photo: John Gant (Michael McLoone/Imagn)
It was an up and down 2-4 week on the road for the St. Louis Cardinals as they took their series at division rival Milwaukee but were swept in San Diego. The pitching staff leads all of baseball in total walks and walk percentage. John Gant leads the way with 27. Our Blast From the Past history segment outlines the candidacy of early team owner Chris von der Ahe.
Game Recaps
Monday, May 10 – Off day
Tuesday, May 11 – Cardinals 6 at Brewers 1 (11 innings)
The St. Louis Cardinals traveled to Milwaukee for a three-game series against the NL rival Brewers. The Cardinals took the opener into extra innings and then let loose for five runs in the 11th inning.
Kwang-Hyun Kim got the start and tossed 5 1/3 innings. The left hander yielded one run on five hits, fanned six and walked one. Ryan Helsley, Kodi Whitley, Giovanny Gallegos, and Alex Reyes combined for 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Reyes earned the win, his second of the season.
The Brewers got on the board first with one run in the bottom of the sixth. The Redbirds knotted it up at 1-1 in the top of the eighth. Harrison Bader led off with a single and Matt Carpenter followed with a walk. Lane Thomas pinch ran for Carpenter. Thomas and Bader advanced to second and third on a fly out by Tommy Edman. Bader then scored on a sac fly by Dylan Carlson.
The score remained 1-1 as the game went into extra innings. In the top of the 11th, with Tommy Edman on second base, Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run to center field. Nolan Arenado followed with a double to center. Andrew Knizner was hit by a pitch, and with two runners on, Tyler O’Neill blasted a three-run shot to center to make it 6-1. The Brewers failed to score in the bottom half of the inning.
Edman stole his fifth base of the season and leads the Cardinals in bases stolen.
Wednesday, May 12 – Cardinals 1 at Brewers 4
The Cardinals were defeated by the Brewers in the second game of the series on Wednesday as the offense could not make headway with Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff. Redbirds hitters managed only one run on four hits.
Woodruff kept the St. Louis hitters off balance for seven innings. Tyler O’Neill finally broke through against him in the eighth inning with a solo home run to right field that tied the game at 1-1.
The Brew Crew answered with three runs in the home eighth against the Redbirds bullpen. Starter John Gant pitched five innings with only one unearned run allowed. Genesis Cabrera tossed two scoreless innings. In the eighth, Ryan Helsley surrendered the three Brewers runs. Tyler Webb came in to get the final out of the inning. Helsley took the loss, his first of the season.
Harrison Bader was caught stealing for the first time this season. The center fielder also made a fielding error. Bader slipped in the grass at the edge of the warning track on a fly ball. He caught the ball for the out but dropped the ball on the throwing attempt, which allowed a run to score.
Thursday, May 13 – Cardinals 2 at Brewers 0
The Cardinals bounced back from the loss the previous day to take the series with a 2-0 shutout of the Brew Crew on Thursday. The Redbirds got a six-inning pitching gem from starter Jack Flaherty. The right hander allowed no runs on four hits, fanned six and walked two. Giovanny Gallegos, Genesis Cabrera, and Alex Reyes combined for the final three scoreless innings. Flaherty earned his major league leading seventh win.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and Flaherty made sure it stuck. Tommy Edman led off with a single, stole second base, and scored on a single by Nolan Arenado. An insurance run was added in the ninth inning when pinch hitter Lane Thomas walked, advanced on a ground out, stole third base, then scored on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt.
In addition to Thomas’ stolen base, Edman swiped two to lead the Cardinals with seven stolen bases, and Paul Goldschmidt stole his second base of 2021.
Friday, May 14 – Cardinals 4 at Padres 5
The Cardinals headed for San Diego to engage in a rematch of the 2020 postseason series with the Friars. The first game was a loss that only became close at the tail end.
Johan Oviedo, who was recalled to replace the injured Carlos Martinez, got the start. The right hander lacked command from the beginning, and only lasted two innings during which he gave up three runs on two hits and five walks. Jake Woodford tossed two scoreless innings in relief. Tyler Webb yielded one run in 1 1/3 innings pitched and Seth Elledge surrendered the final run to the Padres in 1 2/3 innings pitched. Kodi Whitley pitched a scoreless eighth.
The Redbirds scored their first run in the fifth inning. Tommy Edman led off with a single, Paul Goldschmidt walked and Nolan Arenado singled to load the bases. Edman scored on a sac fly by Yadier Molina.
