photo: Miles Mikolas (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals went 1-4 against the Royals and the Pirates as Miles Mikolas pitched eight scoreless and went five innings with two runs in his next start. They are now 10 games under .500. Our history feature highlights bench coach Joe McEwing.
Game Recaps
Monday, May 29, 2023 – Cardinals 0, Royals 7
The St. Louis Cardinals were blanked by the Royals in the first game of a two-game series at Busch Stadium. Starter Adam Wainwright pitched five innings, gave up three runs on nine hits, struck out six and walked two. Wainwright took the loss.
Steven Matz relieved Wainwright and surrendered one run in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Drew VerHagen relinquished three runs in 2/3 innings. Chris Stratton tossed the final 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Royals scored one run in the third inning, followed by two in the fifth, one in the eighth, and three more in the ninth. Three of the runs came from two home runs off VerHagen in the ninth.
The Cardinals offense was once again stymied by a bullpen game from an opponent. This one featured six innings of an almost perfect game from former Cardinal, Mike Mayers. The Cardinal offense finally squeezed out two hits off Mayers in his final inning. That was the extent of the St. Louis offense in the game. The hits were singles from Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras.
The offense was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. They only left two men on because only two men got on.
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – Cardinals 2, Royals 1
In the final game of the series with the Royals, the Cardinals pulled off a 2-1 win to split the series. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched eight scoreless innings, allowed three hits, struck out 10 and walked one to earn his fourth win of the season.
Giovanny Gallegos relieved Mikolas and surrendered one run in the ninth. He earned his seventh save.
The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when Paul Goldschmidt singled and scored on a double by Nolan Arenado to take a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals added a second run in the eighth. Tommy Edman walked and stole second base. Brendan Donovan singled and Edman scored on a sac fly by Nolan Gorman.
The Royals scored one in the bottom of the ninth to take away the shutout.
Donovan was 2-for-4 and was the only Cardinal with multiple hits.
On the base paths, Edman stole his eighth base of the season. In the field, Donovan had an outfield assist at home plate.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 – Off day
Thursday, June 1, 2023 – Off day
Friday, June 2, 2023 – Cardinals 5 at Pirates 7
The Cardinals fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a three-game series in Pittsburgh. Starter Jack Flaherty pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up one run on six hits, struck out six and walked one.
Andre Pallante relieved Flaherty and surrendered two runs in one inning of relief. Giovanny Gallegos relinquished four runs in 2/3 innings and took the loss. Genesis Cabrera tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Cardinals took a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Tommy Edman doubled and Brendan Donovan hit a two-run home run to right field. Paul Goldschmidt doubled and scored on a Nolan Gorman single. Nolan Arenado followed with a two-run home run.
The Pirates made it 5-1 in the sixth. In the seventh, Pittsburgh scored six runs to go up 7-5. The Cardinals did not recover.
Arenado was 3-for-5 with two RBI. Gorman was 2-for-5 with an RBI and Goldschmidt was 3-for-4. Paul DeJong was 2-for-4 and Donovan had two RBI.
On the base paths, Arenado was picked off and caught stealing.
Saturday, June 3, 2023 – Cardinals 3 at Pirates 4
The Cardinals lost a one-run game to the Pirates in the second game of the series on Saturday. Starter Jordan Montgomery pitched 5 2/3 innings with a one-hour rain delay in the middle. The left-hander gave up four runs, one earned, on four hits, struck out five and walked one. Montgomery suffered his seventh loss of the season.
Jordan Hicks relieved Montgomery and got the final out of the sixth. Steven Matz threw a scoreless seventh. Chris Stratton tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Cardinals scored first with one run in the second inning on a solo home run by Willson Contreras. The Pirates tied the game in the fifth, then scored three runs in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead.
St. Louis rallied for two runs in the eighth on a two-run home run by Nolan Gorman. The Cardinals were unable to add on in the ninth.
Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-4. Gorman had two RBI.
In the field, Nolan Arenado made a fielding error. Matz had an error on a pickoff.
