Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Cardinals Get Another Strong Effort From Their Starter Plus Timely Hitting To Win Again!

Starting point is 00:00:00 One of the Cardinals' big acquisitions at the trade deadline shows the home crowd why he was worth trading a fan favorite for. This is Locked-on Cardinals. You are Locked-on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, there, Cardinals fans. I'm Jady Hafer and I'm an national radio sports anchor born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan. And I'm your host for Locked-on Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team. every day. You can follow me on Twitter, X at JD Sports Radio, as well as the podcast at L.O.

Starting point is 00:00:39 underscore Cardinals. We do want to thank those of you who make Locked-on Cardinals your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast. You can also find us on YouTube. Make sure you stop on by. Say hi there as well because this is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving the best fans in baseball, all of the info about the birds on the bat. So this year's trade deadline was an interesting one for the Cardinals because they were an organization. didn't want to part with the prospects that it would likely take to land any of these so-called top names that were available. And it looked like nobody really did.

Starting point is 00:01:16 I mean, look at some of these names that were supposedly going to get traded and did not get moved. So we're talking about Garrett Crochet, Lois, Robert Jr., Bo Bichette, Vladdy Jr., Derek Scouble, Mason Miller, Brett Rooker. I'll even throw a little Tyler Anderson in there for you as well. They all stayed with their team. So when you look at who did get moved at the trade deadline, the Cardinals ended up getting one of the top starters that were actually available in Eric Fetty from the White Sox.

Starting point is 00:01:45 And by the way, they fired their manager this morning. How do you think that dude is right now? It's like, who, finally, I'm out of here. Nobody likes getting fired, but that's just a no-win situation in Chicago. go. So kind of felt bad for their manager. Anyway, so to get Eric Fetty, the Cardinals had to trade a fan favorite. We love Tommy Edmund and all that he did for the Cardinals, but we hadn't seen any of them this year.

Starting point is 00:02:13 So it probably didn't sting quite as much as trading away a guy that you saw playing every day, which Tommy Evan would have had he been healthy this year. So he ends up going to the Dodgers for a low level prospect. Now that one guy Tommy Fam, you've heard of him, came over as well, been red hot at the plate, obviously. Fetty was the big piece, right? He was the main target, not only because of what he had done already this year, but they're going to have them under contract for next year, too,

Starting point is 00:02:41 at a ridiculously reasonable price of $7.5 million. He doesn't have the name recognition of some of the other guys around the league, but the numbers are what they are. He's been one of the top right-handed starters in the whole league, while on the worst team in all of baseball and possibly baseball history. They're on their way to having like the worst record ever with a 162 game season. Now, in Fettie's first start against the Cubs, he had a really, really, really bad second inning. You remember it.

Starting point is 00:03:16 I don't have to go through it all. But after that, after he kind of settled in after the moment which he admitted got a little big for him, he settles in and he throws three shutout innings after that. Retires 10 straight hitters on Wednesday night in his first game as a card to lie, Stadium. He was solid again. Unspectacular, but solid. You don't go out there and you see him pitching and you're like, whoa. Like he doesn't blow you away with 98, 99. He doesn't have, you know, pitches that just fall off the table or disgusting splitters or something, you know, anything explosive like that. But he's a solid pitcher. Added that sweeper is normally around the zone. You know, he's a very cardinal kind of guy.

Starting point is 00:04:01 ends up going five innings on Wednesday allows just one run on four hits, walks two, he strikes out six. They weren't easy innings really either. There was a lot of traffic on the base paths against Eric Fetty on Wednesday night. First inning wasn't so bad, but in the second, you had a double, you had a walk before he punched out a couple of guys to get out of that. Third inning, you get back-to-back singles, and you've got runners on first and third. there's a there's a tapper back to the mound and i don't know if he just forgot how many outs

Starting point is 00:04:33 there wore or what was going on we'll tell you what he said about it later but instead of going home where he had the runner coming home like dead to right like he would he would have been out big time um that he decides to spin and throw the ball to second try to turn the double play uh they do get the lead runner at second but the runner at first is safe and that tied things up at one. Then the runner steals second. He walks a guy, but ends up wiggling out of it to keep tied. But talking about the play afterwards, Fetty said, just one of those things where before I was thinking catcher on third and maybe wouldn't be going home, but they wanted to stay out of the double play, just kind of a mistake by me, but one to learn from. And at least it didn't

Starting point is 00:05:15 lead to a big inning. I think that's the most important thing about being a pitcher is limiting big innings. My last start, I wasn't able to do that, but today did a much better job. So mindset wise, it makes sense, but the play's right in front of you. You can hear the guys on the field. You can hear Contreras going home, home, home. And he had already made up his mind and was spinning the second base. So whatever, it ended up working out okay because the beginning didn't happen. But, you know, it's one of those things, too, where when you're a team that is struggling offensively, like you don't want to be just giving away runs when the other team is, you like giving you an out right in front of you.

