Alec Burleson reached a landmark that had eluded the Cardinals for four seasons, driving in his 100th run of the year with a two-out single in the fifth inning of Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium.
The 27-year-old first baseman went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. The milestone hit came immediately after Iván Herrera’s two-out single scored Thomas Saggese. Burleson then lined a ball to right field that plated Bryan Torres and cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 4-2. It was the first 100-RBI season of Burleson’s career.
St. Louis Cardinals on X (formerly Twitter): “That’s 100 RBI on the year for Alec Burleson! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Zcz2yRmHYQ / X”
That’s 100 RBI on the year for Alec Burleson! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Zcz2yRmHYQ
St. Louis dropped to 68-70 and fell a game further behind in the National League Central. Pittsburgh improved to 67-71. The Cardinals scored twice more in the seventh but could not complete the comeback.
Burleson finishes the campaign, through 137 games, at .288 with 21 home runs and exactly 100 RBIs. He also has 33 doubles, 78 runs scored, a .353 on-base percentage, a .476 slugging percentage and an .829 OPS. He has been especially productive with runners in scoring position, hitting .358 in those situations, and has anchored the middle of the order as the club’s most consistent run producer.
He is the first Cardinals player to reach 100 RBIs since Nolan Arenado (103) and Paul Goldschmidt (115) did so in 2022. He is also the first left-handed hitter in a St. Louis uniform to hit the century mark since Jim Edmonds drove in 111 runs in 2004.
Burleson ranks second in the majors in RBIs, trailing only Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart. August has been one of his strongest months: he hit .311 with 29 RBIs in 28 games.
Manager Oliver Marmol called him “a professional hitter,” a description that has defined Burleson’s 2026 season more than any single power outburst. The former East Carolina standout and 2020 second-round pick has settled in as an everyday first baseman, logging 133 games at the position with a .993 fielding percentage.
The milestone arrived on a difficult afternoon for the club. Infielder JJ Wetherholt was placed on the 10-day injured list with right wrist tendinitis before the game, and Matthew Liberatore took the loss after allowing three earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. Esmerlyn Valdez and Jared Triolo homered for Pittsburgh. Braxton Ashcraft earned his 14th win.
For Burleson, the number is less a finish line than confirmation of a season-long role. In a lineup that has searched for consistency, the left-handed bat has supplied it: contact, extra-base power and, most of all, runs. One hundred of them, delivered on a Sunday single to right.
