phillies O'Brien (3-5) took the loss Sunday against the Phillies, allowing six runs on five hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning.

Impact O'Brien was called upon in a non-save situation Sunday, with the Cardinals ahead 4-0 in the ninth. After O'Brien recorded the first two outs, the Phillies' next five batters all reached safely -- they'd tie the game 4-4 on a Bryan De La Cruz single before Kyle Schwarber launched a two-run homer, sticking O'Brien with a brutal loss. Coming into Sunday, the 31-year-old O'Brien had turned in 12 straight scoreless appearances, holding opponents to just two hits over 11.1 innings in that span. He's converted 33 saves this season while posting a 3.93 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and 53:23 K:BB across 52.2 innings.

AUGUST 23 • ROTOWIRE

Narrowly escapes with 33rd save O'Brien secured the save Thursday against the Reds, allowing no runs on one hit and two walks in one-third of an inning.

Impact O'Brien needed just one out to finish it off for the Cardinals but made things very interesting, allowing two inherited runners to come across before getting Matt McLain to line out sharply to right field. The All-Star right-hander gave up his first hit since Aug. 2 in Toronto, so his grip on the Cardinals' closer role remains strong. Through 52 innings, O'Brien sports a 2.94 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 53:22 K:BB with a league-leading 33 saves in 38 attempts.

AUGUST 20 • ROTOWIRE

Nails down 32nd save O'Brien struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Tuesday to record his 32nd save of the season in a 3-0 win over the Reds.

Impact The big right-hander continued an absolutely dominant stretch that began July 22. Over his last 11 appearances, O'Brien has converted all seven of his save chances without allowing a run and surrendering just one hit, while posting a 12:5 K:BB over 11 innings. While he entered 2026 with just six career saves, O'Brien's 32 have him second in the majors behind Bryan Baker's 35.

AUGUST 19 • ROTOWIRE

Masyn Winn homers as the Cardinals shut out the Reds 3-0

Masyn Winn hit a home run and doubled twice and Kyle Leahy gave up three hits and struck out six in five innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0

AUGUST 19 • Associated Press

Dominates for save No. 31 O'Brien notched a save in the first game of Monday's doubleheader versus the Reds, striking out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

Impact O'Brien had little trouble protecting a one-run lead, throwing 11 of 14 pitches for strikes en route to punching out all three batters he faced. The All-Star closer leads the NL with 31 saves on the season, and only Tampa Bay's Bryan Baker (35) has more saves in either league. O'Brien's last blown save came July 20 against the Angels -- since then, he's a perfect six-for-six in save chances and has pitched 10 consecutive scoreless outings, yielding just one hit while posting an 11:5 K:BB across 10 innings during that span.

AUGUST 18 • ROTOWIRE

Pallante silences the Phillies as Pereira's homer lifts the Cardinals over Phillies 2-0

Andre Pallante gave up four hits over six innings, and Everson Pereira homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0

AUGUST 12 • Associated Press

Reaches 30 save mark O'Brien earned the save in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Phillies, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

Impact O'Brien was summoned to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning and did so on just eight pitches. The 31-year-old has now held opponents scoreless in nine of 10 appearances since the All-Star break, securing six of seven save chances during that stretch. On the year, he's 30-for-35 in save opportunities to go along with a 3.14 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 49:20 K across 48.2 innings.

AUGUST 12 • ROTOWIRE

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