Starting point is 00:05:59 So at the time, it felt like, oh, my gosh, what a bonehead. But in the end, it didn't work out so bad. After that, it went very similar to how his game in Chicago went, where he retired eight of the last nine batters he faced and looked pretty darn good. Ollie talking about that he before the game said that, you know, he's an even keel guy, understands the game, understands what he needs to do. there are times it's going to go his way. And times it's not.

Starting point is 00:06:27 He's not going to get overly excited one way or the other. That was good to see. Kind of sounds familiar, right? A type of player that the Cardinals would very much be attracted to. You got a lot of those kind of guys. He's like the Paul Goldschmidt of pitchers, right? Just being good or bad, you don't get much of reaction hardly ever. It's just business.

Starting point is 00:06:47 He goes out. He does his job and does it to the best of his ability. So it was a good game. Like, again, it's unspectacular. But all of a sudden, you look up, he's through five innings. He's only allowed one run and four hits. You're like, well, I guess that was pretty good. Strikes out six.

Starting point is 00:07:05 You're like, well, that was pretty good. And if the pitch count hadn't, you know, climbed a little bit in those first three innings, might have qualified for a quality start. And that'll be something that he has to work on, is trying to limit the amount of pitches that he throws early on in these games. So does it make it past the fifth? ending because of that pitch count. But by the time he left the game, the Cardinals had a nice lead. Thanks to actually heading with runners in scoring position. I want to talk about the offense,

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Starting point is 00:09:19 with Sirius XM. Just download the SXM app and search the word Cardinals. So before the game even started, The Cardinals, my wrestling fans are going to love this. The Cardinals had a pretty cool guest throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on Wednesday. W.W.E. Superstar, St. Louis Native, Randy Orton was out there on the mound. And he had a lot of guys feeling pretty giddy about him being in attendance. You know, a lot of these guys, you know, Randy Orton's in his mid-40s now.

Starting point is 00:09:51 So a lot of these guys grew up in his kids watching him dominate in the WWW. we eat. He's a wrestling legend, part of a legendary family, the Orton family, the Viper, the legend killer, the apex predator himself out there throwing the first pitch. His form on the pitch, let's just say, let's just say this. For a guy who has been as athletic as anyone in the ring over his career and the guy that's unleashing RKO's out of nowhere constantly on people, I expected a little better, a little bit better for, but hey, got the job done because not only did he not throw it in the dirt, he made it all the way to Michael Siani, who was catching him behind the plate. But it got the offense a little jacked up. Guys like Alec Burleson were very excited to see him.

Starting point is 00:10:42 Apparently, Burley also changed his walk-up song for the night because of Orton being in attendance, which is great because he hit very, very well. but the offense came out and they were, they were ready to attack, just like, just like Orton would be in the wrestling ring against race pitcher, Tage Bradley, who again has been excellent this year. We talked about his stats in the last episode, his ERA had been under two over like the last month. Like, it's not like people hit this guy all that often. And the Cardinals got on him early after getting a lot of production from the

Starting point is 00:11:16 rookies on Tuesday night on Wednesday. It was a full-on team effort from top to bottom that got the job done. No Goldie in the lineup. He hadn't had a hit since last Thursday, but apparently this was a scheduled day off for him, so it wasn't just because he's slumping. No Tommy Fam either. It was a lefty-heavy lineup against Bradley with Burley at first.

Starting point is 00:11:35 Donnie and left, Carpet D.H. Gorman and second. Mason Wynn continues to be a great catalyst at the top of the order. Let off the game with a two-strike double to left, because that's what he does. He gets hits with two strikes against him. Burley pops one that dies at the warning track in the left center. Like so many fly ball.

