photo: Nolan Gorman (Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis Cardinals news from the week includes a winning first series of 2023. The offense is surging as Nolan Gorman has the beginnings of a breakout season. Our weekly history feature highlights Cardinals Bullpen Coach Jamie Pogue.
Spring Training game recap
Monday, March 27 – Cardinals 8 at Orioles 2
In the final game of the Grapefruit League, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Baltimore Orioles by an 8-2 score in Sarasota. Starter Jordan Montgomery pitched five innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out four and walked one.
Giovanny Gallegos, Andre Pallante, Grant Black, and Trent Baker followed Montgomery. Baker surrendered the Orioles’ second run.
The long ball played a prominent role in the Cardinal offense. Nolan Gorman hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. Jacob Buchberger blasted a three-run shot in the fifth inning. Chandler Redmond did the same in the ninth.
No Cardinal had multiple hits. Seven of the eight runs came via the long ball. The final run scored on a single by Paul Goldschmidt.
Lars Nootbaar was caught stealing.
Regular season recaps
Thursday, March 30 – Cardinals 9, Blue Jays 10
The Cardinals fell to the Blue Jays in a close game with plenty of offense on Opening Day. Miles Mikolas started for St. Louis. The right hander pitched only 3 1/3 innings, gave up five runs on 10 hits and struck out six.
In relief, Zack Thompson threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings and Drew VerHagen followed with 2/3 inning scoreless. Andre Pallante surrendered a run in 1 1/3 innings. Jordan Hicks relinquished two runs in the eighth and was charged with a blown save. Ryan Helsley closed out the ninth, allowing the winning two runs and taking the loss.
The offense was plentiful on both sides. For the Cardinals, Brendan Donovan was the highlight, going 3-for-6 with a two-run home run and three runs scored. Tyler O’Neill also had a two-run long ball. Nolan Arenado was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Willson Contreras was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Tommy Edman was 2-for-5. Rookie Jordan Walker singled and drove in one.
Goldschmidt stole his first base of the season.
Friday, March 31 – Off day
Saturday, April 1 – Cardinals 4, Blue Jays 1
The Cardinals bounced back to win the second game of the series on Saturday. Starter Jack Flaherty had an unusual first start for 2023. The right hander threw a five-inning scoreless, hitless game with seven walks and four strikeouts and earned his first win.
Drew VerHagen relieved Flaherty and pitched a scoreless inning. Andre Pallante followed with a scoreless inning. Jordan Hicks surrendered the Blue Jays’ only run and was relieved after recording only one out by Ryan Helsley. Helsley earned the five-out save.
The Cardinal offense took the lead in the third inning with three runs scored. With Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt on base, Nolan Arenado reached on a throwing error and Donovan scored. Nolan Gorman followed with a single that plated Goldschmidt and Arenado.
The final run for St. Louis came home in the eighth on an RBI single by Jordan Walker. The Blue Jays also scored their only run in the eighth.
Goldschmidt went 2-for-4. Walker was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Gorman drove in two.
Walker stole his first base of the season.
Sunday, April 2 – Cardinals 9, Blue Jays 4
The Cardinals took the series with a win on Sunday over Toronto 9-4. Left hander Jordan Montgomery pitched five innings, gave up three runs on six hits, struck out three and walked one to earn his first win of the season.
Chris Stratton relieved Montgomery and surrendered the fourth Toronto run in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Packy Naughton tossed the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Cardinals offense began with back-to-back solo home runs from Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson. Nolan Gorman hit a two-run shot to give the Cardinals a 4-0 first-inning lead.
Toronto came back to score three runs in the second to make it a one run game. In the third, the Cardinals widened the lead with three runs on an RBI single by Nolan Arenado and a second two-run blast from Gorman.
St. Louis added two more runs in the fourth on a sac fly by Donovan and an RBI double by Burleson. The Blue Jays scored their final run in the sixth.
Burleson was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Donovan drove in two. Gorman was 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-4, as was Willson Contreras. Dylan Carlson was 3-for-4.
Tommy Edman stole his first base of the season.
The Big Picture
St. Louis was 2-1 on the week, winning the opening series of the season against the Blue Jays. The Cardinals are tied with the Brewers and the Reds, all with 2-1 records.
The offense shined in this first series with most of the starting lineup having an OPS over .800. The top performers by OPS are in order: Nolan Gorman (1.726), Dylan Carlson (1.500), Alec Burleson (1.375), Paul Goldschmidt (1.154), Willson Contreras (1.125), Brendan Donovan (1.119), Tyler O’Neill (.856) and Jordan Walker (.802).
At the bottom is Andrew Knizner (.400) and Tommy Edman (.600). The caveat is that the numbers are representative of three games played or less, so they are essentially meaningless at this point. However, the Blue Jays are a very good team, so the cornucopia of offense is a good sign for the time being.
The pitching was not particularly good or bad for three games into the season. None of the three starters had great starts, but that is not something to be concerned about this early. The bullpen has done its job, with the exception of Jordan Hicks, who had two questionable outings. Hicks has had command issues quite frequently over the past few seasons and this series was no exception.
Defense and baserunning were typical for this team and have rarely been an issue over the past couple of seasons.
