It was quite the roller coaster of a ninth inning Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

The St. Louis Cardinals were an inch from losing 5-4 to the Cincinnati Reds. Then JJ Wetherholt’s two-out fly ball glanced off the center fielder’s glove, leading to an unexpected six-run inning.

On the flip side, the Cardinals bullpen needed a GPS locator to find the strike zone in the bottom of the ninth, walking five batters before holding on for a 10-9 win.

It was a big win for the Cardinals, who needed it to boost their chances to earn a wild-card spot in the playoffs. But for a preseason doomsdayer like me, it was a milestone victory.

Before the season began, FanGraphs projected St. Louis would have a 65-97 record. Thursday was win No. 66 for the Cardinals, and with 33 games still to go, they had already bested that lowly projection.

From this point on, every win is a bonus. At least, that’s the way I’m going to choose to look at it.

The Cardinals have already exceeded expectations, mine included, and it would be easy to adjust my thinking to expect more. What was supposed to be a throwaway season has led to me checking playoff odds nightly in late August.

But the first two games of this weekend’s series in Philadelphia have brought my high hopes down to Earth, culminating with catcher Pedro Pages throwing a 44.6-mph pitch Kyle Schwarber belted for his 38th home run Saturday night.

Following the game, St. Louis’ playoff chances dropped to a mere 4.1 percent. To be fair, that has little to do with this weekend’s losses. It has more to do with Philadelphia, the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres playing rather well at the moment.

Losing two starting pitchers — Andre Pallante and Hunter Dobbins — to the injured list this weekend only steepens the uphill climb.

At this point, the Cardinals will likely need a 2011-esque September run to make the postseason. It’s entirely possible they could go on a heater — Hey, look at the Kansas City Royals right now! — but with no more head-to-head games against wild-card contenders (after today against the Phillies), they’ll need some help to make a comeback.

It’s a far cry from what I considered a difficult offseason this past winter. The best players were being traded away left and right, while no remaining player had a signed contract beyond the 2026 season. Maybe they knew a lockout is coming.

But for the moment, I’m going to borrow from Mark McGwire. I’d like to talk about “the positive and not the negative” of the 2026 Cardinals season.

• Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby, making more money in one night than his entire 2026 salary. With 27 home runs and 96 RBI, he’s in line for a top-10 finish in the National League MVP race.

• Wetherholt has exceeded my expectations and is a frontrunner for N.L. Rookie of the Year. I think Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart will edge him for the award, in large part due to his power numbers, but Wetherholt should be able to settle for a Gold Glove award.

• Speaking of Gold Glove, Masyn Winn should receive another one of those at shortstop. I wouldn’t be shocked if he collects 10 Gold Gloves by the time he retires.

• Riley O’Brien leads the N.L. in saves and could bring home this year’s Reliever of the Year award. Even though the Cardinals haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, the closer role has been a continuous bright spot.

• Alec Burleson had a three-home run game at Yankee Stadium. Joshua Baez had a three-homer game at Wrigley Field. Move, over, JJ. Everyone’s taking a swing for the next big contract extension from Chaim Bloom!

• Oliver Marmol has more than earned that contract extension he received before the season began. You may not like all of his managerial decisions, but do you think Dave Roberts could have orchestrated this turnaround?

There are still five weeks left in the season, and I’m not counting out the Cardinals just yet. But I refuse to be frustrated by a team that was supposed to lose 97 games.