Starting point is 00:11:52 this year at Bush Stadium for the Cardinals, but it moved over Mason to third base. And then Wilson Contreras, who hadn't had an RBI in his last nine games, hits one up the middle, to flex off the pitcher into right field for the RBI single. Contreras had a couple of nice at bats, and this one drove the ball hard a couple of times. In the third inning, Burley and Contreras, single to start the inning. And thanks to an error in center, both guys end up being safe at second and third. So here's that situation again, right? Runners in scoring position, the absolute kryptonite for the.

Starting point is 00:12:22 the Cardinals, not just recently. I know it's been really bad recently, but, you know, over the season, the team has not been as good with runners in scoring position. Brennan Donovan comes up. He's the first guy, first pitch, swinging, and he grounds out to the first baseman. And you're just like, bro. But this particular pitch was actually over the plate and kind of, you know, in the meat of the zone. So I got, he can't really blame Donnie there. I'm just a more. of a patient hitter at the plate. I'm the guy that's always like kind of take a strike. Make sure this dude's not freaking out, but the cardals were jumping on first pitches. So grounds out to the first baseman. That brings up Nolan Aronado, who had singled in his first

Starting point is 00:13:05 at bat, nice single to right field. And after taking first pitch strike, which was up in the zone. And that, you know, that's not his strong suit. You know, he's a low ball hitter. We've talked about this before. He ends up getting a cutter that comes over the heart of the plate, drives it into the ground, but with enough velocity that it just goes, doing, and it chops over the third basement and down the line into left field. It scores both runners. It's a double for Nolan Arnato. I saw that tweet earlier from BK over a 101 ESPN about how he hadn't had an RBI double or something like that since May with runners in scoring position, something nutty like that. But it made it three to one. So obviously a key hit, very nice to see. Hit them where they ain't. That's.

Starting point is 00:13:49 That's the idea, right? So ends up being a line shot devil in the scorebook. In the fourth inning, they strike again. Gorman in the lineup again gets the lead off walk. We know those usually tend to score. So it's nice to see Gorman working a walk there. Mason went. Now they're single.

Starting point is 00:14:05 And then biscuits drills one down the line in the right field corner to play two more, making it five to one. The Cardinals are running away with it, right? That's three hits in the first four innings with runners in scoring position for the Cardinals. something they desperately needed. And after Fetty, the Cardinals end up deploying Ryan Fernandez in the sixth. Jojo comes on, then Kittridge, and then Ryan Helsley to close things up. Things got a little scary for Fernandez, thanks to the back-to-back singles and then a walk,

Starting point is 00:14:33 which brought up the tying run with nobody out because that's what the Cardinals do for some reason. They just love to make us sweat. And you know how I whine about the Cardinals fly balls, particularly at Bush Stadium. they just die at the warning track. I would love to find a stat of how many Cardinals Flyballs landed at the warning track at Bush Stadium this year. I don't know where I go to go look that up. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but gosh, it feels like they do it four or five times

Starting point is 00:15:02 a game. It happened a bunch on Wednesday night as well. But in this particular situation, it kind of helped them out because Ray Shortstop, Jose Caballero, he drove one to deep center field. And off the bat, I thought it was going into the bushes. I thought it was a tying grand slam. I thought they were screwed. And Bush Stadium just swallows it up and goes, spits it back out.

Starting point is 00:15:25 It's falling into Victor Scott's glove on the warning track. It scores the run, sack fly, but not nearly the damage, obviously, that a grand slam would have caused. Fernandez gets the next few guys, gets out of it. Luckily, with just one run scoring. So that was sweaty. Romero and Kitchridge, they throw up a couple of zeros. And then we get to Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning.

Starting point is 00:15:44 And again, for whatever reason, reason, Ryan Helsley hates easy saves. He despises them. He's got a three-run lead. And I'm telling you, I feel like you could bring Ryan Helsley in with a nine-run lead, and he'd somehow make it interesting. I don't know why, because it's wild to me, considering the pitching arsenal that Ryan Helsley possesses. You know, he's got a fastball at 102. He's got a really good slider. He's got that curveball that just it's a, you know, a 12-6 curveball. that just goes, foo, has people flailing at that. But yet somehow, some way hitters are getting on against him. So after a one-out single and then a walk, which is really where a lot of his problems stem from,

Starting point is 00:16:30 that's when things really escalate against Helsley is when he walks a guy. That brings up the tying run to the plate. And good for Halsley here where it's like, enough's enough. He just started to rear him back and throwing smoke past him and strikes out the next two guys. Cardinals won it by a score of five to two, back-to-back wins, which is really nice to see following what you saw in Chicago. And, of course, that first game against the Mets, after coming back from the trip to Wrigley. Some notes, courtesy of our good man over at Rob Brains at SELSportspage.com.