The Cardinals rallied for three more runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Tyler O’Neill blasted a two-run home run in the eighth, and Arenado thumped a solo shot in the ninth.
Saturday, May 15 – Cardinals 3 at Padres 13
In the second game of the series, Cardinals pitching was clobbered by the Padres offense. To paraphrase the words of starter Adam Wainwright, his performance was not suitable for children. The veteran right hander pitched four innings, and was rocked for six runs on eight hits. He struck out two, walked three and yielded three long balls.
Wainwright’s first reliever, newly recalled Junior Fernandez, was no better. The right hander surrendered three runs in one inning. Tyler Webb allowed one more run and Jake Woodford gave up three. The only pitcher for the Cardinals who wasn’t scored upon was 35 year old infielder Matt Carpenter, who tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. When the carnage ended, the casualties were 13 runs for San Diego.
The Cardinals managed three runs with the help of occasional solo home runs. Yadier Molina, Nolan Arenado, and Harrison Bader sent one over the wall in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings, respectively. Bader had two of the six hits, one single in addition to the long ball. Other singles were scattered by Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill.
Dylan Carlson threw out a runner at third base for an outfield assist to save a 14th run.
Sunday, May 16 – Cardinals 3 at Padres 5
The Cardinals entered the third and final game of the series hoping to avoid a sweep but the hope was futile. It was the first series sweep the Redbirds have suffered so far this season.
The game started on a promising note, as the Cardinals scored two runs right out of the gate on a two run home run by Nolan Arenado, his third home run in as many games. An opportunity to tack on further runs in that first inning came with a runner on first and second with Harrison Bader at the plate, and he hit a line drive that would ordinarily fall for a hit, but Padres centerfield Trent Grisham made a diving play to barely catch it. This play would loom large.
The 2-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the fourth. A throwing error on a ground ball hit to Arenado put Manny Machado on base. Things just snowballed from there. After starter Kwang Hyun Kim got an out on a force play, Harrison Bader just missed catching a line drive that fell for a single. Kim walked the next two batters and two runs came home. Kim was replaced by Genesis Cabrera. The next batter hit a sac fly to score a third run for San Diego. Cabrera surrendered a single for run number four, then retired the last batter to end the inning.
The Cardinals scored once in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3. Paul Goldschmidt doubled and Arenado singled. Yadier Molina hit into a double play, but Goldschmidt scored. Back to back walks to Tyler O’Neill and Bader gave the Redbirds another scoring opportunity, but pinch hitter Matt Carpenter hit a weak ground ball on a check swing to the second baseman and the threat was over.
The Friars added an insurance run in the home sixth on a walk and a double. The Cardinals were unable to mount any further rallies.
Kim went 3 1/3 innings and gave up four runs, only one earned, on two hits. Once again the walks from the pitching staff, eight in total, were the catalyst for much of the Padres scoring. Of the five Cardinals pitchers – Kim, Cabrera, Helsley, Gallegos, and Reyes – only Gallegos did not issue a free pass. Cabrera pitched 1 2/3 with one walk, Helsley tossed 2/3 innings with two walks, Gallegos went 1 1/3 innings with no walks, and Reyes walked two in his one inning pitched.
Of the eight hits from the Cardinals offense, Dylan Carlson and Arenado had two each. Goldschmidt, Molina, ONeil, and Bader had the other four. O’Neill stole his fourth base of the season, and Arenado had the throwing error.
Big Picture
The Cardinals ended their road trip with a losing record of 2-4. They took the series 2-1 from the Brewers and were swept in three by the Padres. The team returns to St. Louis to play two games against the Pirates on Tuesday and Wednesday, then face the Cubs over the weekend.
There were scattered issues over the road trip with missed scoring opportunities, and some costly defensive errors and misplays. Nevertheless, the biggest with a capital “B” problem is the pitching. Walks, walks, and more walks, it has become the theater of the obvious with this pitching staff’s inability to throw strikes consistently. The problem stretches across both starters and relievers. The Cardinals pitching staff leads all of baseball in both total walks, and walk percentage. A total of 26 walks were issued by Cardinals pitching in the Padres series alone. John Gant leads the staff with 27 walks. Tyler Webb leads the current regular staff in walk percentage with 22.6% (Bernardo Flores and Junior Fernandez have higher BB% but have been fill ins). To say it has to stop has become a tired mantra. Regardless of the cause, if any, there must be a cessation.
