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7:05 p.m. RHP Miles Mikolas (3-2, 4.73) vs. RHP Vince Velasquez (1-1, 2.73) Fox Sports Midwest // ESPN // KMOX
Right now JoMartinez and DeJong have replaced Carpenter and Goldschmidt as the two faces of this team. Along with Ozuna they are the only hitters to get excited about when they step up to the plate. The non trade of Martinez has been helping to keep the Cards close in the division race.
I think most expected more out of Carpenters’s .324 OBP and Goldschmidt’s .331 OBP. Goldschmidt = 3 doubles/135ABs is disappointing. Presently, Goldy isn’t hitting like the guy we traded for and is not frightening anybody. It may be a good time to switch DeJong and Goldy in the order to give him a jump start.
#stlcards today:
Carpenter
Goldschmidt
DeJong
Ozuna
Martínez
Molina
Wong
Bader
Mikolas— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) May 6, 2019
Was Velasquez the guy who shut the Cards down last year? The Cards are gonna need a good start from Miles and some timely hitting to end this slide.
He faced the Cards twice last season with very different results. At Busch, he threw 6 1/3 scoreless. At home, he allowed four runs, including two home runs, also in 6 1/3.
i personally would like to see goldy moved down to third or fourth in the lineup. I don’t think schildt will do that though. it would be like admitting he made a mistake and managers will hit their heads over and over against a wall before they admit a mistake. hopefully we can get back on a roll.
I don’t know that it is a mistake. After all, the Cards are tied for fourth in the NL in runs scored.
It would be to try something else to try to get even more out of the offense. I don’t know a better answer, personally, but the first month-plus tells us they are set with the order they started with.
With Martinez on first via a walk, Molina crushed a ball to left-center for a home run. 2-0 Cards in the fourth.
well bwalton, im not saying its a mistake perse. its just that if goldy was moved to say third or fourth, and suddenly took off hitting wise, there would be plenty of conversation by reporters and fans that it was a mistake to have him bat second from the start, moreso than before. three fastballs and bader looks at all three, ridiculous. anyway it was like that with larussa with the pitcher batting eighth. wasn’t any real benefit, maybe some detriment but larussa stayed with it, didn’t want to admit anything. that’s what im saying.
Also, Eduardo Perez just said that Bengie Molina said that Yadi has “a lot of baseball left to play.” NyQuist triggered?? 😂
Molina’s production this season has been overlooked, IMO.
Granted, it is early, but not that early. In his team's 35th game, #stlcards C Yadier Molina already has 25 RBI, At that pace, he would finish the season with 116 – at age 36/37. His career best is 82. pic.twitter.com/y99CvoTAHK
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 7, 2019
Extra cool when a #stlcards fan wearing a Matt Carpenter jersey catches his home run.
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 7, 2019
“Also, Eduardo Perez just said that Bengie Molina said that Yadi has “a lot of baseball left to play.” NyQuist triggered??”
If Yadi is signed beyond his current contract (for the same per-year $$), the Cards in 2021 will be paying roughly $100M to the quintet of Carpenter, Goldschmidt, Molina, Fowler, and Mikolas, who will average 35 years of age at that point.
But it isn’t the extreme likelihood of much dead moneyy that’s worrisome. It’s the blocking of better players, due mostly if not entirely to contractual commitments. That’s potentially a big problem in two years — perhaps even bigger than it was last year, when the stubborn usage of Fowler, Holland, Cecil, and Gregerson cost the team a playoff spot, and maaaybe even a chance at the division title.
So I suppose I’m the one who was “triggered,” 25. I love Yadi and Carp, but guys in their mid-late 30’s provide a lot more unpleasant surprises than pleasant ones. (And I suspect this era of high velocity will only exacerbate the aging curve for hitters going forward.)
It isn’t going to happen. But I’d love to see Mikolas get a chance to pitch another scoreless inning tonight so he could get his ERA under 4.00.
Mikolas with another nice start. Him getting back to 2018 form and being a consistent stopper would be a huge development for this staff. His ability to go 6-7 innings consistently was a big boon to the bullpen.
I am not suggesting for a second that Molina should receive an extension any time soon – and certainly not at $20 million per year. On the other hand, the “blocking” thing is not real until it is.
Carson Kelly is hitting .211 this season, raising his career mark to .172 with a 31 OPS+ (in 192 plate appearances). In comparison, Francisco Pena’s career average is .216 with a 52 OPS+ in 202 PAs. So to date in his MLB career offensively, Kelly has not even been Pena, let alone Molina.
Cards are back in 1st place.
Miami scores three runs in the 9th to beat the Cubs 6-5. Strop basically blew up. Plus the lefty reliever Ryan made a bonehead play. Grounder back to him and he had the runner stuck between 3rd and home with one out. So he turns and throws to 1st and lets the runner trot home easily. Then Bryant homered in the last of the 9th.
So much for the Cubs taking all four.
Such is baseball.
r/Esteemed Rat
You beat me to it, Rats. I was just going to ask about those “automatic wins” over Miami that had been predicted for the mentally tough Cubs. 😉 As you said, such is baseball. The bookies never go out of business!
For the Cardinals, it shows how important a well-pitched game can be. Mikolas just did to the Phils what Hendricks did to the Cards Friday night. We will see if it carries over to Games 2 and 3.
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