The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-0 on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day is Palm Beach LF Bryce Madron, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored as the Beach Birds claimed the Florida State League Championship. Other standouts include Ian Petrutz, JJ Wetherholt, and Arquímedes Gamboa.
The Triple-A Redbirds defeated the Bulls by a 5-4 score at AutoZone Park on Wednesday.
Sem Robberse started for Memphis. The right-hander pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits, struck out two and walked one.
Ryan Loutos relieved Robberse and threw two scoreless innings to earn the win. Chris Roycroft tossed the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his fifth save.
Durham went up 1-0 in the first inning. They added three runs in the top of the second to lead 4-0. Memphis answered with two runs in the home half of the second to cut the lead to 4-2. Matt Koperniak was hit by a pitch. Chandler Redmond hit a ground-rule double. Arquímedes Gamboa doubled to plate Koperniak and Redmond.
In the sixth, Memphis took the lead 5-4. Ramon Mendoza singled. Redmond drew a walk. Wade Stauss drove in Mendoza on a double. Redmond came home on a sac fly by Scott.
The Redbirds scored five runs on eight hits. Gamboa was 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Gamboa made a throwing error.
Memphis is 71-73 on the season, 33-36 in the second half. They are in sixth place in the International League West, 12.5 games back of Columbus.
Thursday’s game: vs. Durham, Quinn Mathews LHP (0-1, 7.59) vs. TBD (DUR) 6:45 CT.
Springfield Cardinals – Off
The Double-A Cardinals, up 1-0, entertain the Arkansas Travelers in Game 2 of the Texas League Division Series at Hammons Field on Thursday evening. If the Cardinals do not sweep, Game 3 will be in Springfield on Friday night.
Thursday’s game: vs. Arkansas, Max Rajcic RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. Brandyn Garcia LHP (0-0, 0.00) 6:35 CT.
The Palm Beach Cardinals defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers in the final game of the Florida State League Championship Series. The Cardinals are the 2024 Florida State League Champions.
Chin Wei-Lin started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched one scoreless inning with one hit allowed and one strikeout. Leonel Sequera followed Lin and surrendered one run in 2 2/3 innings. Gerardo Salas yielded two runs in 1 1/3 innings and was tagged with a blown save. Nolan Sparks allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings and earned the win. Luis Gastelum tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the save.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bryce Madron singled and advanced on an error. Josh Kross drew a walk. Ian Petrutz doubled to score Madron and Kross.
Palm Beach added a run in the second to lead 3-0. Ryan Campos singled. Jon Jon Gazdar singled. Christian Martin was hit by a pitch. Campos scored on a force-out by Madron.
Lakeland put up one run in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-1. The Flying Tigers tied the game at 3-3 with two run scored in the fifth.
In the seventh, the Cardinals produced a three run rally to take the lead 6-3. Campos reached on an error. Gazdar walked. Madron plated Campos on a double. JJ Wetherholt drove in Gazdar and Madron on a triple.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Chase Davis (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-1 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day is Springfield LF Chase Davis, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Other standouts include Brandon Komar, Matt Lloyd, Bryce Madron, Christian Martin, Lizandro Espinoza and Josh Kross.
The Triple-A Redbirds lost to the Bulls in a 3-1 contest at AutoZone Park on Tuesday.
Nick Raquet was on the mound for Memphis in a bullpen game. The left-hander pitched two innings, gave up two runs on six hits, struck out one and walked one. Raquet took the loss.
Andre Granillo relieved Raquet and surrendered one run in two innings. Connor Thomas and Kyle Leahy threw two scoreless innings each. Jacob Bosiokovic tossed a scoreless ninth.
Durham took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Memphis answered with one run in the home second. Matt Koperniak drew a walk. Gavin Collins singled. Koperniak scored on a double play by Alfonso Rivas.
The Bulls added a run in the fourth to lead 3-1 and that score held the rest of the way.
Memphis scored one run on four hits. No player had multiple hits. The offense was quiet, going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and leaving two men on base.
Mike Antico stole his 14th base. César Prieto made a throwing error.
Memphis is 70-73 on the season, 32-36 in the second half. They are in sixth place in the International League West, 12.5 games back of Columbus.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Durham, Sem Robberse RHP (5-4, 4.52) vs. TBD (DUR) 12:05 C T.
The Double-A Cardinals beat the Travelers by a score of 4-1 in Game 1 of the Texas League North Division Series at Dickey Stephens Park in North Little Rock on Tuesday.
Brandon Komar started for Springfield. The right-hander pitched six innings, gave up one run on five hits, fanned seven and walked two to earn his first playoff win.
Nathanael Heredia relieved Komar but did not record an out. He hit the first batter, gave up a single, and walked his third batter before he was replaced by Ryan Shreve. In his first outing since being sent down from Memphis, Shreve struck out his first batter and induced a double play to get out of the inning without damage. Shreve threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Jack Ralston followed with a scoreless 1/3 of an inning. Matt Svanson tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his first save in the playoffs.
Springfield went up 2-0 in the top of the second inning. Noah Mendlinger doubled and scored on a single by Chase Davis. Leonardo Bernal singled. Davis came home on a single by Bryan Torres.
The Low-A Cardinals defeated the Flying Tigers in Game 2 of the Florida State League Championship Series at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday. The best-of-three series is now 1-1.
Jose Davila started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on three hits, struck out four and walked one to earn his second win of the playoffs.
Jason Savacool relieved Davila and surrendered one run in two innings. Angel Cuenca threw a scoreless 2/3 of an inning. Michael Watson tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the save.
Lakeland took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Beach Birds tied the game in the second on Ian Petrutz’ solo home run. Joshua Baez and Ryan Campos each drew a walk. Campos was out at second in a double play by Jon Jon Gazdar. Lizandro Espinoza drove in Baez on a single.
Lakeland retook the lead with one run in the fourth. Palm Beach answered with four in the fifth on Bryce Madron’s RBI single and a three-run home run by Josh Kross to lead 6-3.
The Flying Tigers made it 7-4 in the top of the eighth. Palm Beach increased the lead to 8-4 in the home eighth. Baez walked and Campos singled. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Espinoza was hit by a pitch. Baez scored on a sac fly by Martin.
The Cardinals scored eight runs on 10 hits. Madron was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Martin was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Espinoza was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Kross had three RBI.
Espinoza stole two bases and was also picked off first base. Gazdar made a fielding error.
The Cardinals are 1-1 in the Championship Series. The final and deciding game of the 2024 Florida State League will be played on Wednesday evening at Roger Dean Stadium.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Lakeland, RH Chen-Wei Lin (10-5, 2.79) vs. TBD (Division Series Game 3) 5:30 CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals went 2-4 for the week. Utility man Brendan Donovan led the team with a .935 OPS, recording a hit in five of the six games in the past week. Our history feature looks at players who have made their major league debut from September 9-15.
The Cardinals were blanked by the Reds in the first game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Andre Pallante got the start for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on six hits, fanned six and walked five. Pallante took the loss.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Pallante and threw a scoreless 1/3 of an inning. John King followed with two scoreless innings. Chris Roycroft tossed the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Reds put three runs on the board to lead 3-0.
The Cardinals were held scoreless for nine innings. The offense scattered eight hits but went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. They left eight men on base.
A double by Goldschmidt was the only extra-base hit. Goldschmidt was 2-for-3. Brendan Donovan was 3-for-4. Nolan Arenado was 2-for-4.
The Cardinals came back to defeat the Reds by the score of 2-1 in the second game of the series on Wednesday. Lance Lynn was on the bump for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up one run on five hits, fanned seven and walked one.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Lynn and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Andrew Kittredge hurled a scoreless inning, and JoJo Romero followed with a scoreless 2/3 of an inning to earn the win. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 44th save.
The Reds scored their first and only run in the top of the fourth inning. The Cardinals answered with one run on a solo home run by Arenado in the bottom of the inning to tie the game.
The Cardinals pounded the Reds in a 6-1 contest on Thursday in the final game of the series. Sonny Gray took the start and pitched six innings, giving up one run on two hits, fanning nine and walking two to earn his 13th win of the season.
Andrew Kittredge relieved Gray and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his first save this season.
In the home half of the sixth, St. Louis scored one run to take back the lead 2-1. Winn singled. Alec Burleson singled. Nolan Arenado drew a walk. Winn scored on a sac fly by Lars Nootbaar.
The Cardinals added two runs in the seventh to extend the lead to 4-1. Thomas Saggese singled and Brendan Donovan followed with a two-run pinch-hit home run.
St. Louis made it 6-1 in the eighth. Nootbaar hit a ground-rule double. Saggese drove in Nootbaar on a single. Saggese later scored on a fielder’s choice by Winn.
The Cardinals scored six runs on 10 hits. Nootbaar was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Saggese was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Winn was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Donovan had two RBI.
The Cardinals were edged by the Blue Jays in a 4-3 loss in the first game of a weekend series in Toronto. Erick Fedde was the St. Louis starter. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on six hits, struck out three and walked one.
John King relieved Fedde and threw a scoreless sixth. Matthew Liberatore hurled three scoreless innings. Ryan Fernandez surrendered one run in the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings and took the loss.
St. Louis went up 2-0 in the first inning. Masyn Winn singled. Alec Burleson singled. Paul Goldschmidt singled to load the bases. Nolan Arenado drove in Winn on a single. Burleson scored on a force out by Thomas Saggese.
Toronto scored three runs in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. The Cardinals came back to tie the game in the eighth on a solo home run by Saggese.
The game went into extra innings and in the home half of the 11th, the Blue Jays walked it off with one run scored for a 4-3 win.
The Cardinals scored three runs on 12 hits. Winn was 2-for-6. Burleson was 2-for-5. Goldschmidt was 2-for-4. Pedro Pagés was 2-for-5. Saggese had two RBI.
The Cardinal lost to the Blue Jays again, this time by a score of 7-2 on Saturday. Kyle Gibson took the mound for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up five runs, one earned, on four hits, struck out one and walked three. Gibson took the loss.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Gibson and threw a scoreless 2/3 of an inning. Riley O’Brien surrendered two runs in the final two innings.
St. Louis put up one run in the top of the third on a solo home run by Jordan Walker to lead 1-0. Toronto quickly tied it in the home half of the third.
The Cardinals suffered the sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays in the final game of the series in Toronto. Miles Mikolas was the starter and he pitched five innings, gave up two runs on three hits and struck out four.
Steven Matz relieved Mikolas and threw two scoreless innings of relief. Andrew Kittredge surrendered one run in 2/3 of an inning and took the loss. JoJo Romero got the final out of the eighth.
St. Louis went up 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning. Iván Herrera singled and scored on a double by Jordan Walker. Toronto answered with two runs in the home half of the fifth to lead 2-1.
The Cardinals tied the game in the seventh on a solo home run by Lars Nootbaar. The Blue Jays retook the lead 3-2 in the eighth.
The Cardinals scored two runs on seven hits. Nootbaar was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Michael Siani stole his 18th base of the season.
Big Picture
The Cardinals did not have a good week. They went 2-4 for the week, winning 2 of 3 from the Reds, and got swept by the Blue Jays in three games. They remain in third place in the NL Central, 12 games back of the Brewers and two games back of the Cubs. They have a record of 74-75 and are 7.5 games out of the Wild Card.
For all intents and purposes, the team is out of the playoff picture. The goal now should be to win enough of the remaining games in the season to at least have a winning record.
There were, as always, good and bad games for both offense and pitching. On the offensive side, there was very little offense for most of the games. The Cardinals’ run differential is currently -67.
The top offensive performers over the last seven days were Brendan Donovan (.935) and Lars Nootbaar (.931). Close behind was Paul Goldschmidt (.855).
The list at the bottom is much longer. Those at the bottom are Thomas Saggese (.478), Alec Burleson (.465), Pedro Pagés (.462), Michael Siani (.368), Luken Baker (.222), Matt Carpenter (.000 in one AB), and José Fermín (.000 in 2 ABs).
The pitching was better than the offense, though it wasn’t good enough. Four starters had ERAs under 4.00. They are Sonny Gray (1.50), Kyle Gibson (1.69), Lance Lynn (1.80), and Miles Mikolas (3.60). Over 4.00 ERAs belonged to Erick Fedde (5.40) and Andre Pallante (5.40).
The bullpen was good, except for Riley O’Brien (9.00) who continues to struggle since coming off the injured list.
The Cardinals have four series remaining in the season. This coming week they play four games against the Pirates and end the final homestand with a three-game series with the Guardians. In the first game of the Pirate series, they face Paul Skenes, who they defeated in their last encounter. The Guardians are very good and will be tough.
NL Central Standings
Team W L Pct GB WCGB
Milwaukee
86
63
.577
——-
–
——–
Chicago
76
73
.510
10
5.5
St. Louis
74
75
.497
12
7.5
Cincinnati
73
78
.483
14
9.5
Pittsburgh
71
78
.477
15
10.5
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
9/10 The Cardinals optioned CF Victor Scott II to the Memphis Redbirds.
9/10 The Cardinals selected the contract of 2B Thomas Saggese from the Memphis Redbirds.
9/11 The Cardinals optioned RHP Chris Roycroft to the Memphis Redbirds.
9/11 The Cardinals activated RHP Lance Lynn from the 15-day injured list.
Injury Report
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 has not thrown 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, and no return date has been given.
RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) was activated from the 15-day injured list.
C Willson Contreras (fractured right middle finger) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 25. Contreras was hit by a pitch on his right hand. Contreras is out of the splint and will be evaluated on Monday as to the next move.
Looking Ahead
The Toronto Series ends on Sunday, and the team returns home to begin their final homestand on Monday with a four-game series against the Pirates. Andre Pallante will make the Monday start, followed by Lance Lynn on Tuesday and Sonny Gray on Wednesday. Thursday’s starter is unknown at this time.
The homestand concludes with three games against the Guardians.
The final week of the regular season is a road trip for the Cardinals. They will first play three games with the Rockies beginning, Tuesday, September 24. The team will then travel to San Franciso to play the Giants in a weekend series that ends the regular season and more than likely ends the Cardinals’ season.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past returns to the Debut Series and showcases present or former Cardinals who made their major league debuts during a certain period in the past.
From the period September 9 through September 15 at various times in the past, three Cardinals made their major league debut. All are former Cardinals, but one is a former Cardinal more than one time.
The following three former Cardinals all made their major league debut during the relevant period in the past. For each player, the date of his debut, in what game he debuted, and how he performed is outlined.
Tommy Pham – Pham played for the Cardinals two separate times, the second time very recently. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 16th round of the 2006 draft.
Pham had an injury history in the minor leagues and a vision impairment that delayed his advancement to the majors for many years. It was late in 2014 when Pham finally got the call.
Pham made his debut on September 9, 2014, in a 9-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark.
Pham came into the game in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter for Matt Holliday. Pham struck out swinging. He repeated as a pinch hitter the next day and also struck out. Pham appeared in only six games in 2014 and had only two plate appearances, as he was used as either a pinch runner or a late-inning defensive replacement in those remaining four games.
Pham began 2015 in Memphis. He was called up in July of 2015. On July 4, 2015, in a 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium, Pham got his first major league hit. Pham started the game in CF and hit leadoff.
In his third plate appearance in the sixth inning, Pham hit a double to CF. He scored on a single by Matt Carpenter.
The Cardinals traded Pham on July 31, 2018, to the Tampa Bay Rays for Genesis Cabrera, Roel Ramirez and Justin Williams.
Pham returned briefly to the Cardinals this season in a three-team trade between the Cardinals, Dodgers and White Sox on July 29. A month later, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the Kansas City Royals.
Mike Shannon – The former Cardinal and later long-time broadcaster, made his major league debut on September 11, 1962, in a 6-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium I (formerly Sportsman’s Park).
Shannon was in the starting lineup playing RF and batting sixth. Shannon was 1-for-4 at the plate. In his first at-bat in the second inning, Shannon grounded out to second base.
Shannon got his first major league hit in the fourth inning on a single to LF off Reds starter Bob Purkey.
In the sixth, Shannon grounded out to the shortstop. In his final at-bat in the ninth, he grounded to the pitcher for a force out at second base.
Shannon played for nine seasons with the Cardinals, before a kidney ailment forced him to retire from playing.
Shannon became the voice of the Cardinals in the KMOX radio booth in 1972. He retired from broadcasting in 2021. He passed away from a stroke on April 29, 2023, at the age of 83.
Adam Wainwright – Wainright came to the Cardinals in a 2003 trade with the Atlanta Braves. He began his career with the Cardinals in the minor leagues with the Memphis Redbirds. He missed most of the 2004 season with an injury. He returned in 2005 with the Redbirds and was called up on September 11, 2005. He made his debut in a 7-2 loss to the Mets at Busch Stadium II.
Wainwright made his debut as a reliever. He came into the game in the ninth inning in relief of John Gall. He gave up a single to Kazuo Matsui and walked Carlos Beltran. He induced two lineouts to third base, then gave up a three-run home run to Victor Diaz. A pop fly to short by Mike Jacobs was the final out.
Wainwright made one more relief appearance against the Brewers on September 22. He allowed no runs in that appearance.
Wainwright made the Opening Day roster in 2006 and was again used as a reliever. His first major league strikeout was on April 3, 2006, against the Phillies at Citizen’s Bank Park. He came in to pitch in the eighth inning and struck out his second batter, David Dellucci.
Wainwright spent his entire major league career with the Cardinals and retired after the 2023 season.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 0-2 on Friday. The Player of the Day is Memphis 3B Nick Dunn, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Other standouts include Max Rajcic and R.J. Yeager.
The Triple-A Redbirds were edged by the Sounds in their 5-4 loss on Friday. Quinn Mathews got the start for Memphis. The left-hander pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on one hit, struck out four and walked five.
Andre Granillo relieved Mathews and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Victor Santos hurled a scoreless sixth. Ryan Shreve tossed a scoreless seventh. Kyle Leahy surrendered one run in the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings and took the loss.
Memphis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Victor Scott drew a walk. Mike Antico singled. Nolan Gorman drove in Scott on a single.
Nashville put up four runs in the third to lead 4-2. In the eighth, the Redbirds scored two runs to tie the game at 4-4. César Prieto walked. Alfonso Rivas was hit by a pitch. Nick Dunn doubled to plate Prieto. Rivas came home on a passed ball.
The Sounds walked it off in the ninth with one run scored for a 5-4 win.
Memphis scored four runs on seven hits. Dunn was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Antico was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Antico stole his 13th base.
Memphis is 70-71 on the season, 32-34 in the second half. They are in sixth place in the International League West, 11 games back of Columbus.
Saturday’s game: at Nashville, Zack Thompson LHP (3-6, 5.01) vs. Chad Patrick RHP (13-1, 3.08) 5:05 CT (game one); at Nashville, TBD vs. TBD (game two).
The Double-A Cardinals fell to the Missions in a 5-2 contest on Friday. Max Rajcic was on the bump for Springfield. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up one run on three hits, fanned five and walked two.
The game remained knotted up 1-1 until the seventh when the Missions put up three runs to lead 4-1.
The Cardinals answered with a run in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 4-2. Jimmy Crooks drew a walk. Yeager reached on an error. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Noah Mendlinger walked. Chase Davis reached on a fielder’s choice and Crooks scored.
San Antonio responded with a run in the home half of the eighth to win the game 5-2.
Springfield scored two runs on six hits. Nathan Church was 2-for-5.
Chris Rotondo stole his sixth base. Leonardo Bernal was caught stealing.
Springfield is 78-58, 41-26 in the second half.
Saturday’s game: at San Antonio, TBD (SPR) vs. Ryan Bergert RHP (2-9, 4.89) 7:05 CT.
Palm Beach Cardinals – Off
Palm Beach swept the Daytona Tortugas in the Division Series and advanced to the Championship Series to face the Lakeland Flying Tigers in a best-of-three series. Game 1 begins on Sunday at Lakeland. Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) will be played in Jupiter at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-0 on Wednesday but Springfield’s Tink Hence is injured again. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Memphis RF Matt Koperniak, was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Other standouts include César Prieto, Jimmy Crooks, and Benito Garcia.
The Triple-A Redbirds defeated the Sounds in a 6-3 road win on Wednesday. Sem Robberse started for Memphis. The right-hander pitched four innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, and struck out one.
Connor Thomas relieved Robberse and threw two scoreless innings to earn the win. Victor Santos, Jacob Bosiokovic and Ryan Loutos each tossed a scoreless inning. Loutos received his 17th save.
Memphis took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Mike Antico and Alfonso Rivas walked. César Prieto plated Antico and Rivas on a double.
Nashville came back in the second to take a 3-2 lead. In the fifth, the Redbirds regained the lead at 4-3. Matt Koperniak and Rivas singled. The two later scored on a single by Nick Dunn.
Memphis added a run in the sixth to extend the lead to 5-3. Ramon Mendoza doubled and scored on a throwing error. The Redbirds added a final run in the seventh on a solo home run by Koperniak to lead 6-3.
The Double-A Cardinals edged the Missions by a 2-1 score on Wednesday, but the road win was potentially costly.
Right-hander Tink Hence started but left after 1 1/3 innings with an injury. Hence allowed one hit, struck out one, walked one, threw 15 strikes and 14 balls.
After walking a San Antonio batter on four consecutive pitches, Hence was joined by catcher Jimmy Crooks and soon, manager Jose Leger and trainer Alex Wolfinger. After discussion, Hence walked off without assistance.
Hence, The Cardinal Nation’s second-ranked prospect, missed almost two months this summer with either back issues or tightness and pain in his upper chest/shoulder region, depending on which source you reference.
The nature of the current injury is unclear as Wolfinger did not check any area of Hence’s body while on the field.
But what is clear is that the 22-year-old has thrown just 24 innings over eight starts since his late July return and 79 2/3 in total for the season, all as his workload has been carefully managed. Hence’s career remains stuck at Double-A, a level he first reached on July 1, 2023.
Benito Garcia replaced Hence and threw 4 2/3 innings, gave up one run on three hits and fanned eight to earn the win. Andrew Marrero hurled a scoreless seventh. Jack Ralston and Matt Svanson each tossed a scoreless inning. Svanson received his 26th save.
Springfield put up one run in the top of the third. Dakota Harris drew a walk. Nathan Church singled. Jeremy Rivas was hit by a pitch. Jimmy Crooks plated Harris on a sac fly.
San Antonio answered with one run in the home third to tie the game.
The Cardinals scored one run in the sixth to retake the lead 2-1. Crooks doubled and later scored on a force out by Chase Davis.
Springfield scored two runs on nine hits. Crooks was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Church was 3-for-4.
Davis stole two bases. R.J. Yeager made a throwing error.
Springfield is 78-56, 41-24 in the second half. With four games remaining, the 78 wins set a new franchise record.
Thursday’s game: at San Antonio, Alex Cornwell LHP (7-3, 5.01) vs. Henry Baez RHP (4-1, 3.30) 7:05 CT.
Palm Beach and Daytona – Off
Thursday’s game: vs. Daytona, RH Chen-Wei Lin (10-5, 2.79) vs. TBD (Division Series Game 2) 5:30 CT.
In the best of three first round, Palm Beach is up 1-0 with both of the final two games (if necessary) to be played at Roger Dean Stadium on Thursday and Friday evenings.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-0 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Memphis 2B Nolan Gorman, was 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI. Other standouts include Mike Antico, Leonardo Bernal, Matt Lloyd, and Joshua Baez.
The Triple-A Redbirds defeated the Sounds in a 5-3 road win on Tuesday. Michael McGreevy was on the bump for Memphis. The right hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked two to earn his ninth win.
Kyle Leahy relieved McGreevy and threw two scoreless innings. Wilking Rodriguez hurled a scoreless inning. Ryan Loutos tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 16th save.
Memphis went up 1-0 in the first inning on a solo home run by Nolan Gorman. The Redbirds added four runs in the top of the second to extend the lead to 5-0. Alfonso Rivas doubled. Chandler Redmond drew a walk. Mike Antico plated Rivas and Redmond on a double. Gorman followed with a two-run home run.
The Double-A Cardinals picked up a road win over the Missions by the score of 7-3 on Tuesday. Startin pitcher Brandon Komar pitched 7 2/3 innings, gave up three runs on six hits, fanned seven and walked one to earn his seventh win.
Nathanael Heredia relieved Komar and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his first save.
Springfield put up three runs in the top of the first inning. Bryan Torres led off with a single and advanced to second on a balk. Nathan Church drew a walk. Matt Lloyd doubled to score Torres and Church. Lloyd scored on a single by Leonardo Bernal.
In the top of the fifth, the Cardinals increased their lead to 5-0. Church singled. Jimmy Crooks was hit by a pitch. Lloyd ground into a force out and Crooks was out at second. Lloyd stole second base and Church scored on a throwing error. Lloyd came home on a ground out by Chase Davis.
San Antonio got on the board in the home fifth to cut Springfield’s lead to 5-2. The Cardinals added a sixth run in the seventh. Davis singled and stole second base. Bernal singled. Davis scored on a force out by Noah Mendlinger.
The Missions put up one run in the eighth to shrink the lead to 6-3. Springfield scored their final run in the ninth for the final score of 7-3. Lloyd doubled to start the inning and came home on a single by Bernal.
The Cardinals scored seven runs on 15 hits. Bernal was 4-for-5 with two RBI. Lloyd was 2-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. Davis was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Mendlinger was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Torres was 2-for-4.
