photo: Ryan Helsley (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals went 4-2 on the road for their fourth straight winning week. As the offense is improving, the starting pitching has declined. Closer Ryan Helsley is the team’s lone All-Star. Our history feature highlights “rare feats” by Cardinals during the past week in prior years.
Helsley Named a 2024 NL All-Star
On Sunday evening, Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley was named the team’s only representative on the National League All-Star team. It is the right-hander’s second career All-Star berth (2022).
His 31 saves are the most ever by a Cardinal in the first half and the total leads Major League Baseball. Helsley was also the April NL Relief Pitcher of the Month. For the season, the 29-year-old has struck out 47 in 41 innings over 40 appearances and has a 2.41 ERA.
Because St. Louis did not have an elected All-Star, Helsley was added, as all MLB teams are required to be represented. This year’s game will be held in Arlington, Texas on July 16.
Game recaps
Monday, July 1, 2024 – Off day
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 – Cardinals 7 at Pirates 4
The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pirates in the opener of a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Starter Kyle Gibson pitched five innings, gave up four runs on five hits, struck out eight and walked one and received his sixth win of the season.
John King relieved Gibson and threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Ryan Fernandez hurled 1 1/3 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley each tossed a scoreless inning. Helsley earned his 31st save.
The Cardinals took the lead in the third inning on a two-run home run by Alec Burleson. They added four runs in the fourth. Brendan Donovan singled. Nolan Arenado reached on catcher interference. Matt Carpenter singled. Nolan Gorman followed with a grand slam to left center field.
The Pirates scored four times in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-4. St. Louis put up one run in the seventh. Paul Goldschmidt doubled and came home on a single by Brendan Donovan.
The Cardinals scored seven runs on 13 hits. Gorman was 2-for-4 with four RBI. Burleson was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Donovan was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Goldschmidt and Masyn Winn were both 2-for-5.
On defense, Willson Contreras had a passed ball.
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 – Cardinals 4 at Pirates 5 (10 innings)
The Cardinals took a one run loss in extra innings on Wednesday. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched six innings, gave up two runs on five hits and struck out four.
Giovanny Gallegos relieved Mikolas and surrendered one run in 1/3 of an inning. Matthew Liberatore threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Andrew Kittredge yielded two runs, one earned, in 1 1/3 innings and took the loss. JoJo Romero gave up the walk off hit in the 10th.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth when the Cardinals took the 1-0 lead. Brandon Crawford led off with a double. Crawford later crossed the plate on a single by Masyn Winn.
The Pirates answered with two runs in the home fifth to lead 2-1. Pittsburgh added a run in the seventh.
St. Louis tied the game in the eighth on a two-run home run by Willson Contreras.
In the 10th, the Cardinals scored one run to briefly lead 4-3. Dylan Carlson began the inning on second base. Masyn Winn singled, moving Carlson to third. Alec Burleson plated Carlson on a sac fly.
The Pirates responded with two runs in the bottom of the 10th to win in a 5-4 walk off.
The Cardinals offense scored four runs on eight hits. Winn was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-5. Contreras had two RBI.
On the bases, Goldschmidt stole his fifth base of the season.
Thursday, July 4, 2024 – Cardinals 3 at Pirates 2 (10 innings)
The Cardinals edged the Pirates on Thursday in their second consecutive extra innings game. Starter Andre Pallante pitched seven innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out five and walked one.
Andrew Kittredge relieved Pallante and threw a scoreless eighth. John King surrendered one unearned run in the final two innings and received the win.
The Cardinals went up 1-0 in the second inning. Brendan Donovan reached on an error and scored on a double by Dylan Carlson.
The Pirates tied the game in the fourth. Neither team could break the tie in the regulation nine innings. In the top of the 10th inning, St. Louis plated two runs to take the 3-1 lead. Michael Siani was the Manfred runner on second. Pedro Pagés drove in Siani on a double. Pagés came home on a single by Alec Burleson.
Pittsburgh rallied for one run in the bottom of the 10th for the final score of 3-2.
The offense scored three runs on 10 hits. Burleson was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Carlson was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
On the bases, Paul Goldschmidt stole his sixth base of the season. Willson Contreras was caught stealing.
