photo: Michael Girsch, Bill DeWitt Jr., John Mozeliak, Paul DeJong, Mike Matheny (Scott Rovak/USA TODAY Sports)
Spring Training game recaps
Monday, March 5 – Cardinals 2, Nationals 1
The St. Louis Cardinals edged the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean on Monday. Luke Weaver pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out four. Reliever Austin Gomber was the winning pitcher after tossing three scoreless innings. Following Gomber were Tyler Lyons, Ryan Sherriff, and Dominic Leone.
Jose Martinez went 2-for-3 and was the only Cardinal with multiple hits. The two Redbirds runs scored in the fifth inning. The first came as Martinez came home on a double steal, with Luke Voit taking second. Adolis Garcia drove in the second run on a double.
Oscar Mercado was caught stealing for the first time in Spring play. Dexter Fowler had an outfield assist, throwing a runner out at home.
Tuesday, March 6 – Cardinals 4 at Marlins 4
The Cardinals played the Marlins to a tie in Tuesday’s home-away game. Fowler got the Cardinals on the board in the first inning by stealing home, just as Martinez had done the day before. Two more runs scored in the first inning on Yadier Molina’s double and Kolten Wong’s single. Andrew Knizner hit a solo home run in the eighth for the final St. Louis run.
Wong was caught stealing home, but successfully stole second base. Also stealing bases successfully were Tommy Pham, Fowler, and Oscar Mercado, the latter who took both second and third bases.
Starter Jack Flaherty pitched four innings, surrendering two runs on two hits. Flaherty fanned seven and walked one. John Brebbia, Sean Guilemet, Arturo Reyes, Derian Gonzalez, and Sam Tuivailala were the relief pitchers.
Wednesday, March 7 – Cardinals 4, Nationals 3
It was Adam Wainwright’s turn on the mound as the Cardinals defeated the Marlins in Jupiter. Wainwright tossed 3 2/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits. The righty struck out four and walked three. John Gant, Connor Greene, and Matt Bowman relieved, with Bowman getting the win.
Greg Garcia hit a solo home run in the second inning to get the Redbirds on the board. Garcia was 2-for-3. Breyvic plated two in the seventh on a single to right field. Francisco Pena drove in the fourth Cardinals run in the eighth on a single.
Kolten Wong stole his sixth base of the Spring, and Tyler O’Neill stole his second base. Paul DeJong made a fielding error.
Thursday, March 8 – Cardinals 5, Marlins 4
It was a one run victory for the Cardinals over the Marlins. The winning run came on a sac fly by Adolis Garcia in the bottom of the eighth. Randy Arozarena was 2-for-4. Also plating runs were Yadier Molina on a third inning double, Steven Baron on a seventh inning single, and Jose Martinez with a two run home run in the seventh.
Arozarena was caught stealing for the first time in the Spring. Catcher Baron had a passed ball and Dexter Fowler made an outfield assist at first base.
Redbirds starter Carlos Martinez pitched four innings, giving up one run on five hits. The right hander struck out four and walked two. The relief corps was Ryan Helsley, Ryan Sherriff, Tyler Lyons, and Dominic Leone. Lyons got the win and Leone the save.
Friday, March 9 – Cardinals 2 at Astros 4
The Cardinals couldn’t get traction against the World Champion Astros at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Friday. Miles Mikolas had his best start of the Spring, however, pitching four scoreless innings. Mike Mayers, John Brebbia, Sam Tuivailala, and Bud Norris followed. Brebbia gave up all four Astros runs in 2/3 innings pitched. It was a tough day for Brebbia, he was charged with a blown save and the loss.
The offense managed only four hits against Houston pitching. One was a solo home run by Paul DeJong in the second inning, off Justin Verlander. Carson Kelly plated the second Redbirds run on a sac fly in the seventh.
Saturday, March 10 – Cardinals 3, Marlins 7
The Cardinals were outplayed by the Marlins in Jupiter on Saturday. The Redbirds offense was again limited to four hits. St. Louis didn’t get a run home until the sixth inning, behind Dexter Fowler’s RBI triple, and Jedd Gyorko plated a run on a ground out. Adolis Garcia’s single in the seventh drove in the third and final St. Louis run.
Andrew Knizner committed a throwing error.
Starter Michael Wacha surrendered four runs on six hits in four innings pitched. It was the first Spring hiccup for Wacha, who was followed by Brett Cecil, Jason Motte, Dakota Hudson, and Matt Bowman.
Sunday, March 11 – Cardinals 4 at Nationals 3
The Cardinals found victory at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches over the Nationals on Sunday. Luke Weaver was brilliant, leaving the game after four innings pitched with a no-hitter. Weaver fanned four and walked no one. Austin Gomber gave up the first two Nats runs, pitching two innings, striking out none and walking none. Sean Gilmartin gave up the tying run on a solo home run in the seventh. Josh Lucas relieved with one out in the seventh and finished the inning with no further damage. Lucas returned to pitch a scoreless eighth and was the winning pitcher. Dominic Leone tossed a scoreless ninth for the save, his third.
Jose Martinez blasted a two-run home in the first inning to put the Cardinals on the board. Yadier Molina’s single plated a run in the fourth. Paul DeJong hit a solo home run to left in the eighth for the winning run. Martinez was 2-for-4, and DeJong was 2-for-3.