Lloyd stole his 16th base of the season. Davis swiped his first bag with Springfield.
Jeremy Rivas made a throwing error. Mendlinger had a fielding miscue.
Springfield is 77-56, 40-24 in the second half.
Wednesday’s game: at San Antonio, Tink Hence RHP (4-3, 2.76) vs. Austin Krob LHP (4-10, 4.50) 7:05 CT.
The Class-A Cardinals were the winners in the first game of the Florida State League East Division Series on Tuesday at the Daytona Tortugas. Jose Davila started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up two runs on four hits, struck out four and walked three to earn the win.
Michael Watson relieved Davila and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings on one hit, one walk and five strikeouts. Nolan Sparks tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Cardinals took an immediate lead in the first inning on a two-run home run by JJ Wetherholt, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Tuesday. The Tortugas answered with one in the home first to cut the lead to 2-1.
Palm Beach extended their lead in the second with three runs. Ian Petrutz and Anyelo Encarnacion singled. Christian Martin plated Petrutz and Encarnacion on a double. Martin came home on a single by Bryce Madron.
Daytona scored one run in the third to cut the lead to 5-2. In the sixth, the Cardinals added three runs to widen the lead to 8-2. Jose Suarez drew a walk. Ryan Campos singled. Joshua Baez drove in Suarez and Campos with a triple. Baez scored on a double play by Petrutz.
The Tortugas added one more run in the ninth for the final score of 8-3.
Palm Beach scored eight runs on 11 hits. Baez was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Madron was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Petrutz was 2-for-4. Wetherholt and Martin each had two RBI.
Baez and Madron were both caught stealing. Encarnacion made a fielding error.
Game 2 of the Division Series will be in Jupiter on Thursday with the Beach Birds playing for a sweep. If necessary, a deciding Game 3 will be held at Roger Dean on Friday.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Matt Morris, Dave Duncan, Joe Kurowski (St. Louis Cardinals)
Unable to make up ground, the St. Louis Cardinals went 3-3 for the week. Matt Morris, Dave Duncan and the late Whitey Kurowski are team Hall of Famers. Our history feature highlights two former Cardinals who had rare feats during this week in the past.
Three join Cardinals Hall of Fame
The St. Louis Cardinals annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place on Saturday, September 7 at the outdoor Busch II Infield Stage in Ballpark Village.
The 2024 induction class consists of former pitcher Matt Morris, former pitching coach Dave Duncan, and the late Whitey Kurowski, who played third base for the Cardinals from 1941-49. Members of the late Kurowski’s family were on hand to accept the honor on his behalf, including his son Jim, shown in the photo above.
A dozen or so current Cardinals Hall of Famers were on hand for the celebration, including former manager Tony La Russa, Mark McGwire, Ozzie Smith, Scott Rolen, Chris Carpenter, Willie McGee and others.
Other events included special programming at the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. In addition, there was an on the field ceremony prior to the game on Saturday.
Goldschmidt named Clemente nominee
On Monday, September 9, the Cardinals nominated Paul Goldschmidt as their candidate for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award. It is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
2024 is Goldschmidt’s ninth nomination in his career.
Though the winner will be selected by a panel named by MLB, fans receive one vote as well. MLBTogether.com/clementeaward features bios of each of the 30 team nominees and fan voting will continue until the end of the season on Sunday, September 29th.
The Cardinals fell to the Brewers in the first game of a three-game series in Milwaukee on Monday. Andre Pallante started for St. Louis. The right hander pitched five innings, gave up five runs on five hits, struck out three and walked five. Pallante took the loss.
Riley O’Brien relieved Pallante and surrendered four runs in 2/3 of an inning. Kyle Leahy tossed the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Milwaukee took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals cut the lead to 3-1 in the third on a solo home run by Pedro Pagés.
The Brewers extended their lead to 5-1 in the fourth. The Cardinals added a second run in the fifth on a second solo home run by Pagés. St. Louis made it 5-3 in the top of the sixth. Brendan Donovan singled. Paul Goldschmidt doubled. Donovan scored on a sac fly by Luken Baker.
Milwaukee answered in the home half of the sixth with a four-run surge to increase the lead to 9-3.
The Cardinals scored three runs on six hits. Pagés was 2-for-4 with two solo home runs. Donovan was 2-for-3.
The Cardinals bounced back from Monday’s loss to defeat the Brewers in 12 innings, 7-4. Steven Matz, in his first start off the IL, pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up three runs on three hits, fanned seven and walked one.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Matz and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge each hurled a scoreless inning. Mathew Liberatore tossed two scoreless innings. Ryan Helsley allowed one unearned run in the final two innings but still received the win.
The Cardinals went up 2-0 in the first inning. Masyn Winn doubled and later scored on a sac fly by Nolan Arenado. Brendan Donovan doubled and came home on a double by Paul Goldschmidt.
The Brewers tied the game in the third inning. St. Louis answered with a run in the fourth to pull ahead, 3-2.
Milwaukee plated another run in the fifth to re-knot the score. The game remained tied at 3-3 through the 10th inning. In the top of the 11th, the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead. Nolan Arenado started at second base. Brendan Donovan grounded out, moving Arenado to third. Goldschmidt drove in Arenado on a single.
The Brewers tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the 11th, but St. Louis rallied for three runs in the top of the 12th to take a 7-4 lead. Victor Scott was the Manfred runner. Iván Herrera drew a walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Michael Siani plated them with a single. Siani stole second and went to third on a throwing error. Siani came home on a sac fly by Alec Burleson.
The Cardinals beat the Brewers in the second consecutive extra inning game by the score of 3-2 to win the series. Sonny Gray was on the bump for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched seven innings, gave up one run on four hits, fanned seven and walked one.
JoJo Romero relieved Gray and surrendered one run in 1/3 of an inning. Andrew Kittredge threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. Ryan Fernandez tossed a scoreless 10th for his second save.
The Cardinals scored two runs in the first inning. Paul Goldschmidt singled. Nolan Arenado hit a ground-rule double. Brendan Donovan was hit by a pitch. Iván Herrera drew a walk and Goldschmidt scored. Arenado came home on a walk by Lars Nootbaar.
The score remained 2-0 until the seventh inning, when the Brewers cut the lead to 2-1. Milwaukee tied the game in the eighth.
In the 10th, the Cardinals plated the Manfred runner, Masyn Winn, to lead 3-2. Pinch hitter Luken Baker drove in Winn on a two-out single.
The Cardinals were trounced by the Mariners in the first of a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Friday. Erick Fedde started for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up one run on five hits, struck out three and walked one. Fedde took the loss.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Fedde and surrendered two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Ryan Fernandez hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning. John King threw a scoreless inning. Kyle Leahy allowed three runs in 1 1/3 innings. Riley O’Brien tossed the final 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Seattle went up 1-0 in the fifth inning, then added two in the sixth to lead 3-0. The Cardinals scored their only run in the seventh on a solo home run by Jordan Walker.
The Mariners plated three unanswered runs in the ninth to win 6-1.
The offense scored one run on five hits. Michael Siani was 2-for-3.
Siani stole his 16th base of the season. Lars Nootbaar was caught stealing. Masyn Winn made a throwing error.
The Cardinals blanked the Mariners by a 2-0 score on Saturday. Kyle Gibson took the mound and pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, with three hits allowed. The right-hander fanned nine and walked three.
JoJo Romero relieved Gibson and got the final out of the seventh. Andrew Kittredge threw a scoreless eighth to earn the win. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 43rd save.
The Cardinals broke up a scoreless pitchers’ duel in the eighth on a two-run home run by Pedro Pagés.
Thanks to the excellent pitching, the Cardinals won despite having only two hits in the game. In addition to the Pagés long ball, Lars Nootbaar doubled.
The offense was 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left one man on base (Nootbaar).
The Cardinals lost an ugly game and the home series to the Mariners by the score of 10-4 on Sunday. Miles Mikolas was awful in his start, going only two innings. The right hander gave up seven runs, six earned, on nine hits and struck out three. He took the loss, his 11th.
Steven Matz came out of the bullpen to pitch four innings. The left-hander surrendered two runs. Riley O’Brien threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Chris Roycroft allowed one run in the final 1 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals were in a hole from the very start as Seattle scored five runs against Mikolas in the first inning. In the second, the visitors tagged him for two more runs.
In the bottom of the second, the Cardinals plated two runs. Nolan Arenado singled. Iván Herrera doubled. José Fermín doubled to plate both runners.
Seattle increased their lead to 9-2 in the fifth. St. Louis rallied for two runs in the eighth to shrink the lead to 9-4. Carpenter, who entered the game as a defensive replacement for Arenado in the seventh, hit a ground-rule double. Lars Nootbaar drew a walk but was eliminated in a force out by Herrera. Jordan Walker drove in Carpenter and Herrera on a double.
The Mariners added a 10th run in the ninth for a 10-4 final score.
The Cardinals scored four runs on nine hits. Herrera was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Fermín and Walker both had two RBI.
Fermín stole his second base. Herrera swiped his fifth bag. Luken Baker made a fielding error. Herrera had a passed ball.
The Big Picture
While they desperately need to make up ground, the Cardinals continue to tread water. St. Louis ended the week with a record of 3-3. The team won 2 of 3 from the Brewers and lost 2 of 3 to the Mariners. The Cardinals remain in third place in the Division, behind the Cubs by one game, and behind the Brewers by 10 games.
They are six games out of the Wild Card with three teams ahead of them. Just 18 games remain in the regular season. At this point, it seems unlikely that a postseason trip is in the offing for this team. Per Fangraphs, the odds are 99.5% that the Cardinals will not reach the playoffs.
If Cardinals fans want to see postseason play, they should watch the Palm Beach Cardinals next week, and the Springfield Cardinals the week after. The minor leagues are where it’s at this season.
For St. Louis, it was more of the same this week, with some bad offense and some bad pitching that held the Cardinals back from winning both series.
The Mariners themselves have been plagued by lack of offense, but that issue was not as apparent, other than in the one game the Cardinals won. The difference between the two teams is that the Mariners, unlike the Cardinals, have superior pitching.
The top offensive performers for the week by OPS were Matt Carpenter (1.500 in 2 ABs), Pedro Pagés (1.215), Lars Nootbaar (.945), and Iván Herrera (.929).
At the bottom were Jordan Walker (.491), Nolan Arenado (.398), Michael Siani (.325), Alec Burleson (.313), Masyn Winn (.226), José Fermín (.182) and Victor Scott (.000 in 3 ABs).
In the pitching category, starters with ERAs for the week under 4.00 were Kyle Gibson (0.00), Sonny Gray (1.29) and Erick Fedde (1.93).
Steven Matz, who returned this week from the IL, had an ERA of 5.19 that included one start and a relief appearance.
The worst starting performers were Andre Pallante (9.00) and Miles Mikolas (27.00). Mikolas only pitched two innings in his Sunday start, as the Mariners offense rocked him for seven runs. Mikolas is having an extremely bad second half.
The bullpen hiccups were Riley O’Brien (13.50), Kyle Leahy (7.36), Matthew Liberatore (6.75), Chris Roycroft (5.40) and JoJo Romero (5.40). Leahy was sent down and exchanged for Roycroft over the weekend.
The Cardinals greet the Reds at Busch Stadium to begin the week. The Cardinals last played the Reds in Cincinnati from August 12-14, a series in which they were swept. The team ends the week in Toronto.
NL Central Standings
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
WCGB
Milwaukee
82
61
0.573
Chicago
73
70
0.510
9
5
St. Louis
72
71
0.503
10
6
Cincinnati
69
75
0.479
13.5
9.5
Pittsburgh
67
76
0.469
15
11
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
9/7 The Cardinals optioned RHP Kyle Leahy to the Memphis Redbirds.
Leahy, 27, finished his fifth stint with St. Louis this season, with his most recent time up beginning on July 28. Overall, in 31 appearances this season, his second in the majors, Leahy has a 4.02 ERA.
9/7 The Cardinals recalled RHP Chris Roycroft from the Memphis Redbirds.
Roycroft, also 27, is starting his sixth stint with the Cardinals in his rookie year. In 25 appearances for St. Louis in 2024, Roycroft has a 4.22 ERA. He was last optioned to Memphis on July 31.
Injury Report
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 will 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 sometime in September at best.
RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31. Lynn is set to be activated from the IL for Wednesday’s start against the Reds.
C Willson Contreras (fractured right middle finger) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 25. Contreras was hit by a pitch on his right hand. The catcher will not require surgery and his length of absence is expected to be three weeks. Contreras will need a rehab assignment before he returns but the team is expecting him to return before the end of the regular season.
3B Nolan Arenado left Friday’s game with the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth inning with a sore shoulder. Matt Carpenter pinch hit for Arenado. The third baseman returned to the starting lineup on Saturday.
2B Brendan Donovan (foot infection) was not in the starting lineup in Saturday’s game due to what is being described as an infection on one of his feet that made it difficult to tolerate pressure on the foot. Manager Oli Marmol told the media that he doesn’t expect the ailment to sideline Donovan for any extended period of time.
Looking Ahead
Following the end of the Mariners series on Sunday, the Cardinals have an off-day Monday. On Tuesday, the Cardinals begin a three-game series with the Reds at Busch Stadium. Andre Pallante is scheduled to make the Tuesday start. Lance Lynn will be activated from the 10-day IL to go Wednesday. Sonny Gray will start on Thursday.
The Cardinals then travel out of the country to Toronto to play the Blue Jays in a three-game weekend series. The team follows that with a return to St. Louis to begin their final homestand on Monday September 16 for four with the Pirates.
The homestand concludes with three games against the Guardians.
The final week of the regular season is a road trip for the Cardinals. They will first play three at the Rockies beginning Tuesday, September 24. The team will then travel to San Francisco to play the Giants in a weekend series that ends the regular season and likely ends the Cardinals’ season.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past returns to an earlier segment that showcases rare feats for Cardinals players during the history of the franchise.
In this installment of “Rare Feats” we spotlight five former Cardinals who performed three different rare feats during the period September 2 through September 8 at various times during the history of the franchise. One player pitched a no-hitter, another had six hits in a game. The final three players all hit three or more home runs in one game.
A rare feat 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 the period September 2 through 8, the following rare feats are featured. For each rare feat, the type of feat, the date it occurred, and some details of each occurrence are listed below.
Bud Smith (USA TODAY Sports)
Bud Smith – Smith pitched for the Cardinals for two seasons, in 2001 and 2002. Smith was a fourth-round pick by St. Louis in 1998 draft. He debuted on June 10, 2001.
On September 3 in his rookie season, Smith threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. Smith issued four walks and threw 134 pitches. The Cardinals won the game 4-0.
In his rookie season, Smith posted a record of 6-3, and an ERA of 3.83.
The Cardinals traded Smith and others to the Phillies for Scott Rolen on July 29, 2002. Smith did not play in the major leagues for the Phillies or any other major league team. After some time in independent baseball, he retired in 2007.
Terry Moore
Terry Moore – Moore, a center fielder, played for the Cardinals in two stints from 1934-1942, and 1946-1948, and in 2016, became a team Hall of Famer.
On September 5, 1935, Moore went 6-for-6 against the Boston Braves.
It started with a single to left field in the first inning of the 15-3 rout of the Braves at Sportsman’s Park. He hit another single to left in the second that scored a run.
His double to right field in the third plated another run. His third single drove in a run in the sixth. A fourth single in the seventh eventually led to him scoring as well.
His sixth and final hit was a single in the eighth, but he did not score.
Moore was a four-time All-Star and a two-time World Series Champion in 1942 and 1946. After his playing career ended, he was a manager for the Phillies in 1954 for half a season.
Moore passed away on March 29, 1995 at the age of 82.
Albert Pujols (USA TODAY Sports Images)
Albert Pujols – Pujols accomplished the rare feat of three or more home runs in a game four times as a Cardinal.
On September 3, 2006, the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 at Busch Stadium III. Pujols, playing at first base and hitting third, went 3-for-4 with five RBI and three runs scored. All three hits were home runs.
The first was a solo shot in the first inning. In the third inning, Pujols hit a two-run home run that scored Chris Duncan. The final home run occurred in the fifth, another two-run shot that also plated Duncan.
The other three times Pujols hit three or more home runs in a game occurred earlier in 2006, on April 16, on July 20, 2004, and on May 30, 2010.
Mark Whiten (Getty Images)
Mark Whiten – “Hard Hittin” Mark Whiten, played for the Cardinals for two seasons, in 1993 and 1994. He was acquired by the Cardinals in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on March 31, 1993.
Whiten hit four home runs in the second game of a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds on September 7, 1993. The Cardinals routed the Reds 15-2.
Whiten played center field and hit sixth. He went 4-for-5 with 12 RBI and four runs scored. All hits were home runs.
The first long ball was a grand slam in the first inning that scored Lonnie Maclin, Todd Zeile, and Gerald Perry ahead of him.
In the sixth, Whiten’s three-run shot drove in Zeile and Perry. A second identical three-run long ball came in the seventh.
The final home run was a two-run shot in the ninth that scored Perry.
Whiten’s rare feat made him the 12th player in major league history to hit four home runs in one game. Whiten shares the team’s 12 RBI record with Jim Bottomley.
The Cardinals traded Whiten to the Boston Red Sox in 1995.
Johnny Mize (Getty Images)
Johnny Mize – Mize is a repeater in this Rare Feat series. Mize, like Albert Pujols, accomplished this rare three homers in a game feat four times with the Cardinals.
Mize, a first baseman, played for the Cardinals from 1936-1941. He hit three home runs in one game on September 8, 1940, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Sportsman’s Park III, a slugfest the Cardinals lost 16-14.
Mize hit cleanup and played at first base. He went 3-for-5 with six RBI and four runs scored.
Mize hit his first long ball in the fourth inning. It was a two-run shot that scored Enos Slaughter. The second home run was a two-run shot in the sixth that plated Terry Moore.
His final home run was of the three-run variety in the eighth that drove in both Moore and Slaughter.
Mize scored his fourth run on a home run by teammate Don Padgett in the first inning, after reaching base on an error.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than five dozen of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-1 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield CF Bryan Torres, was 5-for-5 with three RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored. Other standouts include Nolan Gorman, Gavin Collins, R.J. Yeager, Darlin Moquete, Joshua Baez and Gerardo Salas.
The Triple-A Redbirds beat the Storm Chasers by the score of 8-3 at AutoZone Park on Friday. Quinn Matthews was on the bump for Memphis. The left hander pitched four innings, gave up two runs on four hits, fanned six and walked five.
Connor Thomas relieved Mathews and threw two scoreless innings to earn the win. Wilking Rodriguez hurled a scoreless seventh. Ryan Loutos surrendered one run in the eighth. Andre Granillo tossed a scoreless ninth.
Omaha went up 1-0 in the top of the second inning. Memphis tied the game in the home half on a solo home run by Matt Koperniak.
The Redbirds put up three runs in the fourth to lead 4-1. Nolan Gorman singled. Koperniak singled. Gavin Collins followed with a three-run home run.
Omaha cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth. Memphis added two runs in the home fifth to extend the lead to 6-2. Chandler Redmond doubled and later scored on a sac fly by Thomas Saggese. Nolan Gorman thumped a solo home run.
In the seventh, the Redbirds increased the lead to 8-2. Mike Antico singled. Saggese singled. Antico scored on a ground out by Gorman. Koperniak reached on an error and Saggese scored.
The Storm Chasers put up one run in the ninth to shrink the final score to 8-3.
Memphis scored eight runs on 11 hits. Gorman was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Koperniak was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Collins had three RBI.
Ramon Mendoza was picked off and caught stealing.
Memphis is 67-69 on the season, 29-32 in the second half. They are tied for sixth place in the International League West with Toledo.
Saturday’s game: vs. Omaha, Gordon Graceffo RHP (9-7, 4.91) vs. TBD 6:05 CT.
The Double-A Cardinals mounted a comeback from being down 5-0 and prevailed in a 11-7 slugfest with the Naturals at Hammons Field on Friday.
Wilfredo Pereira started for Springfield. The right-hander pitched three innings, gave up four runs, one earned, on seven hits, struck out three and walked one.
Benito Garcia relieved Pereira and surrendered two runs in three innings. Nathanael Heredia threw a scoreless seventh to earn the win. Jack Ralston hurled a scoreless eighth. Andrew Marrero yielded one run in the ninth.
NW Arkansas scored one run in the second inning, added three in the third and one in the top of the fourth to widen the lead to 5-0.
Springfield began a comeback in the home fourth to cut the lead to 5-2. R.J. Yeager and Matt Lloyd hit back-to-back solo home runs.
The Naturals scored one run in the top of the fifth to increase the lead to 6-2. The Cardinals brought the gap to within one run with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Dakota Harris and Bryan Torres singled. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Nathan Church walked. Yeager doubled to plate Harris and Torres. Church came home on a ground out by Lloyd.
Springfield took the lead in the seventh with a two-run tally. Harris walked. Torres singled. Torres stole second and Harris scored on a throwing error. Yeager walked. Lloyd drove in Torres on a single.
The Cardinals blew up the score with a four-run effort in the eighth to lead 11-6. Jacob Buchberger and Chris Rotondo walked. Harris singled. Torres tripled to clear the bases. Church drove in Torres on a single.
The Naturals added one run in the ninth for the final score of 11-7.
Springfield scored 11 runs on 13 hits. Torres, the August Texas League Player of the Month, was 5-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored. Yeager was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Lloyd was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Harris was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Torres stole his 33rd base of the season. He was also caught stealing for the 10th time.
Torres made a fielding error. Church had an outfield assist at home plate. Leonardo Bernal had a passed ball.
Springfield is 75-55 on the season, 38-23 in the second half. They are back in first place in the Texas League North, a half game ahead of Arkansas.
Saturday’s game: vs. NW Arkansas, Max Rajcic RHP (10-10, 4.36) vs. Cruz Noriega RHP (6-4, 6.18) 6:35 CT.
The High-A Chiefs fell to the Captains in an extra innings loss at Dozer Park on Friday. Starter Pete Hansen pitched five innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, struck out five and walked four.
Roy Garcia relieved Hansen and threw two scoreless innings. Dionys Rodriguez hurled a scoreless eighth. Tanner Jacobson surrendered one run in the final three innings and took the loss.
Lake County took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. In the home second, Peoria cut the lead to 2-1. Brayden Jobert and Michael Curialle singled. Brody Moore drove in Jobert on a single.
The Captains widened the lead to 3-1 in the fifth. The Chiefs tied the game with two runs in the seventh on a two-run home run by Darlin Moquete.
The game went into extra innings. Peoria had a runner at third with one out in the 10th, but could not cash in. In the top of the 11th, Lake County scratched a run across to take the lead, 4-3. The Chiefs could not answer.
Peoria scored three runs on 10 hits. Moquete was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Moore was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Trey Paige was 2-for-4. Jobert was 2-for-5.
Moore was caught stealing. Hansen made an error on a pickoff.
Peoria is 58-71 on the season, 32-32 in the second half. Peoria is in third place in the Midwest League West, four games back of Quad Cities and has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Saturday’s game: vs. Lake County, Ixan Henderson LHP (2-1, 2.77) vs. Carter Spivey RHP (7-1, 3.43) 7:05 CT.
The Class-A Cardinals defeated the Hammerheads by a 9-3 score in Jupiter on Friday. Gerardo Salas took the mound for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowed two hits and fanned five to earn his ninth win of the season.
Randle Clemente relieved Salas and surrendered two runs without recording an out. Angel Cuenca replaced Clemente and allowed one unearned run in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Luis Gastelum tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his eighth save.
The Beach Birds took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Christian Martin singled and stole second base. Ian Petrutz singled to score Martin.
Palm Beach increased their lead to 2-0 in the third. J.J. Wetherholt doubled. Ryan Campos plated Wetherholt on a double.
In the top of the sixth, the Cardinals extended their lead to 4-0. Anyelo Encarnacion singled. Lizandro Espinoza singled. Joshua Baez drove in both runners on a double.
Jupiter got on the board in the home sixth to cut the lead to 4-2. Palm Beach widened the lead to 5-2 in the top of the eighth. Espinoza walked and stole second base. Espinoza later scored on a single by Wetherholt.
The Hammerheads cut the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth. The Cardinals responded with a four-run burst in the ninth to pull away, 9-3. Jon Jon Gazdar and Encarnacion walked. Espinoza plated Gazdar and Encarnacion on a single with a throwing error. Espinoza came home on a ground-rule double by Baez. Martin drove in Baez on a single.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 16 hits. Baez was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Espinoza was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Campos was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Martin and Wetherholt were both 2-for-6 with an RBI. Encarnacion was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Gazdar was 2-for-4.
Martin stole his fifth base of the season. Baez swiped his eighth bag. Espinoza stole his 16th base. Bryce Madron was caught stealing.
Campos made a fielding error.
Palm Beach is 81-47 on the season, 44-18 in the second half. They have clinched first place in the FSL East.
Saturday’s game: at Jupiter, RH Leonel Sequera (1-0, 2.32) vs. TBD 5:00 CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-1 on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield 1B Matt Lloyd, was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Other standouts include Noah Mendlinger, Dakota Harris, Jose Davila, and J.J. Wetherholt.
Results for games played Wednesday, September 4.
Memphis vs. Omaha (postponed)
Wednesday’s Triple-A game at AutoZone Park was postponed due to inclement weather. It will be played as part of a doubleheader on Thursday, September 5.