Sunday, June 4, 2023 – Cardinals 1 at Pirates 2
The Cardinals suffered another one-run loss and a sweep of the series at the hands of the Pirates on Sunday. Starter Miles Mikolas pitched five innings, gave up two runs on 10 hits and struck out two. Mikolas took the loss, his second.
Genesis Cabrera relieved Mikolas and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Jordan Hicks tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Pirates scored two runs in the first inning. That lead held until the seventh when the Cardinals were able to score one run on a solo home run by Andrew Knizner.
The Cardinal offense was rendered helpless by the pitching of 42-year-old Rich Hill. They scattered five hits, one being the home run and the other four from Tommy Edman, and newly recalled Luken Baker, who each had two hits. The bats of the rest of the lineup were silent. They had three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
The offense was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.
The Big Picture
The back sliding continued for a second week, as the Cardinals won only one game out of the five they played during the week. It was a short week due to a two-day break following the Royals series. The team won one of the two games against the Royals and were swept by the Pirates in three games over the weekend. Thus, the team was 1-4 for the week.
The month of June is starting to look eerily similar to April. Lack of offense and/or poor pitching performances have returned.
Scoring only 11 runs over five games while giving up 21 runs to opponents over that same number of games is not a recipe for success. The offense has been meager to say the least.
This lack of offense is glaringly obvious when looking at the top performers during the week. The top two players by OPS played in only one game out of the five. One of the two is a newly added player who made his debut on Sunday. Those two players are Andrew Knizner (1.250) and Luken Baker (1.000). The only other player with an OPS over .800 was Nolan Arenado (.929). At the bottom is Juan Yepez (.143), Alec Burleson (.276) and Jordan Walker (.398).
On the days when there is some offense, the pitching struggles. In the game where the Cardinals scored the most runs, the 7-5 loss to the Pirates on Saturday, the starter, Jack Flaherty was fine, but the bullpen was not. Both Andre Pallante and Giovanny Gallegos gave up six runs between them.
The starters for the most part have improved, except for Adam Wainwright, who has remained much the same. Miles Mikolas had two starts, one was very good, the other was not so good. Jordan Montgomery finally had a promising start, only to be interrupted by a rain delay. Steven Matz is now out of the rotation and in the bullpen.
As for the bullpen, there has been little consistency. There are a few pitchers in the bullpen who engender any confidence lately, especially in close games. The Cardinals have played a lot of close games recently. Jordan Hicks and Genesis Cabrera, who were not pitching well to begin the season, have improved (for now). Others like Pallante and Gallegos, and sometimes Helsley, have not been as good as expected. Drew VerHagen has been the most inconsistent.
In the final analysis, neither the pitching nor the offense are getting it done.
As for the defense, the outfield is a mess. That’s the least offensive word I have for it. All three of the starting outfielders from the beginning of the season are on the injured list. Tyler O’Neill has been on the IL for a month with no end in sight. Dylan Carlson has had some issues recovering from a sprained ankle. Lars Nootbaar has a contusion on his back from a crash into the wall but is expected to be back in short order (or so we hope).
At this time the team has a merry-go-round of outfielders, some of whom appear to have problems actually fielding balls in the outfield. This makes preventing runs difficult.
The Cardinals start the week playing the Texas Rangers, who are the first-place team in the AL West. That series is going to be very difficult. This series ends the road trip. The team returns to play a series with the Reds. The Reds are playing well, as the Cardinals most recently discovered. There is unfortunately ample reason to be concerned the team could fall farther back in the Division.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| Milwaukee | 32 | 27 | 0.542 | |
| Pittsburgh | 31 | 27 | 0.534 | 0.5 |
| Chicago | 26 | 32 | 0.448 | 5.5 |
| Cincinnati | 26 | 33 | 0.441 | 6 |
| St. Louis | 25 | 35 | 0.417 | 7.5 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors.
There are no trade and acquisition rumors.
Transactions
- 6/2 The Cardinals placed OF Lars Nootbaar on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 30. Lower back contusion
- 6/2 The Cardinals recalled OF Jordan Walker from the Memphis Redbirds
- 6/4 The Cardinals selected the contract of 1B Luken Baker from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 6/4 The Cardinals designated C Tres Barrera for assignment.