Friday, July 5, 2024 – Cardinals 7 at Nationals 6 (11 innings)
The Cardinals topped the Nationals, 7-6, in their third straight extra inning game. Starter Sonny Gray pitched five innings, gave up five runs on eight hits, struck out six and walked one.
Chris Roycroft relieved Gray and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Matthew Liberatore followed with 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Ryan Fernandez hurled a scoreless inning. JoJo Romero tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Ryan Helsley surrendered one unearned run in the final two innings for his first blown save of the year, but also his third win.
The Nationals took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Washington increased the lead to 4-0 in the second, then added a fifth run in the third.
The Cardinals cut the lead to 5-2 in the fourth. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado singled. Brendan Donovan drew a walk. Dylan Carlson plated Goldschmidt on a sac fly. Arenado came home on a single by Pedro Pagés.
St. Louis made it 5-3 in the fifth. Masyn Winn doubled and scored on a single by Willson Contreras. The Cardinals continued to cut into the lead with one run in the to shrink the lead to 5-4. Arenado doubled and later came home on a single by Nolan Gorman.
The Cardinals tied the game in the ninth on a solo home run by Contreras. The game went into the 10th and St. Louis went up, 6-5. With Brendan Donovan on second, Gorman singled to drive him home.
The Nationals tied the game at 6-6 in the home 10th. The Cardinals answered with one run in the top of the 11th to led 7-6. Masyn Winn began on second and advanced to third on a ground out by Alec Burleson. Winn scored on a third strike passed ball. Washington failed to answer in the bottom of the inning.
The Cardinals scored seven runs on 14 hits. Gorman was 2-for-2 with two RBI. Contreras was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Michael Siani was 2-for-5. Arenado was 4-for-5 with two runs scored.
On the bases, Winn stole his ninth base of the season. Burleson swiped his sixth bag.
Saturday, July 6, 2024 – Cardinals 6 at Nationals 14
The Cardinals were mauled by the Nationals in a 14-6 blowout on Saturday. Starter Lance Lynn pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up 11 runs, 10 earned, on nine hits, struck out two and walked four. Lynn took the loss, his fourth of the season.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Lynn and surrendered two runs in 2 1/3 innings. Giovanny Gallegos yielded one run in the final three innings.
The Nationals went up 4-0 in the first inning and 9-0 in the second. The Cardinals answered in the third with four runs. Nolan Gorman doubled. Michael Siani singled. Masyn Winn drove in Gorman on a single. Alec Burleson advanced the runners on a ground out. Siani came home on a ground out by Willson Contreras. Paul Goldschmidt drew a walk. Nolan Arenado singled to score Winn. Brendan Donovan plated Goldschmidt on a single.
Washington increased their lead to 11-4 in the home third. The Cardinals added a run in the top of the fourth to shrink the lead to 11-5. Winn and Alec Burleson walked. Winn scored from second base on a wild pitch.
The Nationals added two runs in the bottom of the fourth to widen the lead to 13-5. St. Louis made it 13-6 in the seventh. Donovan singled. Gorman doubled. Donovan scored on a ground out by Siani.
Washington added one more run in the eighth for the 14-6 final score.
The Cardinals scored six runs on 11 hits. Winn was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Arenado was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Donovan was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Gorman was 3-for-5.
On defense, Contreras made a throwing error.
Sunday, July 7, 2024 – Cardinals 8 at Nationals 3
The Cardinals came back from their Saturday beating to defeat the Nationals 8-3. Starter Kyle Gibson pitched five innings, gave up three runs on nine hits, struck out eight and walked two for his seventh win of the season.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Brendan Donovan drew a walk. Nolan Gorman drove in Donovan on a double. Gorman came home on a single by Dylan Carlson.
The Nationals tied the game in the home second. St. Louis regained the lead 3-2 in the fourth. Paul Goldschmidt led off the inning with a double and later scored on a single by Gorman.
The Cardinals increased their lead to 6-2 in the fifth. Masyn Winn drew a walk. Alec Burleson reached on catcher’s interference. Willson Contreras plated Winn on a single. Burleson stole third base and Contreras stole second. Nolan Arenado drove in Burleson and Contreras on a single.