Thursday’s games: vs. Omaha, Michael McGreevy RHP (7-8, 4.11) vs. Tyson Guerrero LHP (0-0, 5.79) 5:05 CT (game one); RH Sem Robberse (5-4, 4.65) vs. TBD (game two).
The Double-A Cardinals pounded the Naturals to a 10-5 victory at Hammons Field on Wednesday. Tink Hence started for Springfield. The top prospect right-hander pitched four innings, gave up two runs on three hits, fanned eight and walked one.
Zane Mills relieved Hence and surrendered three runs in three innings. Mills still received the win. Edwin Nuñez tossed the final two scoreless innings.
Springfield opened scoring in the second with a three-run home run by Dakota Harris. NW Arkansas answered in the top of the third to cut the lead to 3-2.
In the home third the Cardinals widened the lead to 6-2. Nathan Church and R.J. Yeager singled. Matt Lloyd followed with a three-run home run to right center field.
Springfield added on with a three-run fifth. Yeager singled and Leonardo Bernal doubled. Yeager came home on a passed ball. Jeremy Rivas walked and stole second base. Noah Mendlinger plated Bernal and Rivas on a single.
The Naturals plated three runs in the top of seventh to shrink the lead to 9-5. The Cardinals made it 10-5 in the home seventh as Lloyd doubled and later came home on a single by Mendlinger.
Springfield scored 10 runs on 11 hits. Lloyd was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Mendlinger was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Yeager was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Church was 2-for-3. Harris drove in three.
Rivas stole his 25th base of the season.
Springfield is 74-54 on the season, 37-22 in the second half. Springfield remains in first place in the Texas League North.
Thursday’s game: vs. NW Arkansas, Alex Cornwell LHP (7-2, 4.95) vs. Steven Zobac RHP (6-2, 2.78) 6:35 CT.
The High-A Chiefs were edged by the Captains in a 2-1 contest at Dozer Park on Wednesday. The loss officially eliminated Peoria from the Midwest League West playoff race.
Inohan Paniagua was on the bump for Peoria. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up two runs on five hits, fanned six and walked three. Paniagua took the loss, his ninth of the season.
Benjamin Arias relieved Paniagua and threw three scoreless innings on two hits, no walks and four strikeouts. Hunter Hayes tossed a scoreless ninth.
Lake County went up 1-0 in the second inning and added a run in the fifth to lead 2-0.
Peoria was held scoreless until the bottom of the ninth when they cut the lead to 2-1. Won-Bin Cho tripled and came home on a ground out by Alex Iadisernia.
Peoria scored one run on six hits. Brayden Jobert was 2-for-4.
Brody Moore stole his 28th base of the season.
Peoria is 57-70 on the season, 31-31 in the second half. Peoria is in third place in the Midwest League West, five games behind Wisconsin. Quad Cities clinched the second half playoff berth.
Thursday’s game: vs. Lake County, Hancel Rincon RHP (8-7, 3.77) 6:35 CT.
The Class-A Cardinals defeated the Hammerheads by a 6-3 score on Wednesday. Jose Davila took the mound for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five scoreless one-hit innings, fanned six and walked one to earn the win.
Henry Gomez relieved Davila and surrendered three runs in 1 2/3 innings. Nolan Sparks tossed the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Beach Birds took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Jose Suarez singled and stole second base. Ian Petrutz singled to plate Suarez.
Palm Beach added four runs in the fifth to increase the lead to 5-0. Ryan Campos hit a ground-rule double. Ross Friedrick drew a walk. Bryce Madron singled. J.J. Wetherholt cleared the bases with a double. Suarez plated Wetherholt on a double.
Jupiter partially came back with three runs in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-3. The Cardinals made it 6-3 in the ninth. Campos doubled and scored on a single by Jon Jon Gazdar.
Palm Beach scored six runs on 10 hits. Suarez was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Gazdar was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Campos was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Wetherholt had three RBI.
Suarez stole his fourth base of the season. Gazdar swiped his second bag and was also caught stealing.
Palm Beach is 79-47 on the season, 42-18 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East, having clinched the second half title.
Thursday’s game: at Jupiter, RH Chen-Wei Lin (10-5, 2.76) vs. TBD 5:30 CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 0-4 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield’s Brandon Komar, pitched six two-run innings on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Other standouts include Gavin Collins, Brycen Mautz and Alex Iadisernia.
The Triple-A Redbirds were walloped by the Storm Chasers by a 13-3 score on Tuesday at AutoZone Park. Zach Thompson started for Memphis and took the loss. The left-hander pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up five runs on six hits, fanned 10 and walked five.
Andre Granillo relieved Thompson and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Shreve surrendered four runs in two innings. Jacob Bosiokovic yielded four more in the ninth.
The Redbirds took the lead in the second inning at 3-0. That was it for Memphis scoring in the game. Matt Koperniak and Alfonso Rivas singled. Gavin Collins plated Koperniak on a double. Rivas scored on a sac fly by Nick Dunn. Collins came home on a double by Mike Antico.
Omaha came back with three runs in the fourth to tie the game. From there on the Storm Chasers took over, with two runs in the fifth, three in the seventh, one in the eighth and four in the ninth for a final score of 13-3.
Memphis had six hits. Collins was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Rivas was 2-for-3.
Memphis is 64-69 on the season, 26-32 in the second half. They are in eighth place in the International League West, 11 games back of Columbus.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Omaha, RHP Sem Robberse (5-4, 4.65) vs. TBD 6:45 CT
The Double-A Cardinals were edged by the Naturals, 2-1, at Hammons Field on Tuesday. Brandon Komar took the mound for Springfield. The right-hander pitched six innings, gave up two runs on seven hits and no walks, and struck out three. Komar took the hard-luck loss.
NW Arkansas scored two runs in the fifth inning to lead 2-0. Springfield was held scoreless until the bottom of the ninth. Nathan Church led off with a single. R.J. Yeager doubled. Church scored on a sac fly by Matt Lloyd.
The Cardinals offense had five hits. Jeremy Rivas was 2-for-4. Bryan Torres singled and stole two bases.
Springfield is 73-54 on the season, 36-22 in the second half. Springfield remains in first place in the Texas League North.
Wednesday’s game: vs. NW Arkansas, Tink Hence RHP (4-3, 2.66) vs. William Fleming RHP (4-4, 7.00) 6:35 CT
The Chiefs were defeated by the Captains in a ninth inning stunner on Tuesday at Dozer Park. Brycen Mautz started on the bump for Peoria. The left-hander pitched six innings, gave up two runs on five hits, fanned six and walked three.
Dionys Rodriguez relieved Mautz and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Tanner Jacobson surrendered two runs in the final 1 1/3 innings and took the loss.
Lake County went up 1-0 in the top of the second inning. Peoria tied the game in the home second. Sammy Hernandez drew a walk. Alex Iadisernia singled. Miguel Villarroel bunted the runners over. Hernandez came home on a ground out by Brayden Jobert.
The Captains broke the tie with a run in the fourth. In the seventh, Peoria came back to plate two runs to lead 3-2. Hernandez walked. Iadisernia doubled to drive in Hernandez. Iadisernia went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a bunt by Brody Moore.
Lake County rallied in the ninth with a two-run home run to win 4-3.
Peoria scored three runs on four hits. Iadisernia was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Iadisernia stole his 20th base of the season. Hernandez made a throwing error. Jobert had a missed catch error.
Peoria is 57-69 on the season, 31-30 in the second half. Peoria is in third place in the Midwest League West, 4.5 games back of Wisconsin. The Chiefs are one loss or one Quad Cities win away from playoff elimination.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Lake County, Inohan Paniagua RHP (7-8, 3.83) vs. Matt Wilkinson LHP (4-5, 2.49) 6:35 CT.
The Class-A Cardinals fell to the Hammerheads by a 5-2 score in Jupiter on Tuesday. Springfield’s Tekoah Roby made a rehab start for Palm Beach. Roby pitched 1 1/3 innings, gave up three runs on three hits, struck out two and walked one. Roby took the loss.
Regular starter Jason Savacool relieved Roby and surrendered two unearned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Augusto Calderon tossed the final two scoreless innings.
Jupiter took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and added three runs in the second. The Beach Birds cut the lead to 5-1 in the sixth. Cade McGee led off with a single. Ian Petrutz drew a walk. Jose Suarez drove in McGee on a single.
The Cardinals scored a final run in the ninth on a solo home run by Anyelo Encarnacion.
Palm Beach scored two runs on nine hits. J.J. Wetherholt and Joshua Baez were both 2-for-4.
Baez stole his seventh base. Petrutz was picked off first base. Suarez made a fielding error. Savacool made two pickoff errors, but also successfully picked a runner of first base and off second base.
Palm Beach is 78-47 on the season, 41-18 in the second half. They have already clinched first place in the FSL East.
Wednesday’s game: at Jupiter, RH José Dávila (5-5, 3.71) vs. TBD 5:30 CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Jordan Walker (Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports)
Against quality opponents, the St. Louis Cardinals went 4-3 for the week. Jordan Walker is back from Memphis and had a huge game Sunday. Our history feature highlights two former Cardinals who previously debuted during this week.
On Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals fell to the San Diego Padres in the first of a four-game series at Busch Stadium. Kyle Gibson took the mound for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched 4 1/3 innings, gave up seven runs on five hits, struck out two and walked four. Gibson took the loss.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Gibson and threw two scoreless innings. Shawn Armstrong hurled 1 1/3 scoreless innings. John King got the final out of the eighth. Kyle Leahy tossed a scoreless ninth.
San Diego took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. St. Louis cut the lead to 2-1 in the second when Brendan Donovan tripled and scored on a single by Paul Goldschmidt.
The Padres added two runs in the third to increase the lead to 4-1. The Cardinals scored one run in the fourth. Iván Herrera drew a walk. Donovan singled. Matt Carpenter plated Herrera on a sac fly.
San Diego widened the lead to 7-2 in the fifth. St. Louis plated one run in the seventh. Masyn Winn doubled and scored on a double by Alec Burleson.
The Cardinals added a final run in the ninth. Winn singled and later came home on a single by Burleson.
The Cardinals scored four runs on 11 hits. Burleson was 3-for-5 with two RBI.
The Cardinals lost the second game of the series to the Padres on Tuesday. Miles Mikolas started for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on six hits, struck out three and walked one.
John King relieved Mikolas and surrendered two runs in one inning and took the loss. Andrew Kittredge threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien yielded one run in the ninth.
The Cardinals went up 2-0 in the first inning. Masyn Winn singled and Alec Burleson doubled. Winn scored on a wild pitch. Luken Baker plated Burleson on a sac fly.
The Padres came back with four runs in the second to take the lead. In the fifth, the Cardinals regained the lead with three runs for a 5-4 advantage. Brendan Donovan singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Lars Nootbaar. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a two-run home run.
The Cardinals recovered from two straight losses to the Padres to take game three on Wednesday. Andre Pallante was on the bump for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, struck out three and issued three free passes.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Pallante and threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Andrew Kittredge matched Liberatore. JoJo Romero surrendered one run in the eighth. Ryan Helsley earned the win with a scoreless ninth.
San Diego took the lead with a 2-0 first inning. In the fourth, St. Louis put up three runs to lead 3-2. Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado singled. Luken Baker doubled to drive in Burleson. Arenado scored on a ground out by Brendan Donovan. Paul Goldschmidt plated Baker on a single.
The Padres tied the game in the eighth. The Cardinals walked it off in the ninth. Winn, Victor Scott, and Arenado each singled. Winn came home on Arenado’s hit.
On Thursday, the Cardinals won Game 4 to split the Padres series. Sonny Gray was the starter. The right-hander pitched six innings, gave up one run on three hits and fanned four to earn his 12th win.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Gray and threw a scoreless seventh. Matthew Liberatore hurled a scoreless eighth and Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 41st save.
St. Louis took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Alec Burleson drew a walk. Nolan Arenado reached on a fielder’s choice. Burleson advanced to third on a fielding error. Burleson came home on a ground out by Luken Baker. Paul Goldschmidt plated Arenado.
The Padres scored their only run in the fifth to cut the lead to 2-1. The Cardinals made it 3-1 in the sixth on a solo home run by Masyn Winn.
St. Louis added a fourth run in the eighth for a 4-1 lead. Lars Nootbaar tripled and scored on a single by Iván Herrera.
The Cardinals scored four runs on 10 hits. Herrera was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Winn was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Victor Scott was 2-for-4.
Burleson stole his ninth base of the season. Baker stole his first base.
The Cardinals were defeated by the Yankees 6-3 in the opener of the weekend series in the Bronx. Erick Fedde was the starter for the Cardinals. The right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up four runs on four hits, fanned eight and walked one. Fedde took the loss.
John King relieved Fedde and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien surrendered two runs in the eighth.
New York went up 1-0 in the second inning. St. Louis answered with two runs in the top of the third to lead 2-1. Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado singled. Brendan Donovan plated Burleson on a single. Arenado scored on a single by Paul Goldschmidt.
The Yankees responded in the bottom of the third with three runs to regain the lead 4-2. In the top of the eighth, the Cardinals cut the lead to 4-3 on a solo home run by Arenado.
The Bronx Bombers scored two runs in the home eighth to lead and win the game 6-3.
St. Louis scored three runs on 10 hits. Arenado was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Goldschmidt was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Burleson was 2-for-4.
The Cardinals won a nail-biter in the Bronx on Saturday in the second game of the series with the Yankees. Kyle Gibson made one of his best starts as a Cardinal. The right-hander pitched seven innings, gave up one run on five hits and fanned six to earn his eighth win of the season.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Gibson and had a tough luck eighth. He was dinked and donked in a four-run appearance that lasted 2/3 of an inning. Andrew Kittredge secured the final out of the inning, but not until he allowed three inherited runners to score. Ryan Helsley earned his 42nd save with a scoreless ninth.
The Yankees scored first with a run in the second inning. The Cardinals came back to score four runs in the third for a lead of 4-1. Victor Scott led off the inning with a walk. Masyn Winn grounded into a force out that eliminated Scott. Alec Burleson singled. Nolan Arenado plated Winn on a single. Brendan Donovan followed with a three-run home run to right field.
The Cardinals rolled over the Yankees in a 14-7 blowout in the final game of the series on Sunday. Miles Mikolas struggled again in his start. The right-hander pitched four innings and gave up five runs on seven hits. He struck out five and did not walk anyone.
John King relieved Mikolas and surrendered two runs in 1 1/3 innings. Riley O’Brien did not give up any runs in his 1/3 of an inning but did allow two inherited runners to score to tie the game. JoJo Romero played the stopper with 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez each tossed a scoreless inning.
St. Louis scored one run in the top of the second to go up 1-0. Brendan Donavan doubled and scored on a single by Jordan Walker. New York took the lead 2-1 in the home second.
The Cardinals retook the lead in the fourth with a four-run outburst. Donovan and Walker singled. Masyn Winn plated Donovan and Walker on a double. Luken Baker followed with a two-run long ball. The Cardinals led 5-2.
St. Louis added two runs in the fifth to widen the lead to 7-2 on a two-run home run by Walker. The Yankees fought back with three runs in the home fifth and two runs in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7.
In the top of the seventh, the Cardinals rallied for five runs to lead 12-7. Nolan Arenado drew a walk. Iván Herrera singled. Walker singled. Lars Nootbaar doubled to clear the bases. Nootbaar came home on a single by Victor Scott. Winn bunted to score Scott.
The Cardinals padded the lead with two more runs in the ninth to lead 14-7 on a two-run home run by Nootbaar.
St. Louis produced 14 runs on 21 hits. Walker was 5-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored. Nootbaar was 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored. Winn was 2-for-6 with two RBI. Donovan was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Goldschmidt was 3-for-5. Baker had two RBI.
Walker stole his first base. Nootbaar was picked off and caught stealing.
Mikolas made a throwing error. Goldschmidt made a missed catch error.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a record of 4-3 for the week. They split four with the Padres in St. Louis and won two of three over the Yankees in New York. The Saturday win was the first win for the Cardinals franchise against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium (both stadiums) since 1964.
The team resides in third place in the NL Central, 11 games back of the Brewers and two games back of the Cubs, who have been red hot with a six-game winning streak and nine wins their last 10 games. The Cardinals are currently five games out of the third Wild Card with the Braves, Mets and Cubs ahead of them for that final spot.
The offense has taken a turn for the better in the last couple of weeks. It may turn out to be too little too late, however. The most pointed improvement recently has come from Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt has essentially been a black hole in the lineup for most of the season but has seemingly figured something out.
The top offensive performers by OPS over the last seven days are Goldschmidt (1.438), Jordan Walker (1.164), Alec Burleson (1.041), Masyn Winn (.960) and Brendan Donovan (.953). Close behind is Lars Nootbaar (.822).
At the bottom are two players with less than 10 ABs for the week. They are Matt Carpenter (.000 in 2 ABs) and Pedro Pagés (.000 in 6 ABs). Also on this list is Tommy Pham (.000 in 7 ABs) who is no longer with the team as he was claimed off waivers by the Royals.
There is no regular with an OPS below .500 for the week. The closest is Nolan Arenado (.543).
As so often happens to the Cardinals, when the offense improves, the pitching gets worse. Three of five starters had an ERA above 4.00 for the week. They are Kyle Gibson (6.35), Miles Mikolas (6.52) and Erick Fedde (6.75). ERAs below 4.00 belong to Sonny Gray (1.50) and Andre Pallante (3.18).
Gibson’s high ERA is mitigated by a very good start against the Yankees on Saturday, versus a poor one against the Padres. Mikolas gave up nine runs in two starts. Gibson gave up eight in two starts, but one was a one-run start against the Yankees.
The bullpen also struggled a bit with John King (8.31), Matthew Liberatore (8.31) and Riley O’Brien (11.57) having hiccups. Libertore’s issues all manifested in one of four appearances for the week in which bad luck and soft contact were the culprits. King spread his out over two appearances, and O’Brien has just not been effective since being called up from Memphis on Tuesday.
Closer Ryan Helsley continues to deliver, with his MLB-leading 42 saves.
The final month of the season is upon us, and the chances of the Cardinals making the postseason are slim, currently 2% per Fangraphs. It would take a long winning streak and a lot of losing by the surging Braves, Mets and red-hot Cubs over the final weeks of the season.
The Cardinals start this week with three against the Brewers in Milwaukee, who will win the Division barring a major disaster. The final series of the week is in St. Louis against the Mariners, who have had their problems with scoring runs.
NL Central Standings
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
WCGB
Milwaukee
80
57
0.584
Chicago
71
66
0.518
9
3
St. Louis
69
68
0.504
11
5
Cincinnati
65
73
0.471
15.5
9.5
Pittsburgh
63
73
0.463
16.5
10.5
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
8/27 The Cardinals recalled RHP Riley O’Brien from the Memphis Redbirds.
8/27 The Cardinals sent CF Michael Siani on a rehab assignment to the Springfield Cardinals.
8/27 The Cardinals designated RHP Shawn Armstrong for assignment. Later claimed off waivers by the Cubs.
8/30 The Cardinals recalled RF Jordan Walker from the Memphis Redbirds.
8/30 The Cardinals designated OF Tommy Pham for assignment. Later claimed off waivers by the Royals.
9/1 The Cardinals activated LHP Steven Matz from the 60-day injured list.
Matz’ 30-day minor league injury rehabilitation assignment ended Sunday as the southpaw made six starts for Memphis and was 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA covering 21 innings with four walks opposing 17 strikeouts. Matz last pitched in a Major League game on April 30 at Detroit.
9/1 The Cardinals activated CF Michael Siani from the 10-day injured list.
The centerfielder missed 25 games, having gone on the IL on August 4. During his Springfield rehab, the 25-year-old went 1-for-10 with five walks and two strikeouts. St. Louis manager OIiver Marmol will be returning Siani to his former starting role in center, with fill-in Victor Scott coming off the bench.
Injury Report
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 will 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.
LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain) was activated from the 60-day injured list.
CF Michael Siani (strained right oblique) was activated from the 10-day injured list.
RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31. Lynn made a rehab start for the Memphis Redbirds on Sunday, September 1.
C Willson Contreras (fractured right middle finger) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 25. Contreras was hit by a pitch on his right hand. The catcher will not require surgery. A mid-September return is the hope.
Looking Ahead
Following the Yankees series, the Cardinals conclude the road trip with a set in Milwaukee against the Brewers.
After an off day on Thursday, September 5, the Cardinals will face the Mariners in a weekend series at Busch Stadium. Following the Monday off day, the homestand ends with three with the Reds.
The Cardinals then travel out of the country to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays in a three-game weekend series. Next will be a return to St. Louis to begin their final homestand on Monday September 16, starting with four versus the Pirates.
The homestand concludes with three games against the Guardians.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past once more returns to the Debut Series to showcase present or former Cardinals who made their MLB debuts during the current period in past seasons.
In this installment, we look at two players who made their debuts during the period August 26 through September 1. One is a former Cardinal no longer active. The other is an active former Cardinal. Both debuted against the same team 43 years apart. One was drafted in the first round and the other was drafted in the 42nd round.
The name of the player, the date he debuted and in what game, and how the player performed is summarized.
Keith Hernandez via Zoom (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Keith Hernandez – The former Cardinals first baseman and team Hall of Famer was drafted by the Cardinals in the 42nd round in 1971. He made his major league debut on August 30, 1974 in an 8-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.
Hernandez was in the starting lineup at first base and hitting seventh. He was 1-for-2 with an RBI. In his first plate appearance, in the third inning, Hernandez walked. He was eliminated in a double play off the bat of Mike Tyson.
In the fifth inning, Hernandez again led off and struck out. In the seventh, Hernandez walked for the second time and was again eliminated by Tyson in a force out.
In the ninth, Hernandez had his first major league hit, an RBI single to right field. He was stranded.
Hernandez was with the Cardinals for 10 seasons. The St. Louis segment of his career included the MVP award in 1979, six Gold Gloves, two All-Star selections and a Silver Slugger award.
Due to conflict with manager Whitey Herzog, Hernandez was traded to the Mets on June 15, 1983. Hernandez believed his cocaine use was the reason for the trade and he stopped his drug use after the trade.
Hernandez is currently a TV analyst for the Mets on the SNY Network. He was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2021.
Jack Flaherty (Jasen Vinlove/Imagn)
Jack Flaherty – Flaherty was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round in 2014. Flaherty made his major league debut on September 1, 2017 in an 11-6 win over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Flaherty was the starting pitcher against the Giants. He was called up to replace Mike Leake, who had been traded two days earlier to the Seattle Mariners.
Flaherty’s debut was not very good. He pitched four innings and gave up five runs on eight hits. He did strike out six Giants.
Flaherty’s first major league strikeout was the first batter he faced, Denard Span. He induced a fly out and struck out Joe Panik for the third out.
In his second inning, he gave up three runs on a two-run home run by Brandon Crawford and an RBI single by Span.
Flaherty allowed two more runs in the third on an RBI triple by Hunter Pence that scored Buster Posey and Crawford.
In his final inning, Flaherty retired all three batters. He was relieved in the fifth inning by John Gant. Flaherty finished the season 0-2 with an ERA of 6.33.
Flaherty made the opening day roster in 2018 to replace injured Adam Wainwright in the rotation. He received his first major league win on May 20, 2018 in a 5-1 win over the Phillies.
Flaherty remained a Cardinal until August 1, 2022, when he was traded in his walk year to the Baltimore Orioles. Flaherty was signed by the Detroit Tigers in the 2023 offseason and on this season’s trade deadline, he moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than five dozen of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
photo: Brody Moore (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-2 on Friday as Palm Beach clinched their second first-place finish. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Peoria SS Brody Moore, went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and record-tying five stolen bases. Other standouts include Pete Hansen, Ian Petrutz, Jose Suarez, and Gerardo Salas.
The Triple-A Redbirds lost to the Cubs by a 6-2 score on Friday. Quinn Mathews made his debut start for Memphis. The left-hander went four innings, gave up three runs on five hits, fanned seven and walked three. Mathews took the loss.
Victor Santos, Wilking Rodriguez and Connor Thomas each hurled a scoreless inning of relief, but Jacob Bosiokovic surrendered three runs in the eighth and the offense could not close the larger gap.
The Cubs got on the board first with one run in the second inning. They added two runs in the fourth and three runs in the eighth to lead 6-0.
Memphis was held scoreless until the final inning when the Redbirds put up two runs to avoid being shut out. Nick Dunn singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Chandler Redmond singled, advancing Dunn to third. Wade Stauss plated both runners with a double.
The Double-A Cardinals fell to the Wind Surge by the score of 6-1 on Friday. In a spot start, Wilfredo Pereira took the mound for Springfield. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on six hits, fanned five and walked one. Pereira took the loss.
Edwin Nuñez relieved Pereira and surrendered three runs in two innings. Nathanael Heredia tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Cardinals scored one run in the first inning to lead. St. Louis rehabber Michael Siani drew a walk. R.J. Yeager singled. Matt Lloyd plated Siani on a single.
Springfield was held to that one run for the remainder of the game.
Wichita tied the score in the fourth, then added two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth for a 6-1 lead.
The Cardinals scored one run on three singles, from Yeager, Lloyd, and Nathan Church. The offense was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
Siani stole a base and was caught stealing. He drew three passes for a three-game slash line of .125/.364/.125/.489 with Springfield.