Injury Report
- RHP Wilking Rodriguez (right shoulder strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Rodriguez is out for the season with shoulder surgery.
- LHP Packy Naughton (left forearm strain) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list on May 17. Naughton has begun a throwing program and will go on a rehab assignment when he is deemed ready. The hope is for a mid-June return.
- LF Tyler O’Neill (low back strain). The outfielder has been out since May 5 with low back pain. O’Neill’s planned rehab has been cancelled at least once and the outfielder was sent for new testing on his back. The result was “no new findings.” O’Neill will refrain from all baseball activities for 10 days, after which he will begin some light activity. There is no timetable for O’Neill’s return.
- RHP Jake Woodford (right shoulder inflammation). Woodford experienced pain while pitching in relief on May 4. He threw a bullpen on May 26. The right-hander was sent on a rehab assignment to Memphis on May 30.
- CF Dylan Carlson was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 15 with a left ankle strain. Carlson has taken swings from both sides of the plate and has begun a running program. The outfielder will go on a rehab assignment soon.
- OF Lars Nootbaar (low back contusion) was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 2, retroactive to May 30. Nootbaar hurt his back crashing into the outfield wall at Busch Stadium. He was originally diagnosed with back spasms and was expected to return by the Pirates series. That return did not materialize, and Nootbaar was put on the injured list and replaced by Jordan Walker.
Looking Ahead
The road trip continues with a three-game series with the Rangers beginning Monday. Adam Wainwright is set to make the Monday start. Matthew Liberatore and Jack Flaherty will finish out the series.
After an off day on Thursday, the Cardinals begin a six-game homestand with the Reds and the Giants.
Another road trip begins on June 16 with three games each against the Mets and the Nationals.
The Cardinals have two travel days after the road trip ends to fly to London to play a two-game series with the Cubs. The team flies back on Monday, June 26.
The final series in the month of June is a three-game set with the Astros at Busch Stadium.
Blast from the Past
This week’s 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 12th installment profiles Bench Coach Joe McEwing. The duties of the Bench Coach are to act as the right-hand man to the manager. The Bench Coach assists the manager in decision-making and takes over the manager duties when the manager is unavailable, as when the manager is ejected.
Joseph Earl McEwing was born on October 19, 1972, in Bristol, Pennsylvania. McEwing attended Bishop Egan High School in Fairless Hills, PA, where he played baseball and basketball. McEwing played college baseball at the County College of Morris, in Randolph Township, New Jersey. McEwing set a school record for a single-season batting average of .465 in 1991.
McEwing was drafted by the Cardinals in the 28th round of the 1992 draft. After seven seasons in the minor leagues, McEwing debuted with the Cardinals on September 2, 1998. He played in only 10 games in 1998. In his first full season in St. Louis in 1999, McEwing slashed .275/333/.398 with 9 HRs and 44 RBI. McEwing finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting that season.
The Cardinals traded McEwing to the Mets on March 18, 2000. McEwing played for five seasons with the Mets and was released in March of 2005.
McEwing was signed by the Royals and played there for one season. He played one season with the Astros and was granted free agency. He signed a minor league contract with Red Sox and after one season in their minor league system, McEwing retired from baseball.
McEwing began his coaching career with the Chicago White Sox, where he began as the hitting coach for their Triple-A team. He was hired as the manager of the Class A team and finished his minor league managing career with their Triple-A team after four seasons in the White Sox minor league system.
From there McEwing returned to the major leagues as the White Sox third base coach beginning with the 2012 season. He became the bench coach for the White Sox in 2017. McEwing again became the third base coach in 2021 when Tony LaRussa took over the manager duties.
The Cardinals hired McEwing as the bench coach for the 2023 season after Matt Holliday resigned from the position before the season began.
McEwing has been married twice, first to Julia Licciardello, with whom he has three children, Joseph, Grace, and Ashlyn. They divorced in 2013. He married Courtnie Wilford on October 19, 2018.
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