ST. LOUIS -- With all but one of his teammates long gone from the clubhouse following a particularly forgettable loss on Sunday, Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn staggered through the nearly empty room with a limp, slightly hunched shoulders and the sweat of the day still on his tired body.

Winn, 22, had just played his 25th game in a row for the Redbirds -- something of his own doing after he expressed a desire to manager Oliver Marmol to be in the lineup every day and partly out of necessity with the Cardinals infield shorthanded by injuries.

Rapidly approaching the most games he¡¯s ever played in a season and already well beyond his 37-game MLB cameo last year, Winn has felt the rigors of playing shortstop at the big league level wear on him of late. After going 1-for-4 in the Cardinals¡¯ 10-4 loss to the Mariners at Busch Stadium -- a game they trailed 7-0 after two innings -- Winn found himself in the throes of a 4-for-40 skid at the plate that could likely be attributed to him not taking an inning off in nearly a month.

¡°Nobody¡¯s feeling great right now and we¡¯re all grinding through it,¡± said Winn after the Cardinals dropped two of three in the series to the Mariners to dim their already slim playoff chances. ¡°It¡¯s something that I¡¯m new to because in the Minor Leagues you get those scheduled days off every week. But I want to be in there every day and I¡¯m trying to battle through stuff. But nobody really feels great right now. Even if I¡¯m 50 percent, I still want to be out there.¡±

Under normal circumstances, the Cardinals likely would have rested Winn on Sunday, Marmol said. But circumstances are hardly normal with veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford designated for assignment on Aug. 20, and Winn¡¯s backup at shortstop, Brendan Donovan, out the past two games with a foot infection.

When presented with the option of an off-day on Sunday, Winn pushed to remain at the top of the order and at shortstop. However, the club is planning to pair Monday¡¯s scheduled off-day with another day of rest for Winn on Tuesday when the Redbirds begin a three-game series against the Reds.

¡°When you talk to him, he wants to play every day and next year, he wants to be a guy that plays every single day,¡± Marmol said. ¡°This run he¡¯s on right now, it¡¯s a lengthy one. I talked to him [on Saturday] -- and he said, ¡®Nah [to an off day]; put me back in there.¡¯ That¡¯s awesome coming from him, it really is.¡±

The Cardinals are already cognizant of the fact that Winn is one of the most important players to the franchise¡¯s hopes of getting back in the playoffs in the future and rebuilding a consistent winner. Despite his recent dry spell, Winn is still slashing .273/.320/.408 with 26 doubles, four triples, 12 homers and 49 RBIs. Defensively, he¡¯s been even more spectacular, as he¡¯s tied for first with Guardians rookie Brayan Rocchio among all MLB shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (12).

Winn is coming off an August in which he posted personal bests in hits (33), homers (five) and runs (19) in a single month, and he¡¯s still in position to become the first Cards rookie to lead the team in hits since Albert Pujols did it in 2001. He has been able to stay in the lineup after the Cardinals sprinkled in off-days early in the season to help him through the lower back stiffness that was bothering him at the time.

¡°When you look at that [back stiffness] not being a lingering issue down the stretch, you needed to get out ahead of it, and thankfully we did in how we scheduled it out,¡± Marmol said. ¡°Honestly, it was just the communication and understanding how he felt and the day-to-day [nature] of it -- if it was improving or not improving. We had to schedule him some off-days regardless of if it made sense to the rest of the world.¡±

To combat the trials of MLB¡¯s lengthy regular season, Winn has been asking veterans Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Matt Carpenter for advice on stretching and icing to keep his body fresh. Winn knows the Cardinals need him in games, and he wasn¡¯t about to talk his way out of the lineup.

¡°Knock on wood, but I¡¯ve never been put on the IL in my Minor League career, and I didn¡¯t want this year to be the first,¡± Winn said. ¡°Once I started rolling and moved to the top of the lineup, I wanted to be out there. And my pitchers want me out there, too. So, any chance I get, I¡¯m going to be playing.¡±