Springfield is 72-52 on the season, 35-20 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: at Wichita, Max Rajcic RHP (10-9, 4.38) vs. Cory Lewis RHP (1-4, 2.96) 6:05 CT.
Benjamin Arias relieved Hansen and surrendered one run in 1 2/3 innings. Dionys Rodriguez hurled a scoreless inning and received the win. Osvaldo Berrios tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his eighth save.
Peoria took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Brody Moore led off with a single and later scored on a double by Tre Richardson.
The Chiefs added a run in the top of the third to lead 2-0. Moore singled and stole second base. Darlin Moquete received a free pass. Moore stole third base and then stole home.
Beloit scored a run in the home third to cut the lead to 2-1. They tied the game in the sixth and took a 3-2 lead in the seventh.
Peoria came back in the eighth to plate two runs and held on to win the game 4-3. Won-Bin Cho and Chase Adkison walked. Alex Iadisernia grounded into a double play and Cho advanced to third. Miguel Villarroel doubled to score Cho. Brayden Jobert drove in Villarroel on a single.
Peoria scored four runs on 11 hits. Moore was 4-for-5 with two runs scored. Richardson was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Villarroel was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Moore stole five bases, including home, tying the franchise record. Darlin Moquete swiped his fourth bag. Richardson stole his 12th base.
Peoria is 56-67 on the season, 30-28 in the second half. The Chiefs are in third place in the Midwest League West, 2.5 games back of Wisconsin. Wins are crucial as the Chiefs are two games behind Quad Cities for a playoff berth with just eight games remaining.
Saturday’s game: at Beloit, Ixan Henderson LHP (1-1, 3.43) vs. Will Schomberg RHP (1-1, 5.87) 6:35 CT
Behind solid pitching, the Class-A Cardinals defeated the Tortugas by a 4-1 score on Friday. In the process, the Beach Birds clinched the second half division title to go with their first-place finish in the first half, too!
Gerardo Salas started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up one run on four hits, fanned six and walked one to earn his eighth win.
Angel Cuenca relieved Salas and threw three scoreless innings on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Luis Gastelum tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save.
The Beach Birds went up 1-0 in the first inning. Ian Petrutz singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jose Suarez drove in Petrutz with a single.
The Cardinals added two runs in the eighth to increase the lead to 4-1. Bryce Madron singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Petrutz drew a walk. J.J. Wetherholt plated Madron on a single. Petrutz came home on a ground out by Suarez.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-2 on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Memphis DH Nolan Gorman, went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Other standouts include Bryan Torres, Alex Iadisernia, Tyler Bradt and Jose Cordoba.
The Triple-A Redbirds fell to the Cubs by a 4-2 score in Des Moines on Wednesday. Zach Thompson started for Memphis. The left-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up four runs on six hits, struck out four and walked one. Thompson took the loss.
Victor Santos relieved Thompson and threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Wilking Rodriguez hurled a scoreless seventh. Ryan Loutos tossed a scoreless eighth.
Iowa went up 2-0 in the fourth inning and added two runs in the sixth to lead 4-0.
Memphis finally got on the board with two runs in the eighth to cut the lead in half. Jordan Walker singled and Nolan Gorman followed with a two-run home run.
The visiting Double-A Cardinals took a close win over the Wind Surge by a 2-1 score on Wednesday. Tink Hence took the start and pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up one run on three hits, fanned six and walked two. Hence threw 64 pitches, of which 39 were strikes.
Benito Garcia relieved Hence and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Trent Baker and Jack Ralston each hurled a scoreless inning. Matt Svanson tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Springfield took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Bryan Torres and Michael Siani singled. Torres scored on a single by R.J. Yeager.
The Cardinals increased the lead to 2-0 in the second inning. Dakota Harris singled and scored on a double by Torres.
The High-A Chiefs defeated the Sky Carp by the score of 7-3 in Beloit on Wednesday. Inohan Paniagua was on the bump for Peoria. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on five hits, fanned six and walked one.
Tyler Bradt relieved Paniagua and threw three perfect innings with four strikeouts to earn the win. 26 of his 34 pitches went for strikes as he reportedly hit 97 mph. Osvaldo Berrios tossed a scoreless ninth.
Peoria took the lead 1-0 in the first inning. Darlin Moquete singled. Chase Davis drew a walk. Tre Richardson singled to score Moquete. Davis was thrown out at third.
The Chiefs scored without a hit in the second to go up 2-0. Trey Paige received a free pass. Sammy Hernandez was hit by a pitch. Brayden Jobert walked. Paige came home on a walk by Moquete.
Beloit plated their first run in the third inning, tied the game in the fourth and took a 3-2 lead in the fifth.
Peoria came back to put up a four run seventh to take back the lead 6-3. Richardson drew a walk. Won-Bin Cho singled. Hernandez was hit by a pitch again. Pinch-hitter Alex Iadisernia singled to plate Richardson and Cho. Jobert reached on an error and Hernandez scored. Iadisernia came home on a single by Brody Moore.
The Chiefs made it 7-3 in the eighth. Davis doubled and came home on a single by Cho.
Peoria scored seven runs on 11 hits. Moore was 2-for-6 with an RBI. Davis was 2-for-4. Cho was 2-for-5. Iadisernia drove in two.
Jobert stole two bases. Cho swiped his 11th bag. Richardson made a fielding error.
Peoria is 55-66 on the season, 29-27 in the second half and are in third place in the Midwest League West, 3.5 games back of Wisconsin, and one game back of Quad Cities for the playoff berth.
Thursday’s game: at Beloit, Hancel Rincon RHP (8-6, 3.73) vs. Thomas White LHP (3-3, 2.42) 6:35 CT.
The Class-A Cardinals edged the Tortugas by a 4-3 score in the first game of a twin bill at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday.
Springfield’s Tekoah Roby made his first rehab start and pitched one scoreless no-hit inning with one strikeout. Eight of his 13 pitches were strikes.
Regular starter Jose Davila relieved Roby. The right-hander surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings but received the win. Luis Gastelum threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his sixth save.
Daytona scored first with one run in the top of the second inning. Palm Beach tied the game in the home second with a solo home run by Jose Cordoba.
The Cardinals added two runs in the third to lead 3-1. J.J. Wetherholt and Joshua Baez singled. Ian Petrutz drove in Wetherholt on a single. Baez came home on a force out by Cordoba.
The Beach Birds increased the lead to 4-1 in the fourth on a solo home run by Lizandro Espinoza.
The Tortugas rallied for two runs in the sixth to shrink the lead to 4-3.
Palm Beach scored four runs on eight hits. Bryce Madron was 2-for-3. Cordoba had two RBI.
Baez stole two bases. Madron was caught stealing. Wetherholt made a throwing error.
The Beach Birds lost to the Tortugas in the second game of the twin bill on Wednesday. The two played their rained out game from Daytona on July 20, so the Tortugas were the “home” team.
Jason Savacool started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched four innings, gave up three runs on seven hits and fanned six. Randel Clemente relieved Savacool and threw two scoreless innings.
In the first inning, the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead. Christian Martin, Jon Jon Gazdar and John Kross drew walks. Martin scored on a double play by Joshua Baez.
Daytona tied the game in the third inning and added two runs in the fourth to take the 3-1 lead.
Palm Beach scored one run on just two hits and four walks. Baez and Jose Suarez singled. Kross drew two free passes.
Gazdar made a throwing error. Savacool picked a runner off first base and second base.
Palm Beach is 75-46 on the season, 38-17 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East.
Thursday’s game: vs. Daytona, RH Chen-Wei Lin (9-5, 2.89) vs. TBD 5:30 CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 0-4 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield OF Bryan Torres, was 3-for-3 with a walk, stolen base and run scored. Other standouts include Jordan Walker, Matt Koperniak, Matt Lloyd and Brayden Jobert.
The Triple-A Redbirds fell to the Cubs in a 4-3 road loss on Tuesday. Steven Matz made what may be his final rehab start. The St. Louis left-hander pitched three innings, gave up four runs, two earned, on five hit and struck out three. Matz took the loss.
Ryan Shreve relieved Matz and threw three scoreless innings on one hit, one walk and two strikeouts. Andre Granillo hurled a scoreless seventh, and Chris Roycroft tossed a scoreless ninth.
Iowa went up 2-0 in the first inning and added two runs in the third to lead 4-0.
Memphis came back in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2. Mike Antico singled. Jordan Walker doubled. Nolan Gorman drew a walk. Matt Koperniak drove in Antico and Walker on a double.
The Double-A Cardinals were topped by the Wind Surge in a 4-3 road loss on Tuesday. Brandon Komar took the mound for Springfield. The right-hander pitched four innings, gave up four runs, two earned, on seven hits. Komar fanned six and walked two and took the loss.
Springfield scored three runs on eight hits. Torres was 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Rivas was 2-for-3. Lloyd had two RBI. St. Louis rehabber Michael Siani went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and started in center field.
Torres stole his 30th base. Rivas was caught stealing.
Jacob Buchberger made two fielding errors. Nathan Church had an outfield assist at home plate. Komar picked a runner off first base.
Springfield is 70-51 on the season, 33-19 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Wednesday’s game: at Wichita, Tink Hence RHP (4-3, 2.67) vs. C.J. Culpepper RHP (0-0, 11.81) 7:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs fell to the Sky Carp in a 7-5 road loss on Tuesday. Brycen Mautz was on the bump for Peoria. The left-hander pitched six innings, gave up four runs, three earned, on four hits, fanned seven and walked two.
Tanner Jacobson relieved Mautz and surrendered three runs in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss. Dionys Rodriguez secured the final out of the eighth.
Peoria got on the board with one run in the top of the first. Chase Davis doubled and scored on a ground-rule double by Tre Richardson.
Beloit put up two runs in the home half of the first and added a run in the third to lead 3-1.
The Chiefs fought back with three runs in the fourth to go up 4-3. Won-Bin Cho singled. Alex Iadisernia drove in Cho with a double. Miguel Villarroel singled. Brayden Jobert plated Iadisernia and Villarroel on a double.
Peoria put another run on the board in the fifth to lead 5-3. Darlin Moquete doubled and Davis drew a walk. Richardson bunted the runners over. Cho walked. Moquete scored on a sac fly by Chase Adkison.
Beloit rallied for two runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to recapture the lead at 7-5.
Peoria scored five runs on 11 hits. Moquete, Davis, Cho, and Villarroel were each 2-for-4. Jobert drove in two runs.
Iadisernia stole his 19th base. Moquete was caught stealing.
Villaroel made a throwing error. Cho had an outfield assist at second base.
Peoria is 54-66 on the season, 28-27 in the second half and are in third place in the Midwest League West, 4.5 game back of Wisconsin, and one game back of Quad Cities.
Wednesday’s game: at Beloit, Inohan Paniagua RHP (7-8, 3.76) vs. TBD (BEL) 6:35 CT.
The Class-A Cardinals were blanked by the Tortugas by the score of 2-0 at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday. Memphis’ Sem Robberse continued his rehab in Palm Beach and pitched three innings. The right-hander gave up one run on four hits, struck out three and walked one.
Hunter Kublick relieved Robberse and threw two scoreless innings. Augusto Calderon surrendered one run in the sixth. Nolan Sparks hurled two scoreless innings. Michael Watson tossed a scoreless ninth.
Daytona took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and they added a second run in the sixth to lead 2-0.
The Beach Birds were held scoreless and scattered four hits. Joshua Baez was 2-for-3. A double by Bryce Madron was the only extra base hit. The offense was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
Baez stole his fourth base. Robberse made an error on a pickoff. Watson picked a runner off first base.
Palm Beach is 74-45 on the season, 37-15 in the second half.
Wednesday’s games: vs. Daytona, RH Tekoah Roby (Springfield rehab) vs. TBD 3:30 CT (game one); at Daytona, TBD vs. TBD (makeup of July 20 game, game two)
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Behind better starting pitching, the St. Louis Cardinals won two series against winning teams to return to .500 for the season. However, the club suffered a major blow with a hand injury to top hitter, catcher Willson Contreras. Our history feature highlights four former Cardinals who played with at least nine MLB teams.
On Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals were edged by the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Erick Fedde started for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up two runs on six hits, struck out two and walked four. Fedde took the loss.
Shawn Armstrong relieved Fedde and threw a scoreless inning. John King surrendered one run in 2/3 of a relief inning. Kyle Leahy tossed the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Milwaukee went up 1-0 in the second inning. They added a run in the fifth and made it 3-0 in the top of the eighth.
St. Louis was kept off the board until the home eighth. The Cardinals rallied to score two runs to cut the lead to 3-2. Lars Nootbaar led off with a single before Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run to right field.
Neither team scored in the ninth, making the final score 3-2.
The Cardinals scored two runs on six hits. No Cardinal had multiples. Carpenter drove in two.
The Cardinals bounced back to beat the Brewers 10-6 in the second game of the series. Kyle Gibson took the mound for St. Louis and pitched 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits, fanned five and walked two.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Gibson and surrendered two runs in one inning. JoJo Romero allowed one run in 2/3 of an inning. Andrew Kittredge also gave up one run while collecting two outs. Matthew Liberatore threw a scoreless inning. Shawn Armstrong secured the final out of the ninth. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless 10th to earn the win.
The Cardinals scored first with two runs in the fourth inning to lead 2-0. Nolan Arenado led off with a double. Lars Nootbaar followed with a single. Matt Carpenter received a free pass to load the bases. Tommy Pham plated Arenado on a sac fly. Nootbaar came home on a single by Masyn Winn.
The Brewers came back with single runs in the fifth and sixth to tie the game. They added two runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead 4-2.
The Cardinals answered with two runs in the home seventh to tie the game up again. Alec Burleson doubled and Luken Baker hit a pinch hit, two-run home run to left center field.
Milwaukee scored two runs in the eighth to retake the lead 6-4. The Cardinals rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game a third time at 6-6. Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch. José Fermín doubled. Nootbaar drew a walk. Victor Scott II pinch ran for Nootbaar. Matt Carpenter walked to score Contreras. Fermín came home on a walk to Tommy Pham.
The Brewers failed to score in the top of the 10th inning. In the home half of the 10th, Winn began on second base. Contreras was intentionally walked. Fermín walked. With the bases juiced, Nolan Arenado blasted a grand slam to left field to give the Cardinals a 10-6 walk off win.
St. Louis scored 10 runs on 13 hits. Arenado was 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. Winn was 3-for-6 with an RBI. Baker and Pham each had two RBI.
Carpenter was caught stealing. Arenado dropped a foul ball. Contreras had a passed ball.
The Cardinals blanked the Brewers 3-0 to take the third game and the series on Thursday. Miles Mikolas was on the bump and pitched a good game. The right-hander threw six scoreless innings with two hits allowed, struck out three and issued one free pass.
Andrew Kittredge relieved Mikolas and pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the win. JoJo Romero hurled a scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 39th save.
The game was a scoreless pitcher’s duel until the Cardinals broke through in the seventh inning with three runs. Victor Scott II, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson singled to load the bases. Contreras walked to bring home Scott. Brendan Donovan flied into a force out that plated Winn and took out Contreras at second. Nolan Arenado drove in Burleson on a single.
The offense scored three runs on nine hits. Winn was 2-for-5. Burleson was 2-for-3. Scott was 3-for-4.
Scott stole his third major league base. Arenado made a throwing error.
The Cardinals won their third game in a row with a 6-1 win over the Twins in Minnesota. Andre Pallante pitched a gem, going seven innings with one run allowed on five hits. The right-hander fanned five and walked two to earn his sixth win.
John King relieved Pallante and threw a scoreless eighth. Ryan Fernandez tossed a scoreless ninth.
Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. From there on it was all St. Louis. The Cardinals tied the game in the third. Matt Carpenter walked but was out at second on a force out by Victor Scott. Scott stole second base. Masyn Winn plated Scott on a single.
St. Louis made it 3-1 in the third. Willson Contreras led off with a double. Brendan Donovan walked. Contreras and Donovan executed a double steal. Lars Nootbaar drove in Contreras and Donovan with a double.
The Cardinals added a run in the sixth to increase the lead to 4-1 on a solo home run by Donovan. Two runs came home in the eighth for a 6-1 lead. Nolan Arenado and Nootbaar singled before Luken Baker received a free pass to load the bases. Scott walked and Arenado scored. Winn drove in Nootbaar on a sac fly.
The Cardinals scored six runs on nine hits. Winn was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nootbaar was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Contreras was 3-for-5.
St. Louis was busy on the bases. Scott stole his fourth for the Cardinals. Contreras swiped his fourth bag. Donovan stole his fourth base and Paul Goldschmidt stole his eighth.
The Cardinals took a 6-0 loss to the Twins in the second game of the series. Sonny Gray took the mound against his former team and pitched six innings. The right-hander gave up five runs on seven hits, including two long balls. He fanned seven, walked two and suffered his ninth loss of the season.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Gray and threw a scoreless seventh. Kyle Leahy surrendered one run in the ninth.
The Twins scored four runs in the third to lead 4-0. They added single runs in the fifth and eighth innings to win 6-0.
The Cardinals offense scattered five hits including doubles by Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott, and Paul Goldschmidt. The team was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
The Cardinals recovered from the shutout of the day before to defeat the Twins in a one run game to win the series on Sunday. Erick Fedde started and pitched six innings, gave up one run on two hits, fanned seven and walked three.
Andrew Kittredge relieved Fedde and threw a scoreless seventh. JoJo Romero surrendered one run in 1/3 of an inning. Shawn Armstrong hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning for the win. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his MLB-leading 40th save.
Minnesota took 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals tied the game in the fifth on a solo home run by Victor Scott.
The Twins retook the lead 2-1 in the eighth. St. Louis rallied for two runs in the ninth to lead and win the game 3-2. Nolan Arenado singled. José Fermín pinch ran. Brendan Donovan reached on a fielder’s choice with an error. That set up Lars Nootbaar, who plated Fermín and Donovan with the decisive single.
The Cardinals scored three runs on eight hits. Arenado was 2-for-4. Pedro Pagés was 2-for-4. Nootbaar had two RBI.
Scott made a fielding error.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a 4-2 week, winning series against two winning teams – the Brewers and the Twins. They are back at .500 with a 65-65 record and remain in second place in the Division, 10 games behind the Brewers.
With five weeks left in the season, it would take way more than the Cardinals have shown to get close enough to the Brewers to take the Division.
A Wild Card spot is the most they can hope for and at the present are five games out of the Wild Card, tied for that spot with the Giants. They will have to jump over three teams – the Giants, Mets and Braves – just to earn the third spot in the Wild Card. The Cardinals do not have any head-to-head games with either the Mets or Braves but do have one series left with the Giants. It is the final series of the season.
The offense has improved some from the previous week, but several key players are still unable to produce. These include Paul Goldschmidt, with a seven-day OPS of .364 and Brendan Donovan, with a seven-day OPS of .394. One of the low OPS players from last week, Nolan Gorman, has been demoted to Triple-A. The Cardinals’ newest acquisition, Tommy Pham, is also in the basement (.434).
The top performers for the week by OPS are José Fermín (3.000 in one AB), Luken Baker (1.571 in 4 ABs), Victor Scott (1.185) and Nolan Arenado (.945). Next closest is Willson Contreras (.808) who just went on the IL with a fractured finger suffered on Saturday when he was hit by a pitch on his right hand. Lars Nootbaar, who has struggled since coming off the IL, is doing better, with a .749 OPS due to several key hits over the last week.
The pitching is also somewhat better, though Sonny Gray continues to struggle with the long ball. In his last start against his former Twins team, he surrendered two of the long ball variety. He is also the only starter with an ERA over 4.00 for the week, with an ERA of 7.50.
Struggling Miles Mikolas had his best start in a long time and the team’s best start of the week (0.00), a scoreless outing against the Brewers on Wednesday. Next in line was Andre Pallante (1.29), Erick Fedde (2.31), and Kyle Gibson (3.38).
The bullpen had a few hiccups, particularly JoJo Romero (9.00), Ryan Fernandez (9.00) and John King (5.40).
The Cardinals begin the week at home with a four-game series against the Padres. The Padres currently occupy the second wild card spot and the Cardinals could gain some ground winning that series.
After the brief homestand, the Cardinals go to New York to play the Yankees. The Yankees lead the AL East Division, with the Baltimore Orioles only one game behind. Both series will be very tough.
NL Central Standings
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
WCGB
Milwaukee
75
55
0.577
St. Louis
65
65
0.500
10
5
Chicago
65
66
0.496
10.5
5.5
Cincinnati
63
68
0.481
12.5
7.5
Pittsburgh
62
68
0.477
13
8
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
8/20 The Cardinals optioned OF Jordan Walker to the Memphis Redbirds.
8/20 The Cardinals recalled 1B Luken Baker from the Memphis Redbirds.
8/20 The Cardinals activated DH Matt Carpenter from the 10-day injured list.
8/20 The Cardinals released SS Brandon Crawford.
8/21 The Cardinals optioned 2B Nolan Gorman to the Memphis Redbirds.
8/21 The Cardinals recalled SS José Fermín from the Memphis Redbirds.
8/25 The Cardinals recalled C Iván Herrera from the Memphis Redbirds.
When coming back from injury on July 4, Herrera lost his job as Contreras’ back up to Pedro Pages. During that time with Memphis, Herrera went 26-for-93 (.280) with five home runs and 16 RBI in 27 Triple-A games.
8/25 The Cardinals placed C Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list. Fractured right middle finger.
St. Louis’ OPS leader for the second consecutive year moves to the IL with an injury for the second time in 2024 (forearm previously). There is no timetable for Contreras’ return, but the season has just 32 games remaining and the club will be missing their best hitter down the crucial stretch. There is no way to spin this positively.
Injury Report
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 will 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.
LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 28. Matz is currently on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds and is set to make his final rehab start on Monday, August 27 with a return to the roster expected shortly thereafter.
CF Michael Siani (strained right oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 4. Siani was cleared to swing a bat on August 16. Siani will take live batting practice on Sunday, August 26 with the expectation that he will begin a rehab assignment on Monday, August 27.
RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31. Lynn is set to pitch a second live batting practice on August 26. Absent any issues, Lynn is expected to return sometime during that week.
DH Matt Carpenter was activated from the 10-day injured list.
C Willson Contreras (fractured right middle finger) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 25. Contreras was hit by a pitch on his right hand during an at bat in Saturday’s game against the Twins. No timetable on his expected return has been reported.
Looking Ahead
Following the series at the Twins, the Cardinals return to St. Louis for four games with manager Mike Shildt and the San Diego Padres.
The team leaves again this time to New York for three with the Yankees to end August. The final series of the road trip is with the Brewers in Milwaukee.
After an off day on Thursday, September 5, the Cardinals face the Mariners in a weekend series at Busch Stadium. Following a Monday off day, the homestand ends with three games with the Reds.
The Cardinals then travel to Toronto to play the Blue Jays in a three game weekend series. The team follows that with a return to St. Louis to begin their final homestand on Monday September 16 for four with the Pirates.
The homestand concludes with three games against the Guardians.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues the series that showcases former Cardinals who played for many teams in their career.
The Cardinals recently acquired former Cardinal Tommy Pham in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Pham began his major league career with St. Louis in 2014 and remained for four seasons before being traded in 2018. Since then, Pham has played for seven additional teams prior to his return in July.
This series looks at players who at one time played for the Cardinals and at least eight other teams in their careers. These players did not necessarily start with the Cardinals nor play for them more than once. A career arc like that of Tommy Pham is a rare feat.
This third installment of the series spotlights four players who played for nine teams in their career. The name of the player, the dates he played for the Cardinals, and his other teams are noted.
Blaine Boyer – The pitcher was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and began his major league career with them in 2005. The Cardinals acquired Boyer in a trade with the Braves in 2009 in exchange for outfielder Brian Barton.
Boyer’s major league stint with the Cardinals was very brief. He was acquired on April 20, 2009 and appeared in 15 games for St. Louis. He was designated for assignment on June 4, 2009.
Boyer returned to the Cardinals on a minor league contract two years later, on July 5, 2011. He pitched for the Memphis Redbirds and was released on August 13, 2011.
The teams with which Boyer played are the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals.
Miguel Cairo
Miguel Cairo – This Venezuelan infielder was originally signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he did not reach the majors with them. The Dodgers traded Cairo to the Toronto Blue Jays on November 29, 1995. Cairo made his debut with Toronto on April 17, 1996.
The Cardinals acquired Cairo off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on August 10, 2001. Cairo remained with the Cardinals through the 2003 season. He appeared in the postseason for the first time in his career with the Cardinals in 2001. He played in all three games of 2001 NLDS against Arizona. He also appeared in the postseason in 2002, two games of the NLDS and three games of the NLCS.
Cairo became a free agent after the 2003 season. He made a brief return to the Cardinals late in the 2007 season after more than three seasons with the Yankees.
The teams Cairo played for are the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs (twice), Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals (twice), New York Yankees (twice), New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds.
Cairo managed the Chicago White Sox in 2022 on an interim basis after Tony La Russa stepped down for health reasons. He is currently the bench coach for the Washington Nationals.
José Cardenal – Cardenal was born in Cuba. The outfielder began his major league career with the San Francisco Giants in 1963.
The Cardinals acquired Cardenal in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on November 21, 1969 for Vada Pinson. Cardenal played for the Cardinals in the 1970 season and the first half of 1971.