Patrick Wisdom was picked off and caught stealing third base. Alex Mejia made a fielding error.
The big picture
Spring Training games for the third week are complete, with the team holding a 7-8-2 record. St. Louis’ offense has slowed, with the unit’s .241 batting average and .703 OPS ranking 28th of 30 MLB teams this spring. The pitching is in the middle of the pack, with the team ERA of 4.95 ranking 17th, representing an improvement of a run in the last week.
Among semi-regular batters, the youthful trio of Adolis Garcia (.379), Yairo Munoz (.345) and Randy Arozarena (.333) are leading the way. Jose Martinez’ six RBI are tops on the club.
Mike Mayers has allowed just two baserunners in seven scoreless innings while striking out nine. Luke Weaver has been changed with just one earned run in nine spring innings, on four hits and a walk. He also has nine K’s.
DeJong signs contract extension
The Cardinals announced on Monday that they had agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Paul DeJong. The deal with the shortstop, who finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2017, is for six years and $26 million, with club options for 2024 and 2025. The options could bring the total value to $51.5 million.
The extension buys out all three of DeJong’s arbitration years in addition to his three pre-arbitration years. The contract is the largest given to a player with less than a year of major league service time.
The 24-year old was St. Loius’ fourth round draft pick out of Illinois State University in 2015. He moved quickly through the minor leagues, and made his major league debut on May 28 of last season. The shortstop hit 25 home runs for the Cardinals in 2017 and had a slash line of .285/.325/.532 over 108 games.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
3/10 Non-roster 1B Rangel Ravelo was reassigned to minor league camp.
3/11 The Cardinals optioned RHPs Conner Greene and Derian Gonzalez to the Springfield Cardinals.
3/11 The Cardinals optioned LHP Austin Gomber, SS Edmundo Sosa, and OF Tyler O’Neill to the Memphis Redbirds.
3/11 Non-roster pitchers Dakota Hudson, Ryan Helsley, Arturo Reyes and infielder Tommy Edman were reassigned to minor league camp.
Injury Report
IF Matt Carpenter (stiff back) is expected to get in his first Spring Training game on Tuesday. The infielder will serve as the designated hitter in that contest. Carpenter has been doing some baseball activities and took three at-bats in an intra-squad game on Sunday.
RHP Alex Reyes (Tommy John surgery) continues to throw in his rehab from elbow surgery, including two simulated innings Sunday. The Cardinals have set a return date of May 1.
OF Tyler O’Neill returned to Grapefruit League play over the weekend after suffering a mild oblique strain. In his first game back in the starting lineup, he injured his right hamstring running to first base. The outfielder is expected to miss the remainder of Spring Training and has been sent to minor league camp to rehab.
RHP Luke Gregerson suffered a “mild” oblique injury early in the week. The right hander felt some tightness in his side prior to a scheduled appearance on Tuesday. Gregerson has not made another appearance in Grapefruit League play and is considered day to day.
Looking Ahead
Monday, March 12 is an off day for the Cardinals. Week four of Grapefruit League plays starts on Tuesday against the Marlins in Jupiter. The Cardinals will be the visiting team, and Carlos Martinez is scheduled to make that start. On Wednesday, the Cardinals take on the Astros at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Adam Wainwright will make that start. The Redbirds return to Jupiter on Thursday to face the Orioles. The scheduled starter is Jack Flaherty. The weekend games will be another game against the Marlins on Friday with the Cardinals the home team. On Saturday, the Cardinals play the Braves in Lake Buena Vista. Sunday’s contest will be at home against the Nationals.
Grapefruit League play will continue throughout most of March. Spring Training information, including the schedule, can be found here.
The regular season begins on Thursday, March 29. The Cardinals play the Mets in New York in a four game series to start the season. A three game set in Milwaukee follows. The Cardinals home opener is on Thursday, April 6, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past goes all the way back to 1902. The Cardinals team that year was the 21st of the franchise, and the 11th in the National League.
The Cardinals went 56-78 during the season and finished sixth of eight teams in the National League. The manager was Patsy Donovan, and the owners were Frank and Stanley Robinson.
There is no Opening Day lineup available for the 1902 team, which played the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 17 and lost 1-0. The longest losing streak was eight games, from Sept 11-21. The longest winning streak was six games, from July 3-6. The highest winning margin was an 11-1 defeat of the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 7. The worst losses were two 12-run losses, the first and 18-6 loss to Pittsburgh on May 1, and a 12-0 loss to the Cubs on Sept 13. Splits were 28-38 at home, and 28-40 on the road.
The top starting pitcher was lefty Mike O’Neill, who had a record of 16-15 and an ERA of 2.90. The top hitters, were player/manager Patsy Donovan, who hit .315/.363/.355, with no home runs and 35 RBI, and outfielder Homer Smoot, who hit .311/.350/.380, with three home runs and 48 RBI.
The loss of shortstop Bobby Wallace and left fielder Jesse Burkett to the St. Louis Browns after the 1901 season, led to the poor season in 1902. The Browns had moved to St. Louis in 1902 from Milwaukee. The Cardinals had finished the 1901 season with 76 wins and 64 losses.
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