The offense is there for the most part, with the usual ebbs and flows but the starting seven regulars, minus the injured DeJong, have been fairly consistent. The outfield from last season that was a major hole in the offense is no longer at least so far. The Cardinals are getting offensive production from all three of their starting outfielders, O’Neill, Bader, and Carlson. Four starters have an OPS of .800 or better, Molina, Arenado, O’Neill and Bader at .899, .915, .820 and .889 respectively. Carlson is a hair under with .796. Tommy Edman is bringing up the rear of the regular starters (minus DeJong) with a .680 OPS.
The defense has had hiccups, especially in the Padres series. Arenado made a costly throwing error in Sunday’s game and O’Neill badly misplayed a Trent Grisham line drive that had a 99% catch probability. Despite these occasional defensive blips, the defense is not the problem. Neither is the baserunning. What is the problem? PITCHING.
The Cardinals have the opportunity now to return home and reset. Despite the sweep the Redbirds still stand in first place in the NL Central by two games. If the pitching staff can get the excessive walks under control the homestand should be successful. The Pirates and the Cubs, though not pushovers, are not the Padres. Win both series, sweep if possible. The Brewers have fallen from their earlier dominance but will not stay down long. Any of the other teams in the Division, with perhaps the exception of the Pirates, can make a run at the Cardinals at any time. Fix the pitching.
NL Central Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| St. Louis | 23 | 18 | 0.561 | |
| Milwaukee | 21 | 20 | 0.512 | 2 |
| Cincinnati | 19 | 19 | 0.500 | 2.5 |
| Chicago | 19 | 20 | 0.487 | 3 |
| Pittsburgh | 17 | 23 | 0.425 | 5.5 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 5/11 The Cardinals recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/11 The Cardinals placed RHP Carlos Martinez on the 10-day injured list. Right ankle injury.
- 5/13 The Cardinals sent RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon on a rehab assignment to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/14 The Cardinals placed RHP Jordan Hicks on the 60-day injured list. Right elbow inflammation.
- 5/14 The Cardinals selected the contract of 2B Max Moroff from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/14 The Cardinals placed SS Paul DeJong on the 10 day injured list. Left rib non-displaced fracture.
- 5/15 The Cardinals recalled RHP Junior Fernandez from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 5/15 The Cardinals optioned RHP Johan Oviedo to the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
- RHP Miles Mikolas (shoulder) was sent to Memphis on a rehab assignment. The right hander made a final rehab start on Sunday, May 16. Mikolas is expected to return to the rotation shortly.
- 1B John Nogowski (left hand bone bruise) was sent to the Memphis Redbirds on a rehab assignment. Nogowski appeared in Memphis starting lineup over the weekend. There has been no indication how many rehab games are on the schedule for Nogowski before he returns to the roster.
- RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon (right shoulder inflammation) continues on the 10-day injured list. The right hander was sent to Memphis for a rehab assignment and pitched an inning on Thursday, May 13, and two innings on Saturday, May 15. Ponce de Leon will likely return to St. Louis on Tuesday, though whether he will be activated or be sent out on another rehab assignment is yet to be decided.
- LHP Andrew Miller (right foot toe blister) continues on the 10-day injured list. Miller pitched a side session at Busch Stadium on Tuesday and another one on Sunday. The Cardinals will evaluate where he goes from there.
- RHP Jordan Hicks (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the 60-day injured list to make room for the addition on 2B Max Moroff on the 40 man roster. Hicks will not be eligible to return until early July, but the time out will likely be longer says Manager Mike Shildt. Shildt does anticipate Hicks will pitch again this season.
- RHP Carlos Martinez (right ankle sprain) was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 9. Martinez hurt his ankle on the dugout stairs while celebrating Jack Flaherty’s first major league home run on Friday. Martinez pitched the following day but was ineffective, and afterwards revealed he had injured his ankle. Martinez threw a bullpen session on Sunday at Busch Stadium nd came out of it well. The earliest Martinez could return is this coming weekend in the Cubs series.
- SS Paul DeJong was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday, May 14 retroactive to May 13 with a left rib non-displaced fracture. The fracture occurred when DeJong was hit by a pitch from Brewers starter Freddy Peralta on Tuesday. DeJong played on Wednesday but felt something grab when tagging Lorenzo Cain at second base. The Cardinals are hopeful the IL stint will not extend beyond the 10 day minimum.
Looking Ahead
The team has a travel day on Monday and returns to St. Louis to play two games against the Pirates. John Gant is scheduled to make the start on Tuesday, followed by Jack Flaherty on Wednesday.