The Cardinals traded Cardenal to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 29, 1971 for Ted Kubiak and a minor league player.
The teams Cardenal played with are the San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Kansas City Royals.
Cardenal returned to the Cardinals as a coach from 1994-1995. He also coached for the Cincinnati Reds (twice), New York Yankees, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He also held an advisory position with the Washington Nationals from 2005-2009.
Zach Duke (USA TODAY Sports Images)
Zach Duke – Duke was a 20th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001. He debuted with the Pirates on July 2, 2005.
Duke was a Pirate for six seasons. The Cardinals acquired him in a trade with the Chicago White Sox for Charlie Tilson on July 21, 2016. Duke pitched out of the bullpen for the remainder of that season. Duke had offseason forearm surgery and returned to the Cardinals on July 21, 2017.
Duke became a free agent following the 2017 season.
The teams Duke played for are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds (twice), Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Whie Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, and Seattle Mariners.
Duke was released from his second stint with the Reds on July 6, 2019 and did not return to MLB.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than five dozen of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
On Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals system was 4-0 including three walkoffs. The Cardinal Nation Player of the Day, DH Darlin Moquete, hit a walk off two-run home run for Peoria. Moquete was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Other standouts include Mike Antico, Iván Herrera, Tink Hence, Noah Mendlinger and Ryan Campos.
The Memphis Redbirds blew a late lead only to win in a 10th inning walk off over the Knights at AutoZone Park on Wednesday. Steven Matz continued his rehab with a five inning start. The left hander gave up four runs on nine hits, struck out three and walked one.
Wilking Rodriguez relieved Matz and threw a scoreless sixth. Riley O’Brien surrendered one unearned run in the seventh. Victor Santos hurled a scoreless eighth. Ryan Loutos yielded two runs in 2/3 of an inning, both on walks. Chris Roycroft tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Charlotte put up two runs in the top of the second. Memphis answered with a five-run bottom of the second to lead 5-2. Alfonso Rivas walked. Gavin Collins singled. New Redbird Chandler Redmond walked. Nick Dunn drove in Rivas and Collins on a single. Mike Antico followed with a three-run home run to right field.
The Knights scored two runs in the third to tighten the lead to 5-4. In the fifth, the Redbirds added two runs to the tally to lead 7-4. Thomas Saggese received a free pass. Iván Herrera thumped a two-run home run to left center field.
Charlotte made it 7-5 in the seventh. The Knights tied the game with two bases loaded walks in the ninth. In the 10th, Charlotte failed to score against Roycroft.
The Redbirds walked it off in the bottom of the 10th. Herrera began the inning on second base, stole third and came home on Rivas’ sac fly.
Memphis scored eight runs on 11 hits. Antico was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Hererra was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Dunn was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Antico stole his ninth base. Herrera swiped his third bag. O’Brien made an error on a pickoff.
Memphis is 61-61 on the season, 23-24 in the second half. They are tied with Toledo for sixth place in the International League West.
Thursday’s game: vs. Charlotte, TBD vs. TBD 6:45 CT.
The Double-A Cardinals beat the Drillers in a 10th inning walk off on Wednesday at Hammons Field. Tink Hence started on the bump for Springfield. The right hander pitched four scoreless innings, allowed three hits, struck out two and walked two.
Nathanael Heredia relieved Hence and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Andrew Marrero surrendered one run in 1 2/3 innings. Jack Ralston hurled a scoreless eighth. Matt Svanson yielded one unearned run in the final two innings to earn his fourth win.
The game was scoreless for the first five innings before Tulsa broke through in the sixth for a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals tied the game in the seventh. Jeremy Rivas was hit by a pitch. Nathan Church singled. Jimmy Crooks plated Rivas on a sac fly.
The game remained tied through regulation. In the top of the 10th, the Drillers scored one run to lead 2-1. In the bottom of the inning, Springfield produced two runs to win in walk off fashion 3-2.
With Bryan Torres on second base, Church drew a walk. Jimmy Crooks reached on a fielder’s choice. R.J. Yeager was plunked and Torres came home. Church was thrown out at home on a force out by Jacob Buchberger. Matt Lloyd pinch ran for Crooks. Noah Mendlinger drove in Lloyd on a single.
The Cardinals scored three runs on just five hits. Mendlinger was 2-for-4 with an RBI and stole his third base of the season. Rivas was caught stealing.
Springfield is 67-49 on the season, 30-17 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Thursday’s game: vs. Tulsa, Alex Cornwell LHP (5-2, 5.81) vs. Jerming Rosario RHP (2-3, 4.76) 6:35 CT.
The High-A Chiefs edged the TinCaps in a 3-2 walkoff at Dozer Park on Wednesday. Inohan Paniagua started for Peoria. The right-hander pitched six innings, gave up two runs on four hits, fanned six and walked two.
Tyler Bradt relieved Paniagua and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Dionys Rodriguez tossed the final 2/3 of a scoreless inning for the win.
Fort Wayne went up 1-0 in the first and added a run in the sixth to lead 2-0.
Peoria scored their first run in the seventh. Darlin Moquete and Kade Kretzschmar singled. Moquete scored on a sac fly by Miguel Villarroel.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Chiefs rallied for two runs to win the game in a walk off. Tre Richardson led off with a single, the stole second base. Moquete followed with a walk off two-run home run to left center field.
The Low-A Cardinals defeated the Mets in a 9-4 road win on Wednesday. Hunter Kublick started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on nine hits and struck out four to earn his fifth win of the season.
Nolan Sparks relieved Kublick and threw two scoreless innings. Nelfy Ynfante surrendered one run in the final two innings.
The Beach Birds took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Bryce Madron led off with a single. Ryan Campos followed with a walk. Jose Suarez singled. Madron scored on a sac fly by Ross Friedrick. Joshua Baez drove in Campos on a single. Baez stole second base and Suarez stole home.
The Mets answered in the home first with two runs and added one run in the second to tie the game at three apiece.
Palm Beach broke the stalemate in the sixth on a solo home run by Suarez. In the seventh the Cardinals added two runs to lead 6-3. Lizandro Espinoza tripled and scored on a single by Madron. Madron came home on a double by Campos.
Palm Beach made It 9-3 in the top of the eighth. Baez singled. Anyelo Encarnacion drew a walk. Jon Jon Gazdar reached on an error. Espinoza plated Baez on a single. Encarnacion was thrown out at home. Campos drove in Gazdar on a double. Espinoza scored on a single by J.J. Wetherholt.
St. Lucie rallied for one run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the final score to 9-4.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 13 hits. Campos was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Baez was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Espinoza was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Madron and Suarez were both 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Baez stole his first base for Palm Beach. Suarez swiped his second bag. Encarnacion stole his fifth base.
Palm Beach is 71-43 on the season, 34-14 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East.
Thursday’s game: at St. Lucie, TBD vs. TBD 5:10 CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Chris Rotondo (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 4-1 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, RF Chris Rotondo, went 2-for-5 including a walk off grand slam for Springfield. Other standouts include César Prieto, Brycen Mautz, and Darlin Moquete.
The Triple-A Redbirds held on to top the Knights by an 8-7 score on Tuesday at AutoZone Park. Gordon Graceffo started for Memphis. The right-hander pitched four innings, gave up five runs on eight hits, struck out two and walked two.
Nick Raquet relieved Graceffo and surrendered two runs in three innings to receive the win. Jacob Bosiokovic tossed the final two scoreless innings and earned his first save.
Charlotte scored five runs in the top of the first inning to lead 5-0. Memphis came back with six runs in the home half of the first to lead 6-5. Mike Antico, Thomas Saggese and Matt Koperniak each received a free pass. Iván Herrera singled to score Antico. Saggese came home on a wild pitch. César Prieto plated Koperniak and Herrera on a double. José Fermín singled. Alfonso Rivas drove in Prieto on a ground out. Gavin Collins singled. Ramon Mendoza hit a sac fly to score Fermín.
The Double-A Cardinals beat the Drillers in a 9-6 walk off on Tuesday. Brandon Komar started for Springfield. The right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up four runs, one earned, on five hits, fanned six and walked two.
Benito Garcia relieved Komar and surrendered two runs in 1 2/3 innings. Wilfredo Pereira tossed the final two scoreless innings and earned the win.
Tulsa went up 1-0 in the first inning, then added three runs in the second. Springfield got on the board in the fourth inning with three runs to cut the lead to 4-3. Chris Rotondo singled. Dakota Harris was hit by a pitch. Bryan Torres drove in Rotondo on a single. Harris came home on a single by Jacob Buchberger. Torres crossed the plate, taking two bases on a wild pitch.
Tulsa increased their lead to 6-3 in the seventh. In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals rallied for six runs to win in a walk off 9-6. Torres and Buchberger singled. Jimmy Crooks plated Torres on a single. Nathan Church pinch ran for Crooks. R.J. Yeager walked. Chandler Redmond walked and Buchberger came home. With the bases still juiced, Rotondo blasted a grand slam to left center field.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 11 hits. Rotondo was 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. Torres was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Buchberger was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Torres stole his 29th base of the season. He also committed a fielding error and had an outfield assist at third base.
Springfield is 66-49 on the season, 29-17 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North by two games.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Tulsa, Tink Hence RHP (4-3, 2.84) vs. Carlos Duran RHP (0-2, 1.99) 6:35 CT.
The High-A Chiefs edged the TinCaps by 2-1 score at Dozer Park on Tuesday. Brycen Mautz was on the bump for Peoria. The left hander pitched seven innings, gave up one run on four hits and fanned 12.
The High-A Cardinals defeated the Mets in a 5-3 road win on Tuesday. Sem Robberse made his second rehab start for Palm Beach. The Memphis right-hander pitched two innings, and gave up one unearned run on four hits.
Regular starter Jason Savacool relieved Robberse and surrendered two runs in five innings. Luis Gastelum tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Beach Birds took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Christian Martin drew a walk and stole second base. Ryan Campos received a free pass. J.J. Wetherholt grounded into a force out with Campos out a second. Joshua Baez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ian Petrutz was plunked and Martin scored.
The Mets ties the game in the second. Palm Beach retook the lead with a run in the top of the third. Wetherholt walked and stole second base. Petrutz drove him home on a double.
The Mets answered in the home third with two runs to lead 3-2. In the sixth, the Cardinals plated two runs to lead again by the score of 4-3. Ross Friedrick led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Martin reached on an error and Friedrick scored. Martin came home on a single by Campos.
Palm Beach added an insurance run in the ninth on a solo home run by Jose Suarez.
The Cardinals scored five runs on seven hits. Suarez was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Petrutz had two RBI.
Martin stole his second base of the season. Wetherholt swiped his first bag. Suarez and Jose Cordoba were both caught stealing.
Savacool picked a runner off first base. Sammy Hernandez had a passed ball.
Palm Beach is 70-43 on the season, 33-14 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East by 7 1/2 games.
Wednesday’s game: at St. Lucie, RH Hunter Kublick (4-2, 4.02) vs. TBD 12:10 CT.
The rookie Cardinals fell to the Rockies by the score of 7-4 in the final game of their season and finishing with a losing record.
Andrew Bolivar started for the Cardinals and pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up three runs on five hits, struck out two and walked four.
Brailyn Paulino relieved Bolivar and surrendered three runs, two earned, in one inning. Paulino took the loss. Bernard Mack yielded one run in 1 1/3 innings. Xavier Cruz tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Cardinals went up 1-0 in the second inning on a solo home run by Edward Guribe. They added two runs in the top of the fourth to lead 3-0. Christian Saez and Guribe singled. Yaxson Lucena drove in both runners with a double.
The Rockies came back in the home fourth to tie the game with three runs. The Cardinal regained the lead with one run in the of the fifth. Cristofer Lebron drew a walk. Daniel Rojas singled, moving Lebron to third. Lebron came home on a sac fly by Andru Arthur.
The Rockies recaptured the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up 6-4. They added a run for a 7-4 lead in the sixth.
The Cardinals scored four runs on nine hits. Guribe was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Lucena had two RBI.
Rojas was caught stealing for the fifth time. He also made a throwing error. Mack picked a runner off third base.
The Cardinals finished 26-27 on the season, fifth place in the DSL Central, 14 games out of first.
Wednesday’s game: None. The Dominican Summer League Cardinals have completed their season. See you next year!
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Pedro Pages (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
A 1-5 week means the division is slipping away for the St. Louis Cardinals as they also lose ground in the wild card race. Catcher Pedro Pages has been one of the few bright spots for the dismal offense. Our history feature highlights Cardinals traded away who debuted during this week in the past.
The St. Louis Cardinals were defeated by the Reds by a 6-1 score on Monday at Great American Ballpark. Former Red Sonny Gray started for St. Louis. The right hander pitched five innings, gave up six runs on five hits, fanned nine and walked two. Gray took the loss, his seventh of the season.
Kyle Leahy relieved Gray and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Shawn Armstrong tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Cardinals scored their only run in the top of the third inning. Willson Contreras singled. Tommy Pham took a free pass. Nolan Arenado drove in Contreras on a single.
The Reds answered in the home third with three runs and added three more runs in the fifth for the final score of 6-1.
The Cardinals offense scored one run on five hits. Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-4.
For the second straight game, the Cardinals were held to only one run by the Reds and lost. The Cardinals fell 4-1 in Cincinnati.
Erick Fedde took the mound for the Cardinals. He pitched six innings and gave up four runs on six hits. The right-hander struck out two and walked two. Fedde took the loss.
Matthew Liberatore followed Fedde and threw a scoreless seventh. Shawn Armstrong tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Reds took the lead with single runs in the first and second innings. In the sixth, Cincinnati added two more runs for a 4-0 lead.
The Cardinals got on the board with their only run in the seventh on a solo home run by Nolan Arenado.
The meager St. Louis offense scattered four hits for one run. Willson Contreras and Victor Scott II added doubles to the Arenado home run for three extra base hits. Lars Nootbaar contributed a single.
The offense was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
The Cardinals were swept by the Reds with third game loss on Wednesday, scoring just four runs in 27 innings.
Kyle Gibson was on the bump. The right hander pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs, six earned, on seven hits. He fanned six and walked two to take his fifth loss of the season.
John King followed Gibson and threw one scoreless inning in relief. Kyle Leahy surrendered one run in 2/3 innings. Matthew Liberatore allowed one run in the final 1 2/3 innings.
The Reds took a 4-0 lead in the third inning. They padded their lead with three additional runs in the fifth.
The Cardinals scored two runs in the sixth to shrink the lead to 7-2. Masyn Winn doubled and scored on a single by Alec Burleson. Nolan Arenado drove in Burleson on a single.
Cincinnati piled on with one run in each of the seventh and eighth innings.
The Cardinals offense scored two runs on 10 hits. Winn was 2-for-5. Willson Contreras was 2-for-4. Brendan Donovan was 2-for-4.
The Cardinals made two errors. Donovan made a throwing error and Tommy Pham had a fielding miscue.
The Cardinals lost their fourth game in a row, opening the Dodgers series with a Friday defeat. This game was close and featured more offense from St. Louis than the team produced over three games in Cincinnati.
Miles Mikolas took the mound and pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up five runs on seven hits and fanned seven. Mikolas continued the issues with the long ball that has plagued the rotation recently, with two home runs allowed.
Andrew Kittredge relieved Mikolas and also gave up a home run, a three-run shot. One of the baserunners belonged to Mikolas. Kittredge allowed two runs without recording an out and was replaced Matthew Liberatore. Liberatore threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Fernandez followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. JoJo Romero tossed the final 2/3 scoreless innings.
Los Angeles put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the home half to tie the game. Nolan Arenado walked and Paul Goldschmidt followed with a two-run home run to right center field.
St. Louis took a 3-2 lead in the third on a solo home run by Masyn Winn. They added a run in the fifth on a solo shot by Pedro Pagés to lead 4-2. The 462-foot shot was the longest at Busch Stadium this season.
The Dodgers responded with a five-run top of the sixth to recapture the lead 7-4. In the home sixth, the Cards cut the deficit to 7-6. Tommy Pham and Goldschmidt walked. Brendan Donovan plated Pham on a single. Goldschmidt came home on a single by Pagés.
The Cardinals scored six runs on six hits. Pagés was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Donovan was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Goldschmidt had two RBI.
Winn was caught stealing for the fifth time this season. Jordan Walker made a throwing error.
The Cardinals broke their four-game losing streak with a win over the Dodgers on Saturday. Andre Pallante took the mound to start for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched seven innings, gave up two runs on four hits, struck out five and walked two to earn his fifth win of the season.
JoJo Romero relieved Pallante and threw a scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 38th save.
Los Angeles plated a run in the top of the first inning. The Cardinals quickly tied it in the home first. Alec Burleson singled, stole second base and took third base on a wild pitch. Willson Contreras drove in Burleson on a single.
The Cardinals took the lead 3-1 in the third inning on a two-run home run by Burleson. In the top of the fifth, the Dodgers cut the lead to 3-2.
The Cardinals added a run in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run by Masyn Winn. In the eighth a solo shot by Nolan Arenado added an insurance run for a 5-2 lead.
Burleson was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Winn was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Contreras was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Cardinals fell to future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on Sunday, and thus dropped the home series. Sonny Gray was on the bump for St. Louis. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up two runs on seven hits, fanned six and walked three. Gray took the loss, his eighth.
Shawn Armstrong relieved Gray and threw one scoreless inning. Matthew Liberatore hurled a scoreless seventh. Ryan Fernandez and John King each tossed a scoreless inning.
The game was scoreless until the fifth, when the Dodgers put up two runs on Gray.
The Cardinals were held scoreless until the eighth, when Lars Nootbaar thumped a solo home run to give the Cardinals their only run.
The offense scattered six hits. The Nootbaar long ball was the only extra base hit of the game. The offense was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.
Brendan Donovan was caught stealing.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a terrible week, going 1-5. They were swept by the Reds and lost 2 of 3 to the Dodgers. They barely remain in second place in the NL Central, 11 games back of the Brewers and five games out of the third and final wild card spot.
At this point, there isn’t anything going right for this team. The offense and the pitching have fallen off considerably. The offense didn’t have far to fall as they have been underwhelming all season. Their run differential is a whopping -62, worse even than the last place Pirates at -31.
The offense was particularly bad in the Reds series, as they scored a minuscule four runs over three games. They scored more often in the Dodgers series, but not enough to win more than one game.
The top offensive performers over the last seven days by OPS is a list of two players, Pedro Pagés (1.222), and Lars Nootbaar (1.122). From there, there is a big drop to the next on the list, Brendan Donovan (.791).
At the bottom, the list is much longer. They include Tommy Pham (.357 OPS), Victor Scott (.333), Nolan Gorman (.286), and Jordan Walker (.258).
This is consistent with how the St. Louis Cardinals have performed for the entire season up to now. Brief glimpses of improvement followed by drops into the abyss. It is a conundrum without an obvious solution.
The pitching situation is slightly better, but not by much. We saw Andre Pallante pitch a gem against the Dodgers. He was the only starter with an ERA under 4.00 for the week. Pallante (2.57) was the bright spot in the week.
As for the other starters, their outings for the week began with Erick Fedde (6.00) and went downhill from there. Sonny Gray (7.20), Miles Mikolas (7.94) and Kyle Gibson (11.57) all disappointed.
The bullpen is the only part of the team that did not disappoint, though Andrew Kittredge couldn’t even record an out in his one appearance and has an infinitely high ERA for the week.
Very little of the season remains, so the prospects for a turnaround are slim (but not impossible, see: 2011 Cardinals).
The Cardinals play the Brewers this week at Busch Stadium so there is an opportunity for movement. The Brewers have been playing well, so don’t hold your breath. Even if St. Louis could win two of three, they would still be 10 games out.
Following the Milwaukee series, the team goes to Minnesota to play the Twins.
NL Central Standings
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
WCGB
Milwaukee
72
52
0.581
St. Louis
61
63
0.492
11
5
Chicago
61
64
0.488
11.5
5.5
Cincinnati
60
64
0.484
12
6
Pittsburgh
58
65
0.472
13.5
7.5
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
8/12 The Cardinals recalled RF Jordan Walker from the Memphis Redbirds.
8/12 The Cardinals placed DH Matt Carpenter on the 10-day injured list retroactive to August 9. Lower back strain.
Injury Report
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 will 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.
LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 28. Matz is currently on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds and may be activated after one more start. He role upon returning is unknown.
CF Michael Siani (strained right oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 4. Siani was cleared to swing a bat on August 16. The center fielder’s expected return is late August.
RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31. Lynn is set to pitch live batting practice on August 20 at Busch Stadium. Absent any issues, Lynn could return to the active roster shortly thereafter.
DH Matt Carpenter was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to August 9. Lower back strain. Carpenter is expected to return when the 10 days are up.
Looking Ahead
Following the end of the Dodgers series on Sunday, the division leading Brewers come to St. Louis for a three-game series beginning Tuesday, August 20.
The Cards then travel to Minnesota for a weekend set with the Twins. The Cardinals return to St. Louis for four with Mike Shildt’s San Diego Padres.
The team leaves again for New York for a three-game series against the Yankees at the end of August. The final series of the road trip is with the Brewers again, this time in Milwaukee.
After an off day on Thursday, September 5, the Cardinals will face the Mariners in a weekend series at Busch Stadium. Following a Monday off day, the homestand ends with three games with the Reds.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past takes a detour from the past two weeks and returns to the series that showcases the debuts of former Cardinals.
This week’s Debut Series looks at recent former Cardinals who currently play for other teams. The theme of this installment is “The Ones That Got Away”.
The following is a list of former Cardinals who made their major league debut with St. Louis during the period August 12 through August 18. These four players, one pitcher and three position players, are playing for other teams with various degrees of success. All four were traded away by the Cardinals.
This list states the name of the player, the date they debuted, and how they performed in their debut.
Patrick Wisdom (Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports)
Patrick Wisdom – Patrick Wisdom made his major league debut for the Cardinals on August 12, 2018, in an 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Wisdom was in the starting lineup and batting ninth. Because the game was played in an American League park, the pitchers did not hit. he played first base in his debut.
Wisdom went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
In the top of the third inning, Wisdom hit an infield single off Royals starter Jakob Junis. Wisdom eventually scored on a single by José Martinez.
In the fifth inning, Wisdom struck out swinging. In the seventh, he hit an RBI line drive single to center that scored Jedd Gyorko. In his final AB in the eighth, he grounded out to the shortstop.
In December 2018, the Cardinals traded Wisdom to the Texas Rangers. He eventually made his way to the Chicago Cubs. He played semi-regularly in his first two seasons in Chicago, but in his most recent two years, he has been a reserve.
Luke Weaver (Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports)
Luke Weaver – Weaver made his debut on August 3, 2016, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals beat the Cubs 8-4.
Weaver was the starting pitcher, called up to replace Michael Wacha, who was injured. Weaver pitched four innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, with three strikeouts and three walks.
In his first inning, Weaver struck out the first two hitters. The third batter grounded out. In his second inning, he gave up a double and a two-run home run to Addison Russell. Following that he pitched to six more hitters, issued two walks and gave up a single.
In the third inning, no runs were scored. Weaver gave up a single, then induced a double play. The next batter walked and the final batter grounded out to second base.
In his final inning, he retired all three hitters, on two ground outs and a strikeout.
Weaver pitched for St. Louis for two more seasons then was traded in a multi-player deal during the 2018 offseason with the Arizona Diamondbacks for Paul Goldschmidt. Weaver bounced from the Diamondbacks to the Royals, and then to the Cincinnati Reds. Weaver currently is a reliever for the New York Yankees.
Randy Arozarena (Steve Mitchell/Imagn)
Randy Arozarena – Arozarena made his debut on August 14, 2019, in a 6-0 win over the Kanas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Arozarena was in the starting lineup in center field and hitting ninth. He was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
His first at bat was in the third inning. He struck out swinging. In the sixth inning, Arozarena grounded out to third base. In the seventh, he hit an RBI single to left field that scored Matt Carpenter. In his final plate appearance, he singled to right but was left stranded.
Arozarena played in 19 games for St. Louis in 2019. In January 2020, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for Matthew Liberatore. Arozarena had a successful four seasons with the Rays (much to the consternation of Cardinals fans). He was traded last month to the Seattle Mariners.
Dylan Carlson (Jasen Vinlove/Imagn)
Dylan Carlson – Carlson has only been a former Cardinal since July 30. He made his debut for St. Louis on August 15, 2020, in a game with the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Cardinals won the game 5-1. This was the first game of a doubleheader and was seven innings in length.
Carlson was in the starting lineup playing in left field and hitting sixth. He went 0-for-3.
In the first inning, Carlson struck out swinging. In his second at-bat in the third inning, he grounded out to first base. In the fifth, Carlson flied out to center. This was his last at-bat.
Carlson played in the second game of the doubleheader, also batting sixth but playing in right field. He went 1-for-3.
In the second inning, Carlson struck out swinging. In the fourth, he drew a walk but was left stranded. Carlson got his first major league hit, a double to right, in the fifth inning off reliever Jimmy Cordero. Carlson was left stranded. Carlson lined out to center in the seventh.
The Cardinals traded Carlson on July 30, 2024, to the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever Shawn Armstrong. Carlson has appeared in 13 games with the Rays and is hitting .270 with three home runs.