Washington cut the lead to 6-3 in the sixth. The Cardinals responded with two runs in the seventh on a two-run home run by Contreras to widen the lead to 8-3.
The Cardinals scored eight runs on 13 hits. Contreras was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Arenado was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Gorman was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Burleson was 2-for-3.
On the bases, Burleson stole his seventh base of the season. Contreras swiped his third bag.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals finished the week with a record of 4-2. They took two of three from the Pirates and won two of three against the Nationals with one more game in the series to be played on Monday. St. Louis remains in second place in the NL Central, five games back of the Brewers. The Cardinals’ record stands at 47-42.
The offense over the week was more prolific than it had been the prior week. Despite the brief improvement, the team’s season run differential is -39.
The top offensive performers for the week by OPS are Nolan Gorman (1.289), Willson Contreras (1.212) and Brandon Crawford (1.000 in 3 ABs). Just below a .900 OPS are Masyn Winn (.896), Alec Burleson (.819), and Nolan Arenado (.807). The improvements from both Gorman and Arenado are important, as they are two of the most important hitters in the lineup who have struggled for most of the first half of the season.
At the bottom are Michael Siani (.334) and Matt Carpenter (.334). Siani’s place in the starting lineup could be more infrequent with the imminent return of Lars Nootbaar and the closer return of Tommy Edman, as the latter begins a rehab assignment this week. The poor offensive performance of Dylan Carlson (.502 OPS over the last week) has played a part in Siani’s frequent starts in CF, mostly because Siani’s defense is superior to that of Carlson.
In the starting pitching department, only Andre Pallante and Miles Mikolas had ERAs under 4.00 over the last week. While the offense has improved, the starting pitching got worse. The three 2024 newcomers, Sonny Gray (9.00), Kyle Gibson (6.30) and Lance Lynn (33.75), all had bad starts over the week. Lynn only lasted 2 2/3 innings in his most recent start, during which he gave up 11 runs.
The success of this team depends on all facets of the game going well. That has rarely happened during any part of the season so far. Perhaps the rest during the All-Star break will help the situation.
The bullpen has had its hiccups but has been fairly steady in this first half of the season. Of course, the pen gets frequent ingestion of fresh arms from Memphis when needed, which helps it stay on course.
The Cardinals have two more series (plus one game of the current series) before the All-Star break. First are two games with the Royals and then four with the Cubs which includes a doubleheader to make up a previous rain out. The Royals are playing well so far this season, but the Cubs have struggled. The Cubs will not be easy to beat though, because they never are. The intense rivalry between the two teams guarantees a tough series.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Milwaukee | 53 | 38 | 0.582 | |
| St. Louis | 47 | 42 | 0.528 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh | 42 | 47 | 0.472 | 10 |
| Cincinnati | 42 | 48 | 0.467 | 10.5 |
| Chicago | 42 | 49 | 0.462 | 11 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 7/4 The Cardinals sent C Iván Herrera on a rehab assignment to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 7/5 The Cardinals recalled RHP Chris Roycroft from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 7/5 The Cardinals optioned RHP Jacob Bosiokovic to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 7/8 The Cardinals optioned IF Jose Fermin to the Memphis Redbirds.
On May 31st, the then-red hot hitting Memphis infielder (1.076 OPS) was called up to St. Louis when outfielder Lars Nootbaar was placed on the injured list.
Playing rarely for the Cardinals. Fermin went a dismal 3-for-31 (.097). He walked twice and struck out four times.
Expect Nootbaar to be activated before Monday’s game in Washington.
Injury Report
- CF Tommy Edman (arthroscopic wrist surgery) was transferred to the 60-day injured list from the 15-day injured list on May 6. Edman is set to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with the Springfield Cardinals.
- RHP Keynan Middleton (right forearm strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 22. Middleton underwent season ending forearm surgery. The right hander did not throw a pitch for the Cardinals this season.
- LHP Drew Rom (left bicep tendinitis and left shoulder surgery) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60 day-injured list on April 30. Rom underwent left shoulder surgery. The left hander is expected to be out until at least September.