The Cardinals begin the first full week of the season with a three-game series at Busch against the Braves. At the end of the week the Cardinals play their first intra-division series in Milwaukee. Winning two more series would represent a great start to the 2023 season.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | |
| Milwaukee | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | |
| St. Louis | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | |
| Chicago | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 1 |
Adam Wainwright’s new Opening Day role
Adam Wainwright was originally scheduled to pitch on Opening Day, but that plan had to be changed due to a groin injury that put Wainwright on the 15-day injured list to open the season.
The 41-year-old Wainwright, beginning his final season, ended up contributing to Opening Day in a new and unique way, however. In a move that took many by surprise, including Wainwright’s teammates, the pitcher sang the National Anthem to a sold-out crowd on Thursday.
Bet you haven't heard Busch Stadium much louder than when the crowd found out @UncleCharlie50 was going to be singing The Star-Spangled Banner on #OpeningDay. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DKGaTzz8Gt
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) March 30, 2023
Wainwright has demonstrated vocal talents in the last few years, including a few stints as a broadcaster in the post-season for Fox Sports. Another talent is as a singer and a guitar player. The right-handed pitcher gave a concert in Springfield, IL back in January that featured original songs written by Wainwright. The concert was a charity event for his Big League Impact foundation. He was accompanied by two musicians who set his lyrics to music.
When Wainwright was originally asked to sing the Anthem by Cardinals Manager of Player Communications Melody Yount, he said no. After thinking about it for 10 minutes, he called Yount back and agreed to do it.
The performance was lauded by many, but Wainwright said he messed up the tempo. His rendition was a little slower than it should have been, as Wainwright admitted he was more nervous singing the Anthem than he ever was pitching in a major league game.
Nevertheless, Wainwright said he had fun doing it and the crowd appeared to love it.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade and acquisition rumors.
Transactions
- 3/29 The Cardinals selected the contract of OF Jordan Walker from the Springfield Cardinals.
- 3/29 The Cardinals designated LHP Anthony Misiewicz for assignment.
- 3/30 The Cardinals placed RHP Adam Wainwright on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27. Groin strain.
- 3/30 The Cardinals placed RHP Wilking Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27. Right shoulder injury.
- 3/30 The Cardinals placed SS Paul DeJong on the 10-day injured list retroactive to March 27. Back injury.
- 3/31 The Cardinals traded LHP Anthony Misiewicz to the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash.
Injury Report
- SS Paul DeJong (back pain) was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to March 27. DeJong’s expected return is late April.
- RHP Adam Wainwright (groin strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27. The groin strain happened during a workout on the final day of the World Baseball Classic. Wainwright is not expected to return before early May.
- RHP Wilking Rodriguez (right shoulder strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27. Rodriguez has begun a throwing program and is expected to return in late April.
- C Willson Contreras was hit on the knee on Opening Day by a Jordan Hicks fastball. X-rays were negative. An MRI conducted on Friday came out clean. The catcher was out of the lineup for Saturday’s game but was back in the lineup on Sunday.
- RHP Giovanny Gallegos has been dealing with back pain and was unavailable to pitch in the opening series with the Blue Jays. An MRI taken on Friday came back clean. The team has designated Gallegos as day to day.
- RF Lars Nootbaar (jammed left thumb) was out of the lineup for the Saturday and Sunday games. The outfielder was injured in the eighth inning of the Opening Day game sliding into third base. As of this writing, Nootbaar is listed as day to day.
Looking Ahead
The first series of the regular season is in the books. On Thursday, Opening Day, the Cardinals lost a high-scoring and close game to Toronto to open the three-game set. Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery made the Saturday and Sunday starts, both Cardinals wins.
The homestand continues with a three-game series against the Braves beginning Monday. Jake Woodford and Steven Matz will make the Monday and Tuesday starts. The starter for Wednesday will be Miles Mikolas (0-0, 13.50).
After a Thursday travel day, the Cardinals go to Milwaukee to play the Brewers in a weekend series. Following the Brewers series, the Cardinals take on the Rockies in Denver.
Blast from the Past
This week Blast from the Past continues a series showcasing the major league coaching staff of the Cardinals. Each week we present a brief biography of one member of the coaching staff as well as a summary of the member’s playing career if applicable.
This third installment profiles the Cardinals’ Assistant Major League Coach/Bullpen Coach, Jamie Pogue. His Bullpen Coach assignment is new for 2023 after Bryan Eversgerd was reassigned in the organization. Prior to that, Pogue was the team’s long time Bullpen Catcher.
Jamie David Pogue was born on August 17, 1977, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Pogue played baseball in college for Old Dominion University, then transferred to Southern Arkansas University for his senior year. Pogue’s professional baseball career included three seasons in the Cardinals minor league system, and six seasons playing in independent baseball as a catcher and first baseman.
In three seasons in the minors for the Cardinals from 2000-2002, Pogue slashed .218/.342/.319 with 12 home runs and 83 RBI. He played for New Jersey Cardinals of the New York/Penn League, the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League (A), the Potomac Cannons of the Carolina League (A+), and the New Haven Ravens of the Eastern League (AA).
Pogue’s slash line in six seasons of independent ball was .259/.362/.381 with 28 home runs and 136 RBI. His teams included the London Werewolves, the Long Island Ducks, the Nashua Pride, and the Bridgeport Bluefish.
He retired from playing baseball in 2008.
Pogue was the Bullpen Catcher for the USA National team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In 2012, Pogue became the Bullpen Catcher for the Cardinals.
Pogue and his wife Jeanne have three daughters, Selena, Madyson, and Skylinn.
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