As is sometimes the case with a player coming to a new team, Carlson has played well. Whether that will continue to be the case remains to be seen. Such a small sample size is not predictive of future success.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than five dozen of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
photo: John Mozeliak, J.J. Wetherholt, Randy Flores (St. Louis Cardinals)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-3 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach SS J.J. Wetherholt, was 4-for-5 with an RBI. Other standouts include Ramon Mendoza, Chen-Wei Lin, and Yaxson Lucena.
The Memphis Redbirds were edged by the Jumbo Shrimp in the first game of a twin bill in Jacksonville on Friday. Steven Matz, continuing his rehab assignment, started the game. The left-hander pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed three hits, fanned six and walked one.
Jacob Bosiokovic relieved Matz and finished the fifth cleanly. Connor Thomas surrendered one run in 1/3 of an inning. Chris Roycroft allowed one unearned run in the final 2/3 of an inning and took the loss.
Memphis produced their only run in the top of the sixth. Mike Antico and Matt Koperniak walked and Iván Herrera drove in Antico with a single.
The Redbirds pummeled the Jumbo Shrimp in a 10-5 rout in game two of the twin bill. Zach Thompson was on the bump for Memphis. The left-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up three runs on four hits, fanned a career-best 10 and walked one to earn his third win of the season.
Ryan Shreve relieved Thompson and surrendered two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Wilking Rodriguez tossed a scoreless seventh.
The Redbirds took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Luken Baker began the inning with a solo home run. Gavin Collins and Alfonso Rivas singled. Ramon Mendoza drove in Collins on a double.
Jacksonville cut the lead to 2-1 in the home second. Memphis answered with five runs in the third to expand the lead to 7-1. Matt Koperniak and Baker walked. Nick Dunn reached on a fielder’s choice with a fielding error as Koperniak and Baker scored. Rivas plated Dunn on a single. Collins and Rivas came home on a single by Mendoza.
The Redbirds added two runs in the fourth to increase the lead to 9-1. Koperniak received a free pass. Baker doubled. Dunn walked. Collins drove in Koperniak and Baker on a single,
Memphis made it 10-1 in the fifth on a solo home run by Thomas Saggese. The Jumbo Shrimp staged a comeback with four runs in the sixth, but ultimately fell short.
The Memphis offense scored 10 runs on 10 hits. Mendoza was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Collins was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Rivas was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Baker was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored.
Catcher Wade Stauss had a passed ball.
Memphis is 59-60 on the season, 21-23 in the second half. They are in seventh place in the International League West, 8.5 games back of Columbus.
The clubs are off Saturday prior to Sunday’s series finale.
Sunday’s game: at Jacksonville, RHP Michael McGreevy vs. RHP Yonny Chirinos 4:05 p.m.
The Double-A Cardinals were defeated by the Rough Riders in a walk off loss Friday. This was the first defeat for Springfield in the series after three wins.
Alex Cornwell made the start. The left-hander pitched six innings, gave up four runs on five hits, fanned five and walked four.
Wilfredo Pereira relieved Cornwell and surrendered two runs in two innings. Leonardo Taveras allowed the winning runs in the ninth.
Frisco took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Springfield responded with four runs in the top of the third to lead 4-2. Chris Rotondo led off with a single and stole second base. Bryan Torres drew a walk. Jacob Buchberger drove in Rotondo on a double. Torres scored on a single by R.J. Yeager. Chandler Redmond plated Buchberger on a single. Yeager came home on a sac fly by Aaron McKeithan.
The Rough Riders cut the lead to 4-3 in the home third. They tied the game in the fifth and took a 5-4 lead in the seventh.
The Cardinals rallied for one run in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 5-5. Torres singled and stole second base. Yeager received a free pass. Redmond plated Torres on a single.
Frisco put up two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win in a walk off.
Springfield scored five runs on 11 hits. Redmond was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Yeager was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Torres was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Rotondo was 2-for-4. Noah Mendlinger was 2-for-2.
Rotondo stole his third base of the season. Torres swiped his 28th bag. Mendlinger was picked off third base.
Springfield is 63-49 on the season, 26-17 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: at Frisco, Quinn Mathews LHP (1-1. 3.11) vs. Winston Santos RHP (3-2, 5.33) 7:05 CT.
Peoria at Wisconsin (suspended)
The High-A Chiefs’ Friday night game at Wisconsin was suspended in the fifth inning with the home team up 1-0 due to rain in the area. It will be resumed on Saturday, prior to the regularly scheduled game.
Saturday’s game: at Wisconsin, TBD vs. TBD 5:10 CT (completion of suspended game); at Wisconsin, Pete Hansen LHP (5-7, 3.82) vs. Stiven Cruz RHP (1-2, 3.98) 6:40 CT (game two).
The Low-A Cardinals fell to the Hammerheads in a 4-2 contest at Roger Dean Stadium on Friday. Chen-Wei Lin started on the bump for Palm Beach. Lin pitched six innings, gave up one run on four hits, fanned five and walked one.
Jupiter tied the game in the sixth. The Cardinals retook the lead 2-1 in the seventh. Lizandro Espinoza singled and scored on a single by Ryan Campos.
The Hammerheads came back with three runs in the eighth to go up 4-2.
The Cardinals scored two runs on 11 hits. Wetherholt was 4-for-5 with an RBI. Campos was 2-for-5. The offense was 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
Josh Kross made a fielding error.
Palm Beach is 68-42 on the season, 31-13 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East.
The Dominican Cardinals defeated the Mariners by the score of 5-2 on Friday. Branneli Franco started for the Cardinals. The right-hander pitched three innings, gave up one run on five hits, struck out one and walked two.
Alan Reyes relieved Franco and surrendered one run in the final four innings to earn the win.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Cardinals tied the game in the fifth. Cristofer Lebron singled. Yoerny Junco was hit by a pitch. Lebron later scored on a ground out by Facundo Velasquez.
The Cardinals took the lead in the sixth on a grand slam by Yaxson Lucena. The Mariners added one more run in the seventh for the final score of 5-2.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-2 on Wednesday. TCN’s Players of the Day are from Springfield. Tink Hence pitched four terrific one-hit scoreless innings with six strikeouts and DH Bryan Torres was 5-for-5 with an RBI. Other standouts: Tuesday Player of the Day Jimmy Crooks, Hunter Kublick and Jose Cordoba.
Behind a leaky bullpen, the Triple-A Redbirds were beaten by the Jumbo Shrimp by a 7-2 score on Wednesday. Fill in starter Nick Raquet pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed four hits, and walked two.
Victor Santos relieved Raquet and surrendered one run in 1 1/3 innings. Andre Granillo allowed two runs in two innings and took the loss. Ryan Loutos yielded four runs in the seventh as the game got away from the Redbirds. Jacob Bosiokovic tossed a scoreless eighth.
Memphis scored first in the third inning to lead 1-0. José Fermín singled and came home on a Nick Dunn double.
Jacksonville tied the game in the fourth. The Redbirds responded in the fifth to regain the lead 2-1. Alfonso Rivas doubled and crossed the plate on Mike Antico’s triple.
The Jumbo Shrimp took over with a six-run seventh inning for the final 7-2 score.
Memphis went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base. The two runs came on seven hits with no player having multiples. Extra base hits included the Antico triple and doubles by Dunn, Rivas, and César Prieto.
Ivan Herrera had a passed ball.
Memphis is 57-59 on the season, 19-22 in the second half. They are in seventh place in the International League West, 8.5 games back of Columbus.
Thursday’s game: at Jacksonville, Gordon Graceffo RHP (8-6, 4.33) vs. TBD 6:05 CT.
The Double-A Cardinals pulled off a ninth inning comeback win at the Frisco Rough Riders on Wednesday night.
Starter Tink Hence pitched four scoreless innings with one run allowed and six punchouts. Hence was limited in third outing back from injury and was taken out after 49 pitches, of which 35 were strikes.
Hence’s brilliant outing was marred by a disastrous performance by former starter Edwin Nuñez, now working in relief. After a scoreless fifth inning, Nuñez, known for poor control of his pitches, was allowed to return for the sixth.
After giving up five runs, he was finally taken out and replaced by Zane Mills, who secured the final out of the inning. Mills returned to pitch for two additional innings, surrendering one additional run. Matt Svanson finished with a scoreless ninth for his 21st save in 21 chances.
Springfield’s offense took the lead in the fourth on a solo home run by Jimmy Crooks. Springfield added two runs in the fifth to go up 3-0. Dakota Harris led off with a double. Chris Rotondo drove in Harris on a triple. Rotondo came home on a single by Bryan Torres.
During Springfield’s sixth inning stumble, Frisco scored five runs to take the lead 5-3. They extended it to 6-3 in the eighth.
The undaunted Cardinals fought back in the ninth with four runs to retake the lead 7-6. Jeremy Rivas, Rotondo and Torres singled to load the bases. Nathan Church hit a sac fly and a fielding error by the Rough Riders center fielder allowed Rivas and Rotondo to score. Crooks followed with a second sac fly that brought Torres home. R.J. Yeager plated Church on a single.
Jimmy Crooks, you gotta be kidding. He just homered for the second time in as many games and has driven in his fourth run of the series already. pic.twitter.com/Rj6ukUBVcA
Torres went 5-for-5 with an RBI. Crooks, the Player of the Day on Tuesday, was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Rotondo was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Harris was 3-for-4.
In total, the offense scored seven runs on 16 hits.
Springfield is 62-48 on the season, 25-16 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Thursday’s game: at Frisco, Max Rajcic RHP (9-9, 4.61) vs. Kumar Rocker RHP (0-0, 0.00) 7:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs fell to the Timber Rattlers by the score of 7-2 on Wednesday. Brycen Mautz took the mound for Peoria. The left hander pitched six innings, gave up five runs on seven hits, fanned six and walked one. Mautz suffered his 13th loss of the season.
Benjamin Arias relieved Mautz and surrendered two runs in two innings.
Wisconsin got on the board early, leading 1-0 in the first. The Timber Rattlers added three runs in the third and one in the fourth to lead 5-0. Wisconsin extended the lead to 7-0 in the seventh.
Peoria was held scoreless until the eighth inning to avoid a shutout. Michael Curialle singled and scored when Darlin Moquete blasted a two-run home run to left field.
The Low-A Cardinals beat the Hammerheads by a 3-1 score on Wednesday. Sem Robberse started the game on a rehab assignment from Memphis and threw one scoreless inning with a hit and a strikeout.
Regular starter Hunter Kublick replaced Robberse and pitched five one-run innings on five hits and fanned six. Luis Gastelun hurled two scoreless innings. Henry Gomez tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 11th save.
The Beach Birds scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning. Josh Kross drew a walk and crossed home on a double by Jose Cordoba. In the sixth, Kross reached on an error and came home on another double by Cordoba to increase the lead to 2-0.
Jupiter put up their only run in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 2-1. Palm Beach answered with a run in the home seventh for the 3-1 lead. Christian Martin received a free pass and later came home on a single by Ryan Campos.
The Cardinals scored three runs on nine hits. Cordoba was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Campos was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Kross was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Campos was caught stealing and made a throwing error.
Palm Beach is 67-41 on the season, 30-12 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East.
Thursday’s game: RH Jose Davila (4-5, 3.66) vs. TBD 5:30 CT
DSL Cardinals – Off day
The rookie level Dominican Summer League Cardinals are 25-23 on the season and are in fifth place in the DSL Central Division.
Thursday’s game: at DSL Marlins, RH Guanchi Martinez (2-3, 3.48) vs. TBD 10:00 am CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Jimmy Crooks (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-3 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield C Jimmy Crooks, was 3-for-5 including a home run and three RBI. Other standouts include Brandon Komar, Chase Davis, Darlin Saladin, Jason Savacool and Yoerny Junco.
The Triple-A Redbirds lost to the Jumbo Shrimp in a one run decision on Tuesday. Michael McGreevy was on the bump for Memphis. The right-hander pitched six innings, gave up four runs on six hits, fanned seven and walked one. McGreevy suffered his eighth loss of the season.
Riley O’Brien relieved McGreevy and threw a scoreless seventh inning. Chris Roycroft tossed a scoreless eighth.
Memphis took the initial lead in the third inning. Gavin Collins led off with a single. Mike Antico was given a free pass. Iván Herrera singled. Collins scored on a wild pitch.
Memphis increased the lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning. Thomas Saggese doubled and scored on a single by Matt Koperniak.
Jacksonville came back with four runs in the sixth to take the 4-2 lead. The Redbirds cut the lead to 4-3 in the seventh. Antico singled. Saggese drew a walk. Luken Baker plated Antico on a single.
Memphis scored three runs on eight hits and six walks and stranded nine runners. Every player in the starting lineup had one hit except Afonso Rivas. Doubles by Saggese and César Prieto were the only extra base hits. Leadoff man Antico was on base three times including two walks.
José Fermín stole his 17th base of the season. He also made a throwing error.
Memphis is 57-58 on the season, 19-21 in the second half. They are in fifth place in the International League West, eight games back of Columbus.
Wednesday’s game: at Jacksonville, LH Nick Raquet (1-6, 5.68) vs. TBD 6:05 CT
The Double-A Cardinals beat the Rough Riders in a 6-3 road win on Tuesday. Brandon Komar started for Springfield. The right-hander threw six one-run innings, working around nine hits and striking out three.
Benito Garcia relieved Komar and surrendered two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Nathanael Heredia secured the final out of the seventh and received the win. Jack Ralston hurled a scoreless eighth and Matt Svanson tossed a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 20 chances.
Springfield took the 1-0 lead in the first inning. Nathan Church doubled and scored on a single by Jimmy Crooks. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the third. Chris Rotondo led off with a double. Bryan Torres advanced Rotondo to third on a bunt. Rotondo came home on a force out by Church.
In the fourth, Frisco shrunk the gap to 2-1 and took a 3-2 lead in the seventh.
Springfield regained the lead with two-run eighth inning. Crooks thumped a game-tying solo home run. R.J. Yeager singled. Noah Mendlinger drew a walk. Dakota Harris drove in Yeager on a single.
The Cardinals added two insurance runs in the ninth to win 6-3. Torres singled. Church singled. Crooks plated Torres on a single. Church scored on a single by Jacob Buchberger.
The Cardinals offense scored six runs as they pounded out 15 hits. The league leader in batting average, OBP and OPS, Crooks, was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Church was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Torres was 2-for-4. Yeager was 2-for-5. Mendlinger was 2-for-3. Rotondo was 2-for-4.
Harris stole his second base. Church had an outfield assist at second base.
Springfield is 61-48 on the season, 23-16 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North
Wednesday’s game: at Frisco, Tink Hence RHP (4-3, 3.02) vs. Dane Acker RHP (4-4, 3.24) 7:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs defeated the first-place Timber Rattlers on the road by a 6-2 score on Tuesday.
Darlin Saladin started for Peoria. The right hander pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out three and walked two to earn his fifth win since joining Peoria and ninth overall.
Roy Garcia relieved Saladin with the bases loaded and escaped the sixth inning jam. He surrendered one run in 3 1/3 innings to earn his first save.
Peoria went up 2-0 in the top of the first inning. Chase Davis and Leonardo Bernal singled. Tre Richardson drove in Davis on a single. Bernal later scored on a wild pitch.
Wisconsin shrunk the lead to 2-1 in the home first. The Chiefs added three runs to their tally in the second to lead 5-1. Michael Curialle doubled. Miguel Villarroel plated Curialle on a single. Villarroel scored on a double by Davis. Davis came home on a double by Bernal.
Peoria scored their sixth run in the fourth. Curialle took a free pass and later crossed the plate on a double play by Villarroel.
The Timber Rattlers put up their second and final run in the ninth.
The Chiefs scored six runs on eight hits. Davis was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Bernal was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Villarroel stole his 13th base. Alex Iadisernia swiped his 15th bag. Won-Bin Cho was picked off first base.
Bernal made a throwing error.
Peoria is 48-60 on the season, 22-21 in the second half. They are tied with Quad Cities for second place in the Midwest League West.
Wednesday’s game: at Wisconsin, Brycen Mautz LHP (2-12, 5.49) vs. Brian Fitzpatrick LHP (4-2, 2.94) 12:10 CT.
The Low-A Cardinals fell to the Hammerheads by a 3-1 score at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday. Wilking Rodriguez, opening his rehab assignment from Memphis, threw 14 pitches in 2/3 of an inning and gave up one run on no hits. He struck out two and issued no free passes. Rodriguez took the loss.
Regular starter Jason Savacool replaced Rodriguez and surrendered one run in 5 1/3 innings on four hits, a walk and with four strikeouts. Nolan Sparks allowed one unearned run in two innings. Michael Watson tossed a scoreless ninth.
Jupiter took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. They added one in the fifth and the final run in the top of the eighth.
The Beach Birds scored their only run of the game in the home eighth. Ryan Campos reached on an error and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Campos later crossed the plate on a sac fly by Ross Friedrick.
Palm Beach scattered six hits and was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They left 13 men stranded. Ian Petrutz was 2-for-3.
Jose Cordoba stole his 15th base of the season. Petrutz was caught stealing. Cade McGee made a throwing error.
Palm Beach is 66-40 on the season, 29-12 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East.
Wednesday’s game: RH Sem Robberse (AAA rehab – opener) then RH Hunter Kublick (3-2, 4.33) vs. TBD 5:30 CT
The rookie Cardinals were edged by the Angels by one run in a back-and-forth road contest on Tuesday. Andrew Bolivar took the mound for the Cardinals. The right-hander pitched four innings, and gave up three runs, one earned, on two hits. He fanned three and walked five.
Xavier Cruz relieved Bolivar and surrendered two runs in 1 1/3 innings. Cruz took the loss. Jesus Garcia allowed one run in 2/3 of an inning. Jarol Baez tossed the final two scoreless innings.
In the second inning, the Angels took a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals quickly tied the game in the top of the third. Yaxson Lucena drew a walk and advanced to second on a ground out by Cristofer Lebron. Lucena was thrown out at third on a fielder’s choice from Yoerny Junco. Rainiel Rodriguez singled. Junco scored on a single by Facundo Velasquez.
The Angels took back the lead 2-1 in the home third. In the top of the fourth, the Cardinals knotted up the game again. Paulo Asprilla singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rodriguez plated Asprilla on a single.
Once again, the Angels scored a run in the bottom of the fourth to lead 3-2. The Cardinals went up 4-3 in the top of the sixth. Lucena singled. Lebron was plunked. Junco drove in both runners on a triple.
The Angels plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead 6-4. The Cardinals made it 6-5 in the eighth as Asprilla doubled and later scored on a single by Junco.
The Cardinals out hit the Angels with 11 hits for five runs. Junco was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Asprilla was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
The Cardinals defense committed three errors. Lebron made a throwing error, Velasquez had a fielding miscue, and Bolivar made an error on a pickoff.
The Cardinals are 25-23 on the season and are in fifth place in the DSL Central Division.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals continue to tread water while the Milwaukee Brewers increase their divisional lead. Willson Contreras hit two home runs, drove in five and had a .976 OPS during the 3-3 week. Our history feature highlights four former Cardinals who played with at least 10 MLB teams.
The St. Louis Cardinals were routed by the New York Mets in a 6-0 shutout on Monday at Busch Stadium. This one-game series was the makeup of the rained-out contest from May 8.
The Mets were not fooled by Cards starter Andre Pallante. The right hander gave up five runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Pallante struck out two and walked two and took the loss.
New Cardinal Shawn Armstrong relieved Pallante and surrendered one run in 2 1/3 innings. Matthew Liberatore halted the Mets in the final two innings.
St Louis was held scoreless as the offense scattered six hits. A double from Nolan Arenado was the only extra base hit. They were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men stranded.
New York scored a run in the second inning and followed up with a four-run fifth. The final run crossed the plate in the sixth.
Masyn Winn stole his 10th base of the season. Alec Burleson had an outfield assist at second base.
The Cardinals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by one run on Tuesday at Busch Stadium. Sonny Gray was on the bump for St. Louis. The right hander threw seven innings, gave up two runs on four hits, fanned six and walked one to earn his 11th win of the season.
Andrew Kittredge relieved Gray and hurled a scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley surrendered one run in the ninth but still received his 35th save.
Tampa Bay scored two runs in the first inning. The Cardinals answered with a four-run second to go up 4-2. Pedro Pagés thumped a two-out single. Victor Scott II followed up with his first major league home run, a two-run shot to right center field. Masyn Winn was plunked. Tommy Pham blasted a second two-run home run.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals won the second game to take the three-game set. Erick Fedde pitched better in his second Cardinals start. The right hander pitched five one-run innings with four hits allowed, six strikeouts and two walks. Fedder earned the win.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Fedde and surrendered one run in the sixth. JoJo Romero threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Andrew Kittredge hurled 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 36th save.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Masyn Winn doubled and scored on a single by Willson Contreras.
Tampa Bay tied the game in the top of the third. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the home third. Alec Burleson and Contreras singled. Nolan Arenado plated Burleson and Contreras on a double.
The Cardinals added two runs in the fourth to increase their lead to 5-1. Nolan Gorman drew a walk. Winn singled. Burleson drove in Gorman and Winn on a double.
The Rays scored one run in the sixth to shrink the lead to 5-2.
The Cardinals totaled nine hits for five runs. Burleson and Arenado were 2-for-4 with two RBI. Contreras was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Winn was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Due to a leaky bullpen, the Cardinals failed to complete the sweep over the Rays on Thursday with a 6-4 loss at Busch Stadium. Kyle Gibson started and pitched six innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, fanned six and walked one.
Kyle Leahy relieved Gibson and surrendered two runs in 1/3 of an inning. JoJo Romero allowed one run in his 1 1/3 innings and took the loss. Shawn Armstrong yielded one run in 2/3 of an inning. John King secured the final two outs.
Tampa Bay went up 2-0 in the top of the first inning. St. Louis answered with three runs in the home first to lead 3-2. Masyn Winn led off the inning with a walk. Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch. Nolan Arenado singled to score Winn. Brendan Donovan doubled to plate Contreras. Arenado came home on a ground out by Paul Goldschmidt.
The Cardinals added a run in the third to increase the lead to 4-2. Arenado singled. Donovan took a free pass. Goldschmidt drove in Arenado on a single.
The Rays regained the lead with three runs in the seventh. They scored a final insurance run in the ninth.
The Cardinals offense scored four runs on nine hits. Arenado was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Donovan was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Victor Scott II was 2-for-4. Goldschmidt had two RBI.
Goldschmidt stole his seventh base. Arenado swiped his second bag.
The Cardinals won the first of a two-game series over the Royals on Friday in Kansas City. Miles Mikolas took the mound to start and struggled through four innings. The right hander gave up five runs on eight hits and fanned three.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Mikolas and earned the win with three scoreless innings. Andrew Kittredge threw a scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth for his 37th save.
The Cardinals went up 2-0 in the first inning. Masyn Winn drew a walk to begin the game. Willson Contreras knocked him in with a two-run long ball to right field.
St. Louis added a run in the top of the third on a solo home run by Alec Burleson. Kansas City answered with three runs in the home third to tie the game at 3-3. The Royals gained the lead 5-3 in the fourth.
The Cardinals shrunk the lead to 5-4 in the sixth. Paul Goldschmidt walked. Nolan Gorman followed with a double. Goldschmidt scored on a ground out by Tommy Pham.
St. Louis took the lead back in the eighth with a two-run inning. Brendan Donovan led off with a double. Donovan advanced to third on a ground out by Goldschmidt. Pedro Pagés pinch hit for Gorman and drew a walk. Lars Nootbaar pinch ran for Pagés. Tommy Pham grounded into a force out. Nootbaar was out at second. Victor Soctt II plated Donovan and Pham on a double.
The Cardinals increased their lead to 8-5 in the ninth on the second long ball of the game from Contreras, another two-run shot.
Contreras went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Burleson was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Donovan was 3-for-5. Goldschmidt was 2-for-4. Scott drove in two.
The Cardinals fell to the Royals on Saturday to split the road series. Andre Pallante took the mound and pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits, fanned four and walked four.
Ryan Fernandez surrendered three runs in 1/3 of an inning and took the loss. John King yielded one run in 2/3 of an inning. Shawn Armstrong continued the bullpen meltdown with two runs allowed in the final 1 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals began the same as the day before, with a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Nolan Arenado started with a single and Paul Goldschmidt followed with a two-run home run to center field.
The Royals cut the lead to 2-1 in the third. Kansas City tied the game in the sixth, then put up a four-run seventh to lead 6-2.
St. Louis added a third run in the eighth. Brendan Donovan doubled and scored on a single by Willson Contreras.
Kansas City scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth for the final score of 8-3.
The Cardinals produced only three runs on 10 hits. Nolan Gorman was 3-for-4. Goldschmidt had two RBI. Every Cardinal in the lineup had a hit except Brandon Crawford, but the team was only 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
The defense committed two errors. Contreras made a throwing error. Gorman had a fielding miscue. Pallante picked a runner off first base.
Sunday, August 11, 2024 – Off day
The annual rivals series being only two games at each location (won by Kansas City three games to one) created a very unusual Sunday off for the Cardinals.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals had a 3-3 week, winning 2 of 3 from the Rays, splitting two with the Royals, and losing a makeup game to the Mets. They remain in second place in the NL Central, but are 7.5 games back of the Brewers, who are running away with the Division.
The Cardinals have two series with the Brewers remaining in the season, so there is room to move up if the Cardinals can get it going consistently from here on out. This is a tall task based on the team’s performance to date.