- RHP Riley O’Brien (right forearm flexor strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on May 10. O’Brien was scheduled for a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds, but it was paused due to continued arm issues. Scans were sent out for a second opinion and no decision will be made until the consultation is completed.
- LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 28. Matz was cleared to begin throwing on July 4. Matz is expected to be out until August.
- OF Lars Nootbaar (left oblique strain) was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 30. Nootbaar has completed his rehab assignment and is expected to join the Cardinals in Washington on Monday.
In seven games with Springfield, Nootbaar split his time between right field and designated hitter. The right-handed hitter went 6-for-23 (.261) with six walks and eight strikeouts.
In his return to St. Louis, Nootbaar should become the semi-regular in right, shifting Alec Burleson to designated hitter. He could also spell Brendan Donovan in left and Michael Siani in right periodically.
- Iván Herrera (lower back tightness) was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 19. Herrera was sent on a rehab assignment to Memphis on July 4.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals conclude their series in Washington on Monday. The team then returns home to play two games at Busch Stadium against the Kansas City Royals.
After a Thursday off day, the Cubs come to town for a weekend series before the All-Star Break.
The first series after the All-Star Break will be against the Braves in Atlanta. The Cardinals then return to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates.
After a travel day on Thursday, July 25, the Cardinals take on the Nationals again at Busch Stadium. The final series in July is three games with the Texas Rangers in St. Louis.
The month of August begins at Wrigley Field with a four-game series with the Cubs. The Cardinals return to St. Louis to play a rain makeup game with the Mets on Monday, August 5. That game will be followed by three games against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past looks at baseball rare feats accomplished by Cardinals players during the period July 1 through 7 in various years in the past.
A “rare feat” in MLB terms has been defined as one of the following: (1) a pitcher or pitchers throwing a no-hitter; (2) A batter hitting for the cycle, which is hitting at least one single, one double, one triple, and one home run in a single game; (3) A batter recording six hits in one game; (4) a player, either a position player or a pitcher, hitting a home run in their first major league at bat; and (5) a player hitting three or more home runs in a single game.
During this period in past seasons, the following Cardinal players accomplished one of the aforementioned rare feats. For each player, the type of feat, the date, as well as some details are listed below.
Nolan Arenado – On July 1, 2022, Arenado hit for the cycle in a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. This was the second cycle in the career of Arenado. He hit for the cycle while with the Rockies on June 18, 2017.
Arenado’s cycle came in the following order: In the first inning, Arenado tripled to the LF-CF gap, scoring Paul Goldschmidt from first base.
In the third inning, Arenado hit a two-run home run to left field, again scoring Goldschmidt. Arenado’s cycle was completed by a double in the sixth and a single in the eighth.
Keith McDonald – McDonald was a catcher and the 24th round draft pick of the Cardinals in 1994. His MLB career was very short. McDonald debuted with the Cardinals on July 4, 2000 against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won, 14-3.
McDonald came into the game as a pinch hitter for SS Edgar Renteria in the bottom of the eighth inning. McDonald hit a solo home run to left center field for the final run scored by St. Louis.
In a twist to the story, McDonald hit a second home run two days later, on July 6 in his second MLB at bat, making him the second player in MLB history to homer in his first two major league at bats. The first was Bob Nieman, who hit two home runs in the same game, in his first two at bats with the St. Louis Browns on September 14, 1951.
McDonald appeared in only eight games total over two seasons, 2000 and 2001. He did not play for a major league team again.
Bill White – White played for the Cardinals for eight seasons, from 1959 to 1965, and again in 1969 and was named a team Hall of Famer in 2020. White’s rare feat was hitting three home runs in one game. On July 5, 1961, he led the Cardinals to a 9-1 win over the Dodgers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
White’s first long ball was a solo shot to right field in the top of the third inning. His second was a two-run home run in the fourth inning. White hit another solo blast to right center field in the eighth. The first two long balls were against Dodger starter Roger Craig. The third was versus reliever Jim Golden.
The Cardinals hit four home runs in that game with the other home run hit by none other than starting pitcher Bob Gibson.
In that same month, White accomplished another feat. He tied Ty Cobb’s record of recording 14 hits in consecutive doubleheaders. The first doubleheader was played on the day that Cobb died.
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