Roger Lajoie Blog: Time to see what Cards are made of

By Roger Lajoie What a difference one week can make. Last week the Hamilton Cardinals were the hottest team in the Canadian Baseball League and had moved into a tie for second place, just 1 1/2 games out of first place. Visions of winning a pennant appeared a distict possibility, and the Cards were riding a huge high heading into their busiest week of the season. That busy schedule may have caught up with the Cardinals however, as three consecutive losses in as many days have all but dashed their pennant hopes. A crushing 4-3 loss to the first place London Majors on Sunday at Bernie Arbour Stadium started the slide. The Red Sox then gave Hamilton one of its worst losses of the season on Monday with a 7-1 drubbing in Brantford, which was followed by a 6-3 loss to the Barrie Baycats at home on Tuesday. The Cards still sport an impressive 25-16 record even after the three-game slide, but they'll have to be much better over the final two weeks of the season to avoid slipping out of a top three spot in the standings and into the dreaded one-game playoff between the fourth and fifth place teams, which completes this year's abbreviated playoff bracket. As disappointing as last week was, the Cards still control their own destiny to a certain extent as the season winds down. Hamilton still sits in third place, now a more distant four games behind the Majors and 2 1/2 behind second place Welland. But they are still a full game up on Guelph and Barrie, so a strong finish in their final seven games could still result in them skipping the elimination game and assuring that September playoff baseball will be played at The Nest, where the Cards are an impressive 15-5 this season. So, what are the keys to the Cards finishing strong and making that playoff dream a reality? 1. Bullpen has to settle down. In four of their last five games, Hamilton relievers have been unable to close out games in the eigth and ninth innings. You can't be successful long term when that happens too often. 2. Get back to winning at home. Cards were 15-3 at Bernie Arbour and on an 11-game home win streak until this recent slide. With four of their last seven at home, there's a chance to stem that tide for sure. 3. Beat the teams closest to you in the standings. Hamilton lost to London and Barrie this week. Those were big losses. But with two more games left against both Guelph and Welland, along with one more with Barrie, that too can be turned around. The 2026 Hamilton Cardinals have already been a great story, setting a franchise record for wins. But the story isn't complete just yet. It's now down to crunch time. Can they shake off this mini,skid and still be hosting home playoff games in two weeks? We'll find out by August 30 when the season ends with a home game against the Brantford Red Sox. Just how the 2026 regular season iwill be remembered will be determined by how the Cardinals respond to this recent adversity over these final two weeks. It's time for the Cards to show what they are made of.