St. Louis Cardinals conclude stretch of 19 games in 19 days. Have they turned the corner?

The Cardinals would prefer their players spend Wednesday — if not also Thursday — not even considering picking up a baseball, a piece of exercise equipment, or perhaps even a particularly heavy bag of groceries.

If it’s at all possible, the club views that as a good day for its essential personnel to take in some air conditioning and stay in bed. There’s plenty of premium television released over the duration of a baseball season; Wednesday might be an ideal day to catch up.

Tuesday night’s matchup with the Kansas City Royals wrapped up a stretch of 19 games in 19 days in which the Cardinals were forced to push the pedal all the way to the floor in their attempts to outrun a putrid start to the season. After opening 10-24, the team has gone 15-8 in their most recent 23 games. After Tuesday’s win against the Royals, they finished 12-7 over the 19 games of this break-free stretch.

Despite the turn of fates, St. Louis exited Memorial Day again in last place in the NL Central — but just 4.5 games out of first — and tied for the most losses in the National League.

“We feel good about where we’re at right now,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “We feel really good about it, actually. It took some hard work out of the guys to be able to get here.”

No one in and around the ballpark would make the mistake of confusing life in the major leagues with the stresses which come with blue collar work, but the grind is real all the same. This stretch took the Cardinals from Chicago to Boston, back home, and through Ohio before landing back in St. Louis.

Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman appeared in all 19 games. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt started 18 of the 19, with Arenado penciled in as the designated hitter twice and Goldschmidt at DH four times.

The only Cardinal to start in the field for 18 of the 19 games was Paul DeJong, who spent all 18 at shortstop providing stellar defense and showcasing the offensive turnaround which has been advertised for the past several years but appears to be manifesting as desired this summer.

“It speaks to what he’s been able to do,” Marmol said. “He’s played really good defense — start there — and he’s taking really good at bats.”

With Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill both on the injured list and Lars Nootbaar out of action Tuesday after injuring his back in the process of a leaping catch Monday, need for Donovan and Edman in the outfield has not only opened up opportunities for DeJong, but mandated his contributions.

“For him to stay and play every day at short,” Marmol added, “it’s been a heavy workload for him.”

“It’s kind of funny,” DeJong said. “You’ve gotta go through the waves of feeling good and feeling bad. Whereas, maybe like the Milwaukee, Dodgers series, my body was hurting more than it is now.

“It’s a little bit like work tolerance and then you get over it. And then, all of the sudden, you go [from] a day game into a night game, you sleep good, and you feel better.”

His offensive numbers have dipped somewhat since the team arrived in Boston; in the midst of this stretch, DeJong is hitting .150 with a .250 on base percentage in 60 at bats, though he has paired five home runs with his 20 strikeouts.

Team secures winning record in May

It’s perhaps not ideal, but nothing is likely to be for the rest of the season. When a team gets off to its worst start in more than a century, even with a favorable schedule — Baseball Reference still tracks them as more likely than not to make the postseason — it’s difficult to make progress.

The Cardinals have locked down a winning record in May, they’ve fought through a difficult stretch with no rest, and still find themselves at the bottom of the standings. Other teams are climbing too; they’re going to have to climb faster.

“Guys are in a good spot as far as just understanding what needed to take place and being able to execute on that,” Marmol said. “Will you wish you would have won an extra game against Cincy and Cleveland and (Monday)? Sure. No doubt about that.

“But is it a lack of effort, concentration, focus, determination? No. Given everything we’ve gotten, we’ll look up after nine (innings) and see where we’re at.”

Look ahead at Cardinals

Change is coming after Wednesday and Thursday’s step back. The Cardinals will shift back to a five-man rotation that is likely to exclude Steven Matz and include Matt Liberatore.

Conversations about the makeup of the position players and whether Tres Barrera’s presence as a third catcher is still necessary will take place. And Jordan Walker, in the midst of showing results as he elevates his swing and his game for Triple-A Memphis, is on the cusp of a return to the majors.

The Cardinals will look different as the calendar turns. It’s necessary for different to be an improvement. If not, the hole will grow ever deeper.