The Cardinals are 1.5 games out of the Wild Card, trailing the Diamondbacks, Padres, Braves, and Mets. The Cardinals have one series remaining with the Padres. The Giants are close on the Cardinals’ heels and the final series of the season will be against San Francisco.
The Cardinals’ issues have not changed. From week to week, there are games in which the offense does its job and the pitching doesn’t and vice versa. This past week, the offense was adequate but the pitching was not, especially the bullpen.
The top offensive performers over the last seven days were Pedro Pagés (1.071), and Willson Contreras (.976). Five players had an OPS over .800. They were Nolan Arenado (.895), Masyn Winn (.853), Brendan Donovan (.840), Paul Goldschmidt (.821), and Nolan Gorman (.812).
At the bottom were Lars Nootbaar (.258) and Brandon Crawford (.000). During the game on Saturday, Chip Caray announced that Nootbaar has been out of the starting lineup for a couple of days because he was working on some of his hitting issues.
On the pitching side, three starters had ERAs under 4.00 for the week. They are Erick Fedde (1.80), Sonny Gray (2.57) and Kyle Gibson (3.00). The outliers were Andre Pallante (5.23) and Miles Mikolas (11.25). Mikolas in particular has been struggling for the last several starts.
During this past week, the bullpen was a bigger issue. Ryan Fernandez (27.00) and Kyle Leahy (54.00) had a terrible week. New Cardinal Shawn Armstrong has not impressed (8.31). The standouts in the bullpen are limited to Andrew Kittredge, Matthew Liberatore and Ryan Helsley.
The Cardinals activated Riley O’Brien off the 60-day injured list and immediately optioned him to Memphis in favor of Leahy. Whether this was a smart move is questionable given Leahy’s recent performance. O’Brien is untested at the major league level which likely played into the decision.
Steven Matz will be returning to the roster at some point this month, and with Lance Lynn on the IL the question will be whether Matz will return to the rotation or move to the bullpen. A bullpen assignment was given as an option by manager Oli Marmol, something that has occurred quite a bit over the last several seasons. Matz has missed a substantial amount of time on the injured list since signing with the Cardinals in the 2021-2022 offseason.
Currently, the rotation consists of Gray, Gibson, Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante. Lynn may come off the IL in a week or two. What the rotation will look like when Lynn returns will be interesting.
The Cardinals start the week with a series against the Reds in Cincinnati, and then return to St. Louis to play the Dodgers. The Cardinals have a difficult schedule for the remainder of the season so there is little room for error.
NL Central Standings
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
WCGB
Milwaukee
67
50
0.573
St. Louis
60
58
0.508
7.5
1.5
Chicago
59
60
0.496
9
3
Cincinnati
57
61
0.483
10.5
4.5
Pittsburgh
56
61
0.479
11
5
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
8/11 The Cardinals designated RHP Nick Robertson for assignment.
The Cardinals needed to clear a 40-man roster spot for O’Brien and Robertson was the odd man out. The Cardinals have a week to trade, release or wait for Robertson to clear waivers.
Update on the players the #stlcards received from Boston in the Tyler O'Neill trade. RHR Nick Robertson was DFAed today after posting a 7.48 ERA with Memphis. RHP Victor Santos lost his rotation spot twice and has a 6.11 ERA, also with the Triple-A Redbirds.
Since his assignment to Triple-A for rehab on July 20, O’Brien made nine appearances with a 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a .207 batting average against.
Injury Report
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 will 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) has been activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to the Memphis Redbirds.
LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 28. Matz is currently three starts into his rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds.
CF Michael Siani (strained right oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 4. Siani is expected to miss 3 to 4 weeks with a moderate oblique strain.
RHP Lance Lynn (right knee inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31. Lynn injured the knee on July 23 in Pittsburgh but made his start on July 30 against the Rangers. Lynn threw long toss and played catch off the mound on August 9. A mid-August return is the expectation.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals begin a three-game series with the Reds in Cincinnati on Monday. Sonny Gray will make the Monday start, followed by Erick Fedde on Tuesday and Kyle Gibson on Wednesday.
After their second travel day in five days, on Friday the Cardinals begin a weekend series at Busch Stadium with the Dodgers. After the Dodgers, the first-place Brewers come to St. Louis for three beginning Tuesday, August 20.
The team then travels to Minnesota for a weekend series against the Twins.
The Cardinals return to St. Louis for a four-game series with the San Diego Padres. They leave again for New York for three with the Yankees to end the month of August.
The final series of the road trip is with the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues the series that showcases former Cardinals who played for many teams in their career.
St. Louis recently acquired former Cardinal Tommy Pham in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Pham began his major league career with the Cardinals in 2014 and remained for four seasons before being traded in 2018. Since that time Pham has played for seven other teams prior to his return this July.
These players did not necessarily start with the Cardinals nor play for the Cardinals more than one time. A career arc like that of Tommy Pham is a rare feat.
In the first installment, we listed three players who played for 10 or more teams in their career. This second installment spotlights four additional players who played for 10 or more teams.
The following is a list of those who played for the Cardinals and for multiple franchises in their career. The name of the player, the dates he played for the Cardinals, and the other teams he played for s noted.
Royce Clayton
Royce Clayton – The Cardinals acquired Clayton in a trade with the Giants in December 1995. The intention was for Clayton to back up Ozzie Smith, but manager Tony La Russa decided that Smith and Clayton would compete for the starting job. Even though Smith outplayed Clayton in spring training, La Russa gave Clayton the starting job. This upset the future Hall of Famer Smith and made Clayton unpopular with Cardinals fans.
Smith retired at the end of the season and Clayton remained in St. Louis through the first half of the 1998 season when he was traded to the Texas Rangers.
Clayton played for 11 teams in total, beginning with the Giants. After leaving St. Louis, Clayton played for the Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox.
Clayton retired in 2008.
Dennys Reyes – The Cardinals signed Reyes to a two-year free agent contract in 2009. Reyes pitched out of the Cardinals bullpen in 2009 and 2010.
The Cardinals were the 10th of 11 teams in Reyes’ major league career. Prior to coming to St. Louis, Reyes played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Cardinals, and finally the Boston Red Sox.
Todd Zeile
Todd Zeile – Zeile began his major league career with the Cardinals. St. Louis drafted him in the second round in 1986 as a catcher but was he moved to first base to make room for Tom Pagnozzi. Zeile later moved to third base.
Zeile spent seven seasons in St. Louis. In 1995 he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, his second of 11 teams in total. His subsequent teams were Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos. He played for the Mets twice and ended his career there and is a broadcaster for them currently.
Zeile has the distinction of being the only player in major league history to hit at least one home run for over 10 teams.
Russ Springer – Springer is the only one of these four players who was with the Cardinals twice. The Cardinals signed the reliever as a free agent in 2003 and again in 2007. He remained for two seasons in his second stint.
Springer also was employed twice by the Houston Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The list of 10 teams for whom Springer played are New York Yankees (started his career), California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Astros (twice), Diamondbacks (twice), Atlanta Braves, Cardinals (twice), Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cincinnati Reds.
Springer won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001. He was also on the Astros 2005 World Series roster. The Astros, then in the National League, lost to the Chicago White Sox.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than five dozen of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-2 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day Hancel Rincón pitched seven scoreless innings on four hits in Peoria’s shutout win. Other standouts include Max Rajcic, Chase Davis, Ryan Campos, Chen-Wei Lin and Gavin Collins.
Wasting two home runs, the Triple-A Redbirds suffered a six-run loss to the Stripers (ATL) on Friday at AutoZone Park. Gordon Graceffo started and gave up six runs, five earned, in 3 1/3 innings. The inconsistent right-hander struck out three and walked three on the way to his sixth loss of the season.
Andre Granillo surrendered three runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Riley O’Brien and Nick Robertson combined for two scoreless innings. Connor Thomas tossed the final two scoreless innings.
Gwinnett scored the first run in the top of the second inning. Memphis re-tied the score in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run by Thomas Saggese.
The Stripers took a 2-1 lead in the third, then added five runs in the fourth to blow up the score to 7-1. Two more runs in the fifth made it a 9-1 blowout.
The Redbirds rallied for two runs in the seventh to shrink the lead to 9-3. Alfonso Rivas singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gavin Collins followed with a two-run long ball to left field.
The Double-A Cardinals were blown out by the Missions in a 9-0 shutout loss at Hammons Field on Friday. Max Rajcic started and threw 5 1/3 innings, gave up two runs on three hits, fanned eight and walked two. Rajcic took the loss.
The bullpen let what was a close game get out of hand. Nathanael Heredia relieved Rajcic and surrendered one run without recording an out. He wild pitched in two runs, one inherited from Rajcic and one of his own. Roy Garcia followed with 2 2/3 innings in which he allowed six runs, two earned. Leonardo Taveras tossed a scoreless ninth.
San Antonio took the lead 1-0 in the fourth inning. They added two runs in the in the sixth and six in the seventh to widen the lead to 9-0.
Springfield’s sparse offense scattered four hits, all singles. They were 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
Noah Mendlinger was picked off and caught stealing. Jacob Buchberger made a fielding error.
Springfield is 59-47 on the season, 22 -15 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: vs. San Antonio, LHP Alex Cornwell (5-2, 5.85) vs. Sam Whiting RHP (0-0, 0.00) 6:35 CT.
The High-A Chiefs blanked the Kernels by a 1-0 score at Dozer Park on Friday. Right-hander Hancel Rincón pitched seven scoreless innings with four hits allowed, four strikeouts and one walk to earn his eighth win.
The Low-A Cardinals pounded the Blue Jays on Friday by the score of 9-1. Chen-Wei Lin took the mound for Palm Beach. The right hander pitched five innings, gave up one run on three hits, fanned eight and walked two to earn his eighth win of the season.
Michael Watson relieved Lin and threw two scoreless innings of relief. Randel Clemente tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Beach Birds took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Lizandro Espinoza reached on a wild pitch third strike. Ryan Campos singled and Espinoza advanced to third. J.J. Wetherholt drove in Espinoza on a sac fly. Campos later scored on a single by Sammy Hernandez.
Palm Beach added to their lead with a four-run second inning. Anyelo Encarnacion began with a walk. Espinoza singled. Campos plated Encarnacion on a single. Wetherholt received a free pass to load the bases. Ian Petrutz was hit by a pitch and Espinoza scored. Campos came home on a walk to Josh Kross. Brayden Jobert drove in Wetherholt on a sac fly.
The Cardinals increased their lead to 8-0 in the third. Encarnacion and Espinoza singled. Wetherholt sent Encarnacion home on a single. Espinoza scored on a force out by Petrutz.
Dunedin scored their only run in the fifth. Palm Beach topped off their win with a final run in the ninth. Cade McGee doubled and came home on an Encarnacion single.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 10 hits. Campos was 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Encarnacion was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Espinoza was 2-for-6 with three runs scored. Wetherholt and Petrutz each had two RBI.
Hernandez stole his third base. Espinoza had an outfield assist at third base.
Palm Beach is 66-39 on the season, 26-10 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East
Saturday’s game: at Dunedin, RH Leonel Sequera (0-0, 5.40) vs. Nolan Perry RHP (1-1, 2.74) 5:30 CT
The Dominican Summer League Cardinals beat the Mariners by a 7-3 score on Friday. Right-hander Branneli Franco took the mound for the Cardinals and pitched 4 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, fanned five and walked four.
Justin Hernandez relieved Franco and surrendered one run in one inning. Xavier Cruz tossed the final 3 1/3 scoreless innings on two hits, no walks and five strikeouts to earn the win.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. In the top of the fifth, the Cardinals put up three runs to gain a 3-1 lead. Daniel Rojas drew a walk and Paulo Asprilla singled to left. Cristopher Lebron reached on an error to load the bases. Andru Arthur grounded out and Rojas scored. Yoerny Junco plated Asprilla on a sac fly. Lebron came home on a fielding error.
The Mariners responded with one run in the home fifth and tied the game in the sixth.
With the score 3-3 going into the ninth, the Cardinals took the lead with four runs. Lebron singled. Junco slapped a bunt single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Rainiel Rodriguez was intentionally walked. Facundo Velasquez received a free pass and Lebron scored. Brayan Amoroso followed with a double that drove in Junco and Rodriguez. Velasquez came home on a wild pitch.
The Cardinals scored seven runs on eight hits. Junco was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lebron was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Amoroso had two RBI.
Fernando Roquez stole his first base of the season. Junco and Rodriguez were both caught stealing.
Lebron made a fielding error. Asprilla had a passed ball.
The Cardinals are 23-22 on the season and are in fifth place in the DSL Central Division.
Saturday’s game: vs. DSL Rangers Blue, RH Reiner Lopez (0-0, 5.19) vs. TBD 9:00 am CT.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Ross Friedrick (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 5-0 on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach 1B Ross Friedrick, drove in four, including a go-ahead three-run long ball. Other standouts include Michael McGreevy, Brycen Mautz and Lizandro Espinoza.
In their second consecutive walk off win, the Triple-A Redbirds topped the Stripers, 2-1 at AutoZone Park. In the process, Memphis returned to .500 on the season, but is still one game under in the second half.
Starter Michael McGreevy threw seven one-run innings, allowed 10 hits, walked none and fanned five.
Riley O’Brien hurled a scoreless inning in relief of McGreevy. Nick Robertson earned the win with a scoreless ninth.
This contest was a pitcher’s duel with no scoring until the fifth inning, when Gwinnett broke through with one run.
Memphis was held scoreless until the bottom of the ninth. The frame began with singles by Mike Antico and Jordan Walker. Matt Koperniak grounded into a double play, leaving Antico at third. Luken Baker was intentionally walked. Arquímedes Gamboa pinch ran for Baker. César Prieto singled to score Antico and tie the game. Thomas Saggese drove in Gamboa on a single for the walk off win.
The Double-A Cardinals beat the Missions by three runs at Hammons Field on Wednesday. Spot starter Brandon Komar pitched 5 1/3 one-run innings, allowed six hits, struck out four and walked two to earn his sixth win of the season.
Andrew Marrero relieved Komar and surrendered three runs in one inning. Jack Ralston hurled 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Matt Svanson tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 19th save.
Springfield produced two runs in the second inning to lead. Matt Lloyd and Jacob Buchberger singled. Chandler Redmond plated both runners on a single (not a double as noted below).
San Antonio put up one run in the fourth to shrink the lead to 2-1. The Cardinals responded with three runs in the fifth to widen the tally to 5-1. Redmond reached on catcher’s interference. Ramon Mendoza eliminated Redmond on a force out. Jeremy Rivas got a base knock. Bryan Torres received a free pass. Another catcher’s interference on Nathan Church scored Mendoza. Rivas came home on a force out from R.J. Yeager. Lloyd plated Church on a single.
The Missions cut the lead to 5-4 in the seventh. In the eighth, Springfield scored two insurance runs for the final 7-4 edge. Aaron McKeithan singled. Dakota Harris pinch ran and went to second on a wild pitch. Redmond singled. Harris came on a sac bunt by Mendoza with a fielding error. Redmond scored on a second fielding error.
The Cardinals offense scored seven runs on eight hits. Redmond was 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI. Lloyd was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Church was picked off and caught stealing.
Springfield is 59-45 on the season, 22 -13 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Thursday’s game: vs. San Antonio, Tink Hence RHP (4-2, 3.05) vs. Henry Baez RHP (1-0, 2.30) 7:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs defeated the Kernels by a 4-1 score at Dozer Park on Wednesday. Starter Brycen Mautz pitched six scoreless innings with three hits allowed, seven punchouts and two walks to earn his second win of the season.
Dionys Rodriguez followed Mautz and surrendered the only run to Cedar Rapids in 1 1/3 innings pitched. Osvaldo Berrios tossed the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his seventh save.
Peoria went up 1-0 in the first inning. Chase Davis drew a walk, then advanced to second and third on a balk and a wild pitch. He came home on a single by Johnfrank Salazar.
The Chiefs increased the lead to 2-0 in the second. Michael Curialle reached on an error. Miguel Villarroel singled, sending Curialle to second. Tre Richardson grounded into a force out and Curialle scored.
The game remained 2-0 until the top of the eighth inning when the Kernels plated their only run of the game.
In the home eighth, Peoria added two insurance runs for a 4-1 lead. Won-Bin Cho singled. Chase Adkison received a free pass. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Curialle plated both on a single.
The Chiefs produced four runs on nine hits. Salazar was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Villarroel was 3-for-4. Curialle had two RBI.
Villarroel stole his 10th base since joining the Chiefs and 42nd overall in 2024. Alex Iadisernia swiped his 14th bag. Richardson was picked off first base.
Peoria is 46-57 on the season, 20-18 in the second half, and are in second place in the Midwest League West, 3.5 game back of Wisconsin.
Thursday’s game: vs. Cedar Rapids, Inohan Paniagua RHP (7-7, 3.89) vs. Ricky Castro RHP (0-2, 4.00) 6:35 CT.
The Low-A Cardinals edged the Blue Jays in the first game of a twin bill on Wednesday. It was the reschedule of Tuesday’s postponed contest.
Jason Savacool took the mound for Palm Beach and had one of his poorer outings of the season. The right hander pitched four innings, gave up five runs, four earned, on four hits, struck out two and walked three,
Nelfy Ynfante surrendered one run two innings of relief and received his first Class-A win. Luis Gastelum tossed a scoreless seventh to earn his second save.
The Beach Birds took an early lead with one run in the first inning. Brayden Jobert walked and later scored on a wild pitch.
Dunedin plated two runs in the third to lead 2-1. Palm Beach quickly tied the game in the top of the fourth. Ian Petrutz walked and later stole second base. Ross Friedrick drove in Petrutz on a single.
The Blue Jays regained the lead with three runs in the home fourth. The Cardinals answered with a four-run top of the fifth to recapture the lead at 6-5. J.J. Wetherholt and Petrutz walked. Wetherholt came home on a single by Ryan Campos. Friedrick followed with a three-run long ball to center field.
Dunedin tied the game in the bottom frame of the fifth. The Cardinals put up one run in the seventh on a solo home run by Wetherholt, his first as a professional, to win the game 7-6.
The Beach Birds swept the twin bill in Dunedin on Wednesday with a Game 2 win. Right hander Hunter Kublick took the mound for Palm Beach and threw four innings. He gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits, struck out two and walked three.
Randel Clemente relieved Kublick and hurled a scoreless fifth to earn the win. Henry Gomez tossed the final two scoreless innings for his 10th save.
The Blue Jays took the lead with a first inning run. The Beach Birds answered with a resounding seven runs in the top of the second. Ian Petrutz doubled. Jose Cordoba reached on an error. Josh Kross plated Petrutz and Cordoba on a single. Jose Suarez took a free pass. Anyelo Encarnacion drove in Kross on a double. Suarez scored on a ground out by Jon Jon Gazdar. Sammy Hernandez reached on an error. Lizandro Espinoza clobbered a three-run home run to left field.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-1 on Tuesday. TCN’s Players of the Day are Memphis 1B Luken Baker, who hit two home runs including the walkoff for five RBI and Springfield’s Quinn Mathews, who pitched six scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. Other standouts include Mike Antico, Chandler Redmond, Trey Paige and Cristofer Lebron.
The Triple-A Redbirds edged the Stripers by a 7-6 score at AutoZone Park on Tuesday. Steven Matz, on a rehab assignment, pitched the first 2 2/3 innings, surrendered one run on three hits, and walked two.
Alex Cornwell took over for Matz and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Victor Santos followed with a scoreless sixth. Nick Raquet gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Chris Roycroft allowed one run in 1 1/3 third innings. Ryan Loutos tossed a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
Gwinnett took an initial 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Memphis answered in the bottom of the third with three runs. Mike Antico led off with a solo home run to right field. Matt Koperniak singled. Luken Baker blasted a two-run shot to right field.
The Redbirds added a run in the fourth for a 4-1 lead. José Fermín singled. Gavin Collins singled. Antico singled to plate Fermín.
The Stripers came back with three runs in the seventh to tie the game at 4-4. They increased the lead to 6-4 in the top of the ninth.
Memphis rallied in the home ninth with three runs for a 7-6 victory. Jordan Walker led off with a double to left field. Matt Koperniak took a free pass. Baker once again blasted a long ball, this one a three-run shot to left field.
Baker finished the night 2-for-4 with five RBI. The first baseman leads the International League with 30 long balls. It was the big man’s fourth multi-home run game of the season.
The Memphis offense scored seven runs on 13 hits. Antico was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Fermín was 2-for-4. Nick Dunn was 2-for-3. Walker was 2-for-5.
Memphis is 54-55 on the season, 16-18 in the second half. Memphis sits in seventh place in the International League West.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Gwinnett, RHP Michael McGreevy (5-7, 4.45) vs. TBD 6:45 CT
The Double-A Cardinals thrashed the Missions by an 11-0 score on Tuesday at Hammons Field.
Starter Quinn Mathews was brilliant, tossing six scoreless frames, with only two hits allowed. The left-hander fanned 11 and issued only one free pass on 85 pitches to earn the win. Mathews leads Minor League Baseball with 151 strikeouts this season.
The Cardinals padded the lead with a five run third. Bryan Torres led off the inning with a bloop single to left. Noah Mendlinger followed with a pop up single to center. Nathan Church moved the runners with a sac bunt. Jimmy Crooks slapped a line drive single to center that scored Torres. Matt Lloyd singled to right. Lloyd stole second and Crooks came home on a throwing error. Jacob Buchberger plated Lloyd on a double. Buchberger advanced to third on a balk and scored on a sac fly from Dakota Harris.
The Cardinals made it 9-0 in the seventh on a walk to Lloyd and singles by Buchberger and Redmond. In the eighth, two more runs were added. The inning started with back-to-back-to-back singles from Jeremy Rivas, Torres and Mendlinger. Rivas scored on Mendlinger’s single. Torres came home on a force out by Church.
Springfield put up 11 runs on 12 hits. Redmond was 2-for-3 with four RBI. Mendlinger was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Buchberger was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Torres was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Crooks had two RBI. Lloyd scored three runs.
Lloyd stole his 11th base of the season.
Springfield is 58-45 on the season, 21 -13 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Wednesday’s game: vs. San Antonio, RHP Brandon Komar (5-1, 2.40) vs. Victor Lizarraga RHP (4-5, 3.55) 7:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs defeated the Kernels by the score of 7-5 at Dozer Park on Tuesday. Right hander Darlin Saladin took the mound for Peoria. Saladin gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings of work, with four strikeouts and two walks.
Roy Garcia replaced Saladin and surrendered one run in 2 1/3 innings. Tyler Bradt tossed the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his third win.
Cedar Rapids went up immediately with two runs in the first inning. Peoria took one run back in the second. Won-Bin Cho and Trey Paige singled. A wild pitch advanced both runners. Cho scored on a groundout by Johnfrank Salazar.
The Kernels widened their lead with two runs in the top of the fourth. The Chiefs answered with two runs in the home fourth to cut the lead to 4-3. Leonardo Bernal led off with a base hit. After a ground out by Tre Richardson, Cho singled. Paige drove in Bernal on a single. Salazar plated Cho on a sac fly.
In the top of the eighth, Cedar Rapids posted one run for a 5-3 lead. Peoria responded with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead 7-5. Miguel Villarroel slapped a single. Darlin Moquete bunted for a base hit. Chase Davis doubled and Villarroel came home. Moquete scrambled home on a wild pitch. Bernal singled to drive in Davis. Bernal scored on a double by Paige.
The Chiefs racked up seven runs on 10 hits. Paige was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Bernal was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Cho was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Salazar had two RBI.
Peoria is 45-57 on the season, 19-18 in the second half, and are in second place in the Midwest League West, 4.5 game back of Wisconsin.
Wednesday’s game: vs. Cedar Rapids, Brycen Mautz LHP (1-12, 5.86) vs. Darren Bowen RHP (2-6, 6.17) 6:35 CT.
Palm Beach at Dunedin (postponed)
Tuesday’s series-opening game at Dunedin was postponed due to wet grounds. The hopes are that it can made up on Wednesday, August 7 as one game of a doubleheader.
Wednesday’s games: at Dunedin, RH Jason Savacool (3-3, 3.48) vs. TBD 4:00 CT (game one); at Dunedin, RH Hunter Kublick (3-3, 3.76) vs. TBD (game two)
The Dominican Cardinals blew a six-run lead and were edged by Arizona by a 7-6 score on Tuesday. Andrew Bolivar started for the Cardinals and threw 4 2/3 innings. The right hander gave up two runs on three hits, struck out four and walked four.
Bernard Mack relieved Bolivar and surrendered three runs in an inning of work. Alan Reyes allowed two runs, one earned in the final 2 1/3 innings and took the loss.
The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Yoerny Junco singled and scored on a triple by Facundo Velasquez. Velasquez came home on a sac fly by Rainiel Rodriguez.
The Cardinals added a run in the second to lead 3-0. Yaxson Lucena walked and advanced to second on a balk. Lucena moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly by Cristopher Lebron.
The Cardinals widened the lead to 6-0 in the top of the third. Rodriguez thumped a solo home run. Fernando Roquez took a free pass. Daniel Rojas was plunked. Juan Pablo Cabrera walked. Lebron drove in Roquez and Rojas on a single.
Arizona put up two runs in the home third. They followed with three in the sixth and one in the seventh to tie the game. Arizona scored the eventual winning run in the eighth.