After a second off day on Thursday, the homestand continues with a weekend series against the Cubs at Busch Stadium. The next road trip begins on Monday, May 24 in Chicago with a three game series at the White Sox.
The team then travels to Arizona for a four-game set with the Diamondbacks. The Cardinals will remain out west and travel to Los Angeles to play three games against the Dodgers.
The Cardinals regular season schedule can be found here.
Blast from the Past
In this week’s installment of the Cardinals Hall of Fame series we take a look at the first and most colorful owner of the St. Louis Cardinals. This man could be considered not only the father of the team, but the father of modern baseball.
American baseball has been around since the 18th Century in various forms. Semi professional baseball came about in the 1860s, but the first professional leagues were formed after the Civil War . The first such professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, formed in 1869. The first “league” of teams was the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, which operated from 1871 to 1875. William Hulbert, the owner of the Chicago White Stockings (later the Chicago Cubs) formed the National League out of the remnants of the National Association. It was the National League that instituted the reserve clause that kept players tied to one team.
Rival leagues began to spring up in protest of the reserve clause. The most successful of these was the American Association, which lasted from 1882 to 1891. It was from this league the St. Louis Cardinals were formed. One of the teams that joined the American Association in 1882 was the St. Louis Brown Stockings, newly purchased for $1,800 by a saloon owner named Chris von der Ahe.
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm von der Ahe was born October 7, 1851 in Hille, Germany. This is all that is known about von der Ahe prior to his emergence in the United States. He showed up as a teenager in New York City in 1870, but shortly after moved to St. Louis. He worked for a time as a clerk in a grocery store and then from savings he bought out the store owner and opened a saloon in the back of the store. In 1881, von der Ahe, who knew nothing about baseball, was asked by local businessmen to sell shares of the bankrupt St. Louis Brown Stockings. The saloon owner showed up a few weeks later with $1,800, telling the businessmen he had sold 180 shares at $10 per share. It turned out that von der Ahe had fronted all the money from his own pocket and was now the majority owner of the team.
Von der Ahe transformed a vacant lot next to his saloon into a baseball field (later known as Sportsman’s Park) and took the Brown Stockings into the American Association. The AA was rival to the National League and was in most respects much more liberal than the NL. The National League prohibited gambling, the AA did not. The NL banned Sunday games, the AA did not.
The German entrepreneur and saloon owner charged 25 cents admission to his games, and made a fortune. He was the first owner to sell beer at games and was the first to add other forms of entertainment, such as horse track racing, games, and water slides near the park, leading Sportman’s Park to be known as “The Coney Island of the West”. He was credited with coining the term “fan” (from fanatic) and for bringing hot dogs to the ball park. Some of these facts are disputed by others, but nevertheless von der Ahe had people coming to his baseball games in droves, and by the end of the decade he had made $500,000 in profit.
As for the Brown Stockings, von der Ahe chose Charles Comiskey to run the team, a wise decision on his part as Comiskey led the Brown Stockings to four consecutive league championships. However, the good times didn’t last. The Brown Stockings began losing, the AA folded, and Comiskey left to join the Cincinnati Reds. The Browns joined the National League in 1892, but the loss of Comiskey left the team mired in last place.
Von der Ahe was enmeshed in debt, had marital problems, and was an alcoholic to boot. He was forced to sell the team in 1899 due to legal issues that came out of a fire at Sportsman’s Park. The Brown Stockings became the Perfectos in 1899 and then the Cardinals in 1900, but under different ownership.
Chris lost most of his wealth, and had to tend bar to make a living. Charlie Comiskey helped him out financially as best he could, as they were still friends even after Comiskey left. Von der Ahe died of cirrhosis of the liver on June 5, 1913.
Though ultimately he became a failure, von der Ahe introduced a new brand of baseball entertainment, much different from the offerings of the stuffy National League. Today, beer and hot dogs are a mainstay of the baseball game, and von der Ahe’s ingenuity in bringing a different experience than just strictly baseball continues today in the form of promotions and special events, and the games and fun like the Sausage and Presidents Races of the Brewers and the Nationals, as well as the between innings games of the minor leagues.
All of this started with Chris von der Ahe, who saw an opportunity and took it to new and higher levels. The St. Louis Cardinals franchise started with von der Ahe, and his legacy to that franchise and to baseball lives on. For this alone he deserves the recognition of the Cardinals Hall of Fame. There would be no St. Louis Cardinals without Christian Friedrich Wilhlem von der Ahe.
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