The St. Louis Cardinals are doing everything they can to stay in the playoff race as the halfway point of 2025 approaches with the All-Star Game on July 15. Although the Cardinals are rebuilding after missing the postseason the two previous years, St. Louis sits 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and 1 1/2 games out of an NL Wild Card spot. Unfortunately, the Cardinals have an uphill battle to fight after this year’s All-Star break — one that could be too burdensome for the 11-time World Series champions to overcome. “St. Louis Cardinals (3.8% worse): Their second half begins with a six-game road trip to Chase Field and Coors Field, but after that, they get almost no breaks on the hitting side the rest of the way,” ESPN’s Tristain H. Cockcroft wrote Wednesday morning after suggesting that the Cardinals second-half schedule for 2025 is the second-most difficult for hitters behind the New York Mets.