The Cardinals scored six runs on six hits. Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Lebron had three RBI.
Rojas was caught stealing. Lebron made a throwing error. Andru Arthur had an outfield assist at home plate.
The Cardinals are 21-22 on the season and are in fifth place in the DSL Central, 10.5 games behind the Giants Black.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
photo: Michael Siani and Brendan Donovan (Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals had another losing week at 3-4 after adding three major leaguers in trade with three others departing. Post-trade deadline, Michael Siani and Lance Lynn went on the injured list. Our history feature highlights three former Cardinals from 2011 who played with at least eight MLB teams.
Cardinals acquire three players at the deadline
The St. Louis Cardinals waited until the final two days to make any deals, but deal they did. On Monday, July 29, the Cardinals traded for the starting pitcher they wanted, plus a right-handed bat.
Rumors suggested the Cardinals were interested in right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde, but so were other teams. Then, rumors of a three-team deal surfaced, which became a reality. The Cardinals sent utility man Tommy Edman and a rookie league pitcher to the Dodgers. The Dodgers sent three prospects to the Chicago White Sox, and the White Sox sent the Cardinals Fedde and former Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham.
The trade adds a needed starter for the Cardinals, and a right-handed bat that can hit left-handed pitching, a weakness of the current offense.
Fedde, 31, adds to a rotation that has been missing Steven Matz since early May and is also now without Lance Lynn. Matz is currently on a rehab assignment in Memphis after several setbacks delayed his return to the rotation.
Pham, 36, is familiar to Cardinals fans. Drafted by the team, he made his major league debut in 2014. Pham was traded in 2018 and has since played for seven different teams, most recently the White Sox.
The Cardinals made one more trade on the deadline. Outfielder Dylan Carlson was sent to the Tampa Bay Rays for right-handed reliever Shawn Armstrong. A right-handed pitcher for the bullpen was another stated deadline goal by the front office.
Carlson came up through the Cardinals system and made his major league debut in August 2020. Over the last three seasons, injuries have plagued Carlson, and his offense has taken a nosedive. At the time of the trade, Carlson had been relegated to a bench player in the wake of the ascendance of Michael Siani, a much better defender in center field than Carlson. Despite that, if Carlson had been hitting at anything close to an acceptable level, he would likely have played more. As of the deadline, Carlson was hitting below the Mendoza line, and had been for some time.
Carlson was seen as a player who would benefit from a change of scenery, and the Cardinals got the reliver they were seeking. Ironically, Siani is now on the injured list with an oblique strain, and with the trade of last season’s center fielder Edman to the Dodgers, the Cardinals were suddenly caught short at this important defensive position. They had to recall Victor Scott II from the Memphis Redbirds.
Armstrong, 33, has played for 10 seasons in the major leagues with five different teams, most recently the Rays. This season he has posted a 2-2 record and an ERA of 5.40 in 45 innings. The addition of Armstrong, a free agent this fall, comes on the heels of the departure of long-time right-handed reliever Giovanny Gallegos, who cleared waivers and selected free agency on Friday.
The Cardinals fell to the Rangers in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Monday. Andre Pallante took the loss. The right hander pitched five innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, fanned five and walked two.
Ryan Fernandez threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning in relief of Pallante. John King finished the sixth. Chris Roycroft surrendered three runs, two earned, in the seventh. Kyle Leahy tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. St. Louis answered in the bottom of the third to lead 2-1. Paul Goldschmidt led off with a single. Matt Carpenter followed with a two-run blast to right center field.
Texas quickly responded with two runs in the fourth to take back the lead. The Rangers widened their edge with a three-run seventh inning.
In the home seventh, the Cardinals cut the lead to 6-3. Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar and Goldschmidt singled. With the bases juiced, Michael Siani singled to plate Arenado.
The Cardinals offense scored their three runs on seven hits. Goldschmidt was 2-for-4. Carpenter had two RBI.
The Cardinals came back to defeat the Rangers in the second game of the series on Tuesday. Lance Lynn took the mound for St. Louis. The right hander threw five one-run innings with three hits allowed, three strikeouts and one walk to earn his sixth win of the season.
Ryan Fernandez relieved Lynn and pitched a scoreless sixth. Chris Roycroft tossed two scoreless innings. Kyle Leahy hurled a scoreless ninth.
St. Louis opened scoring in the first inning on a solo home run by Masyn Winn. Texas tied the game in the top of the second.
The Cardinals regained the lead in the home second. Matt Carpenter doubled. Brandon Crawford doubled to score Carpenter. In the third, Alec Burleson walked and came home on a double by Lars Nootbaar to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
The Cardinals put up five runs in the fifth to jump ahead 8-1. Michael Siani singled and stole second base. Burleson plated Siani on a single. Willson Contreras thumped a base hit. Paul Goldschmidt took a free pass. New Cardinal Tommy Pham, in his first at bat with the Cardinals, clobbered a grand slam to right center field.
The Cardinals mauled the Rangers in the final game of the series at Busch Stadium on Wednesday. Newly called up Michael McGreevy tossed a gem in his MLB debut. The right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run on seven hits, struck out three and walked one to earn the win.
St. Louis took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Paul Goldschmidt and Tommy Pham singled. Brendan Donovan singled to score Goldschmidt. Pedro Pagés reached on a fielder’s choice and Pham came home. Michael Siani plated Donovan on a sac bunt.
The Cardinals ran up the score to 8-0 in the fifth. Siani singled and Willson Contreras doubled. Alec Burleson drove in both runners on a single. Nolan Arenado singled. Burleson and Arenado came home on a double by Pham. Pham scored on a single by Brendan Donovan.
The Rangers scored their only run in the sixth. The Cardinals made it 10-1 in the seventh. Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt singled. Matt Carpenter pinch ran for Goldschmidt. Pham singled. Arenado scored on a sac fly by Donovan. Siani drove in Carpenter on a single.
St. Louis scored 10 runs on 14 hits. Pham was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Donovan was 2-for-3 with three RBI. Siani was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Arenado was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Goldschmidt was 2-for-4. Burleson drove in two.
In the first of a four-game set at Wrigley Field, the Cardinals lost to the Cubs in a one run walk off on Thursday. Sonny Gray started and threw seven innings, gave up two runs on five hits, fanned nine and walked one.
JoJo Romero tossed a scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth and blew the save with three runs allowed. Helsley also took the loss.
The Cardinals opened scoring in the first on a solo home run by Paul Goldschmidt. The Cubs tied it up in the second.
Chicago went up 2-1 in the sixth, but the Cardinals came back in the seventh to regain the lead, 4-2. Michael Siani singled. Masyn Winn followed with a two run long ball to left field. Goldschmidt doubled and scored on a single by Nolan Arenado.
St. Louis went into the bottom of the ninth with a 4-2 lead. The Cubs smacked Helsley around for three runs to beat the Cardinals in a demoralizing walk off.
St. Louis offense scored four runs on 12 hits. Winn was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Goldschmidt was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Arenado was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Tommy Pham was 2-for-4. Siani was 2-for-4.
The Cardinals were the losers in the second game of the road series with the Cubs by the score of 6-3. New Cardinals starter Erick Fedde did not make a good first impression with this start. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up five runs on six hits and fanned four. Fedde took the loss.
The Cardinals’ new reliever fared better. Shawn Armstrong threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Matthew Liberatore got the final out of the seventh. Kyle Leahy surrendered one unearned run in the eighth.
Chicago scored all five runs against Fedde in the second inning. Fedde was able to limit the damage in his final three innings and keep the Cubs from further damage.
The Cardinals scored one run in the third. Michael Siani and Masyn Winn singled. Willson Contreras drew a walk. Siani came home on a walk to Paul Goldschmidt.
In the top of the eighth, the Cardinals cut Chicago’s lead to 5-3 without the benefit of a hit. Alec Burleson, Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar walked to load the bases. Tommy Pham walked to score Burleson. Another free pass plated Arenado.
The Cubs added a sixth run in the home half eighth to conclude scoring.
The Cardinals scored three runs on four hits. Winn was 2-for-5.
Winn was caught stealing for the fourth time. Kyle Leahy made a throwing error.
What appeared to be an easy third victory for the Cubs made a sudden turn in the final two innings. The Cardinals rallied at the end to beat the Cubs 5-4.
Kyle Gibson took the mound for St. Louis. The right-hander hurled seven innings, gave up four runs on five hits, struck out seven and walked one.
JoJo Romero relieved Gibson in the eighth and received the win with a scoreless eighth. Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth for his 34th save and redemption for his prior appearance.
The Cardinals again opened scoring in the top of the first on a solo home run by Alec Burleson. The Cubs answered with two runs in the home first to take the lead.
Chicago added two more runs in the second. The Cardinals failed to score for six innings, but in the eighth, the team woke up from its snooze and began to play baseball. Burleson drew a walk. Willson Contreras was plunked. Brendan Donovan singled while the Cubs new third baseman made a throwing error that scored Burleson. Nolan Arenado plated Contreras and Donovan on a single and the Cardinals tied the game 4-4.
The Cardinals lost the final game of the series to the rival Cubs by the score of 6-2. Miles Mikolas got the start and was lackluster at best. Mikolas was unable to get an out in the fifth inning. He gave up four runs on eight hits, struck out three and walked two. Mikolas took the loss, as he deserved, his ninth of the season.
The bullpen gave up two more runs. John King surrendered one run in 1 2/3 innings, which was 2/3 of an innings longer than he should have pitched. Ryan Fernandez yielded a run in 1/3 of an innings. Matthew Liberatore and Kyle Leahy combined to keep the Cubs off the board for the final two innings.
The Cardinals’ meager two runs in the third inning came via a home run from one of the few hitters who has actually hit consistently this season, Masyn Winn.
The Cubs went to town on Mikolas, King, and Fernandez for their six runs. It was ugly on national TV Sunday evening.
The offense scored their two runs on only four hits. Winn’s long ball, a Nolan Arenado double, and singles by Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar were the only offense.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals again had a losing week, going 3-4 with three losses to the Cubs over the weekend, and one loss to the Rangers. The Cubs series was especially bad, but the Cardinals have now lost three of their last four series. How the team manages to stay out of last place is a mystery.
The offense was plentiful in the Rangers series but disappeared in Chicago. This is the 2024 Cardinals. The top performers by OPS for the week were a new player and two bench players who had 10 ABs combined for the week. They are Matt Carpenter (1.600 in 5 ABs), Tommy Pham (1.123) and Brandon Crawford (1.000 in 5 ABs). Michael Siani (.839) and Masyn Winn (.804) just missed the cut. Siani is out for several weeks now with an oblique strain. An offense of only Masyn Winn and Tommy Pham is not going to carry the team.
At the bottom for the week were Alec Burleson (.492), Willson Contreras (.443), Nolan Gorman (.111) and Pedro Pagés (.000).
The best starting pitching this week came from Michael McGreevy, who came up for a spot start and was immediately sent back down. Starters who had ERAs under 4.00 for the week were McGreevy (1.29), Lance Lynn (1.89), who is also now injured, and Sonny Gray (2.57).
The remaining starters, including Erick Fedde who the Cardinals just acquired, did not pitch well. Kyle Gibson (5.14), Andre Pallante (5.40), Erick Fedde (9.00) and Miles Mikolas (9.00) all need to improve soon. The team can’t win if both the offense and the pitching is underperforming, which is the case currently.
The schedule for the remainder of the season is one of the most difficult in the major leagues. If the team doesn’t perform better soon it isn’t going to be pretty. This sounds like something that has been repeated over and over again all season because it has.
The Cardinals return home and play one game against the Mets on Monday. This is a make-up of a game that was rained out earlier in the season. The next series is at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. They end the week with two games in Kansas City. The Royals, a team currently 13 games over .500, swept the Cardinals in two games in early July.
NL Central Standings
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
WCGB
Milwaukee
62
49
0.559
St. Louis
57
55
0.509
5.5
3
Pittsburgh
56
55
0.505
6
3.5
Chicago
55
59
0.482
8.5
6
Cincinnati
53
58
0.477
9
6.5
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
7/29 The Cardinals acquired RHP Erick Fedde and OF Tommy Pham in a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals received Fedde and Pham and cash from the White Sox.
7/29 The Cardinals traded CF Tommy Edman and RHP Oliver Gonzalez to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the three-team trade.
7/29 The Cardinals designated C Nick Raposo for assignment to make 40-man roster room for Pham.
7/30 The Cardinals traded CF Dylan Carlson to the Tampa Bay Rays for RHP Shawn Armstrong.
7/31 The Cardinals optioned RHP Chris Roycroft to the Memphis Redbirds.
7/31 The Cardinals selected the contract of RHP Michael McGreevy from the Memphis Redbirds.
7/31 The Cardinals recalled RHP Ryan Loutos from the Memphis Redbirds.
7/31 The Cardinals placed RHP Lance Lynn on the 15-day injured list. Right knee inflammation.
7/31 The Cardinals designated RHP Jacob Bosiokovic for assignment to make 40-man space for McGreevy.
8/1 The Cardinals optioned RHP Ryan Loutos to the Memphis Redbirds.
8/1 The Cardinals optioned RHP Michael McGreevy to the Memphis Redbirds.
8/1 The Cardinals sent LHP Steven Matz on a rehab assignment to the Memphis Redbirds.
8/1 C Nick Raposo was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays off waivers.
8/2 The Cardinals sent RHP Jacob Bosiokovic outright to the Memphis Redbirds.
8/2 The Cardinals released RHP Giovanny Gallegos.
8/4 The Cardinals placed CF Michael Siani on the 10-day injured list. Right oblique strain.
The Cardinals have lost an important player for an unknown period, and with the departures of Edman and Carlson, the club has become very thin in center field.
An above average defender and below average hitter, the 25-year-old had been very hot with the bat recently. In his last 31 games, Siani slashed .354/.391/.415/.806, but it is not sustainable as evidenced by his .492 BABIP.
8/4 The Cardinals recalled CF Victor Scott II from the Memphis Redbirds.
Scott was with St. Louis for the first month of the season but struggled offensively, with a .274 OPS. In his first exposure to Triple-A, the 23-year-old has slashed just .219/.302/.319/.621 in 74 games.
However, most recently with Memphis, Scott was on a seven-game hitting streak during which he batted .303.
Scott did not start in his first game back with St. Louis. Lars Nootbaar moved into center field for Siani.
Injury Report
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 will 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 continues a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds.
LHP Steven Matz (lower back strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on June 28. Matz has begun a rehab stint with Memphis.
CF Michael Siani (strained right oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Siani strained his oblique on his second at bat in Saturday’s game against the Cubs.
Looking Ahead
Following the series at Wrigley Field, the Cardinals return to St. Louis to play a rain makeup game with the Mets on Monday, August 5. Tuesday marks the opening of a three-game home set with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The team leaves on a road trip following the Rays series. The Cardinals go to Kansas City for two to complete the home and home series. After an odd Sunday off, they will travel to Cincinnati to face the Reds for three.
After another travel day on Thursday the 15th, the Cardinals begin a weekend series at Busch Stadium with the Dodgers. Next, the first-place Brewers will come to St. Louis for a three-game series beginning Tuesday, July 20.
The team then travels to Minnesota for a weekend series against the Twins.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past begins a new series that showcases former Cardinals who played for many teams in their career.
The Cardinals recently reacquired Tommy Pham in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Pham began his major league career with the Cardinals in 2014 and remained with St. Louis until he was traded in 2018. Since that time, Pham has played for seven additional teams.
Two other players currently on the roster also began as Cardinals, left to play for multiple other teams, and then returned. Matt Carpenter played for two teams (Yankees, Padres) and Lance Lynn has been with five teams (White Sox, Rangers, Twins, Dodgers, and Yankees).
This series looks at players who at one time played for the Cardinals and also played for at least eight teams in their careers. They did not necessarily start with the Cardinals nor play for them more than one time. A career arc like that of Tommy Pham is a rare feat.
The following is a list of players who played for the Cardinals and for multiple franchises in their career. The name of the player, the dates he played for the Cardinals, and the other teams he played for is noted. We start with players who have played for the most teams and go down in number.
This first installment covers three players who were with more than 10 teams in their career, including for the Cardinals, and who all played for their 2011 team. Two of the three participated in the World Series, but the final one did not.
Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson – Jackson, like Pham, was acquired by the Cardinals in a multi team trade that included the Chicago White Sox. Jackson was originally drafted by the Dodgers and made his major league debut with them.
The Cardinals acquired Jackson in a mid-season trade in 2011. Jackson was on the roster of the Chicago White Sox and was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 27, 2011. That same day the Blue Jays flipped Jackson to the Cardinals along with the second player on this list and several others. The Cardinals sent Colby Rasmus, P.J. Walters, Trever Miller and Brian Tallet to Toronto.
Jackson was only with the Cardinals through the end of the 2011 season. He played for 14 teams in his career. They are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.
Jackson played for the Nationals and the Tigers twice. His last major league season was in Detroit. He also signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks in 2020 but did not play because of the Covid-19 epidemic that cancelled the minor league season.
Octavio Dotel
Octavio Dotel – Dotel was acquired by the Cardinals in the same multi team trade as Edwin Jackson. Like Jackson, the reliever only remained in St. Louis through the 2011 season.
Dotel played for 13 teams in total. Dotel left the Cardinals to play for Detroit, where he spent his final two seasons.
Dotel began his career with the New York Mets. His other homes were the Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers.
Miguel Batista (USA TODAY Sports Images)
Miguel Batista – Batista signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals on January 14, 2011 and made the roster out of spring training.
Batista started the infamous rain delay switcheroo against the Cincinnati Reds. That game was played on April 22, and Manager Tony La Russa, sensing that a rain delay was coming, switched Batista in for scheduled starter Kyle McClellan. The Reds started the game with their scheduled starter and lost that starter after the rain began and a two-hour rain delay ensued. When the game resumed, LaRussa put in Kyle McClellan as originally planned.
Batista did not survive the season as he was released by the Cardinals on June 22, 2011.
Batista played for 11 teams in his career. They are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves.
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about more than five dozen of the best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including in-depth scouting reports, 2023 recap, extensive draft and international histories and more.
Special half-price off deal for paid subscribers. Order your PDF or printed book copy today.
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-2 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, DSL 3B Yoerny Junco, was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Other standouts include Zack Thompson, Brandon Komar, Chase Davis, Luis Gastelum and Cristofer Lebron.
The Triple-A Redbirds suffered a heartbreaking walk off loss to the Bulls on Friday night. Memphis led the game until the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t stop Durham at the end.
Zach Thompson started for the Redbirds and threw four scoreless innings with no hits allowed and four punchouts.
Nick Raquet relieved Thompson for the next two innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Andre Granillo surrendered a run in the following 1 2/3 innings of work. Chris Roycroft blew the save in the ninth and took the loss.
Memphis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Victor Scott led off with a single. Jordan Walker drew a walk but was eliminated on a force out by Matt Koperniak. With Scott on third, Iván Herrera grounded out and Scott scored.
The Redbirds advanced their lead to 2-0 in the second inning. César Prieto led off with a double. José Fermín singled. Nick Dunn plated Prieto on a sac fly.
Memphis added a third run in the third. Jordan Walker and Koperniak walked. Herrera grounded into a force out as Koperniak was out at second. Luken Baker walked. Prieto’s sac fly scored Walker.
The Redbirds increased their lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Scott walked. Walker doubled. Koperniak plated Scott on a single and Walker came home on a throwing error.
Durham began to chip away at the 5-0 lead with one run in the fifth. They added two in the sixth and in the eighth they made it 5-4.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Bulls pushed two runs across to win in a walk off.
Memphis scored five runs on 10 hits. Dunn was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Scott was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Walker doubled, walked twice and scored two runs.
Mike Antico was caught trying to steal. Thomas Saggese made a fielding error.
Memphis is 51-55 on the season, 13-18 in the second half. They are in eighth place in the International League West Division.
Saturday’s game: at Durham, Gordon Graceffo RHP (8-5, 4.27) vs. Ian Seymour LHP (0-1, 2.79) 5:35 CT.
The Double-A Cardinals blanked the Drillers by the score of 3-0 in a Friday night road win. In his second outing since his month-long absence, Tink Hence pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. The right hander allowed one hit, struck out four and walked one. 28 of his 41 pitchers went for strikes.
But Springfield’s mound star Friday was Brandon Komar, who hurled the next 5 1/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Matt Svanson tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Cardinals plated the first of their three runs in the second inning on a solo home run by Chandler Redmond.
Springfield added run number two in the fourth. Matt Lloyd singled. Redmond drew a walk. Jacob Buchberger drove in Lloyd on a single.
The Cardinals’ final run of the game came in the sixth. Ramon Mendoza walked. Jeremy Rivas reached on a fielder’s choice with a throwing error. Mendoza went to third on a single by Bryan Torres and scored on a force out by Nathan Church.
The offense scored three runs on nine hits. Church was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Lloyd was 2-for-4.
Buchberger was caught stealing. Jimmy Crooks picked a runner off first base.
Springfield is 56-44 on the season, 19-12 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: at Tulsa, Max Rajcic RHP (8-8, 4.79) vs. Kendall Williams RHP (4-9, 6.75) 7:00 CT.
The High-A Chiefs were defeated by the River Bandits by a 6-1 score at Dozer Park on Friday. Hancel Rincon was on the bump to start the game for Peoria. Rincon pitched six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, fanned seven and walked one. Rincon took the loss.
Tyler Bradt surrendered the final three runs in three innings of relief.
The Chiefs scored their only run in the third inning. At the time that was good for the lead, but Quad Cities surged ahead starting two innings later.
Peoria’s third began with a single by Johnfrank Salazar. Miguel Villarroel followed with a double. Brody Moore flied into a double play and Salazar was out at home. Villarroel wound up at third base. Chase Davis brought him home on a single.
In the fifth, the River Bandits put up three runs to take the lead. They added one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth for the final score of 6-1.
The Chiefs were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded six runners. Their hits totaled eight with Davis going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Villarroel was 3-for-3.
Davis had an outfield assist at third base.
Peoria is 42-57 on the season, 16-18 in the second half. They have dropped to fifth place in the Midwest League West, six games back of Wisconsin.
Saturday’s game: vs. Quad Cities, Pete Hansen LHP (4-6, 3.83) vs. Frank Mozzicato LHP (5-8, 3.26) 7:05 CT.
The Low-A Cardinals edged the Marauders by a 5-4 score at Roger Dean Stadium on Friday. Leonel Sequera took the mound for Palm Beach and surrendered three runs on six hits in three innings. The right hander fanned four and walked two.
Luis Gastelum hurled 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with just two baserunners allowed. Nolan Sparks yielded one run in the eighth but received his first professional win. Henry Gomez tossed a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.
Bradenton took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Beach Birds quickly tied it in the third. Ryan Campos doubled and later scored on a double by Brayden Jobert.
The Marauders came back to regain the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth. The Cardinals added one run in the home half of the inning to shrink the lead to 3-2. J.J. Wetherholt doubled and later scored on a single by Bryce Madron.
Palm Beach tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth. Christian Martin advanced to second on a throwing error on a strikeout. Jon Jon Gazdar was plunked. Ian Petrutz singled to drive in Martin.
Bradenton put up one run in the top of the eighth to break the tie and lead 4-3. In the bottom of the inning the Cardinals pushed two runs across to take a 5-4 lead. Petrutz singled, and Wetherholt followed with a ground-rule double. Jose Cordoba plated Petrutz on a single. After Josh Kross reached on a fielder’s choice, Wetherholt scored on a force out by Campos.
Despite collecting just five hits, the Dominican Cardinals defeated the Yankees by an 11-9 score on Friday. Branneli Franco started for the Cardinals and pitched three innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out four and walked two.
Bernard Mack hurled two scoreless relief innings to earn the win. Jesus Garcia surrendered six runs in 1 2/3 innings. Guanchi Martinez got the final out of the seventh.
The Yankees put up the first run in the top of the first. The Cardinals tied it in the home half. Yairo Padilla reached on an error. Following successive ground outs that moved Padilla to third, he scored on an error.
The Yankees went up 3-1 in the top of the third. Again, the Cardinals responded to tie the game. Yaxson Lucena took a free pass. Yoerny Junco then slammed a two-run home run to right field.
The Cardinals posted a five run fifth to lead 11-3. Walks to Facundo Velasquez, Rainiel Rodriguez, and Saez loaded the bases. Cabrera walked to score Velasquez. Rodriguez stole home. Fernando Roquez walked. Saez came home on a wild pitch. Cabrera scored on a wild pitch. Lucena drove in Roquez on a single.
The Yankees came back with one run in the sixth and five in the seventh to shrink the final score to 11-9.
The Cardinals plated 11 runs on just five hits. Junco was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Lebron drove in three.
Rodriguez stole his first base of the season.
The Cardinals are 20-19 on the season and are in fifth place in the DLS Central Division, nine games behind the Giants Black.
Saturday’s games: vs. DSL White Sox, TBD vs. TBD (completion of July 19 game, game one) vs. DSL White Sox, TBD vs. TBD (game two).
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Springfield Cardinals – Off
Palm Beach 6, Lakeland 4 (Division Series Game 3)
Now Available – 2024 Cardinals Prospect Guide 
Not yet a member?
Looking Ahead
Now Available – 2024 Cardinals Prospect Guide 
Now Available – 2024 Cardinals Prospect Guide 
Three join Cardinals Hall of Fame
Looking Ahead