Starting point is 00:17:01 Top three hitters in the Cardinals lineup, which was win, Burleson, and Contreras combined for six hits, three RBIs and four runs score. The Cardinals put the lead-off man on in each of the first four innings. and three times that guy ended up coming around to score. They go three for 11 with runners in scoring position, which even though that's not great, better than what they've been getting. So we'll take it, right? The RBI for Contreras was his first in 10 games

Starting point is 00:17:27 and his first RBI that did not come on a home run since July 20th. It was the first RBI from the third place hitter in the Cardinals lineup in six games. And as good as the offense was early on, I do kind of want to point out that they win into kind of a coma a little bit later on for the rest of the game. Had only one hit after the fourth inning, which was a two-out double by Nolan Gorman in the fifth inning, who also hit the ball hard a couple of times last night. So it would be nice to see him get going again.

Starting point is 00:17:56 The boys go for the series week tonight. Kyle Gibson will be on the mound for the Cardinals up against Shane Baz. Is it Baaz or Baz? I think it's Shane Baz. Baz, either way. He's pitching for the Braves. We're going to check in on the injured Cardinals and take a look at the playoff picture. It's getting tight.

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Starting point is 00:19:56 Cardinals, your first listen today for your second listen. Enjoy the Lockton MLB podcast. Host Paul Sullivan, aka Sully, is here daily to provide you national expertise with this trademark humor to help you get ready for the MLB playoffs and the dog days of summer. You can prepare for the fall classic with Sully who's got you covered every single day

Starting point is 00:20:13 on Lockton MLB available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. Part of the Locktown Podcast Network. work your team every day. So let's start with some of the wounded birds who are on the men, the ghost of Stephen Matt, continues to rehab. Yeah, he's still going. Allowed a run in two and two-thirds innings on Tuesday with AAA Memphis, allowed three hits, walk two, 34 of his 50 pitches for strikes.

Starting point is 00:20:39 Manager Ali Marmel said he came out of the game feeling really good. Matt has been injured since May 3rd with what he called a herniated disc in his back. Earlier this week, he increased the pitches to 50 after throwing 30 in an August 1st outing. And Ali said that Matt's is ramping up to return as a starter, but he could potentially be used as a reliever if needed when he's ready to return to the Cardinals, which, you know, if Matt's is healthy, I mean, be nice to have a left-hander in the rotation, kind of switch things up. I don't have any of those right now. Matt's at his rehab stint shut down twice, if you remember, because pain kept coming back to the lower back. He's pitched in five minor league games,

Starting point is 00:21:21 three with AAA Memphis, two with AA Springfield, has struck out 12 and walked four in 11 and two-thirds. Ennings, remember a couple years ago, and he was injured for a long time with the knee issue, and then came back and was really, really good out of the bullpen. So that could be something too. So there's a couple of routes. We can go with Stephen Matt's, but got to get healthy first.

Starting point is 00:21:42 Riley O'Brien made another relief appearance in Memphis on Wednesday night. He allowed one hit with one strikeout in a scoreless inning. He's made eight appearances so far and thrown seven innings since coming back to game action on July 20th, allowing two earned runs struck out five with an area of 2.57. If he continues to throw without pain, then that seems to be how he is right now. Could get activated to the Major League roster at sometime this month. It's definitely a possibility. Also want to give a shout out to first round draft pick, JJ Weatherholt, who hit his first pro home run.

Starting point is 00:22:15 Seventh inning solo shot on Wednesday proved to be the game winner in Palm Beach's 7 to 6 victory in their first game of a double header. He talked about his experience so far in pro ball and how much he's enjoying it, saying it's been a lot of fun, just playing on such a consistent basis. You can get back into a group and back into it after the college season ended. The guys here are really cool. The coaching staff is awesome. It's been a ton of fun to play. Hey, getting up every day, having some breakfast, grabbing a coffee, and going to play some baseball. Those are the days you dream about as a kid, getting up, and only playing baseball.

Starting point is 00:22:49 It's been a ton of fun to do. So glad to hear JJ is having a great experience so far. We posted up his exit velocities recently on Twitter X, and, you know, he's hitting the ball hard. He's not always getting hits, but he's hitting the ball hard. He's hitting 250. One home run, one rivey, couple of doubles, five runs scored over his first. 20 at bats as a pro. All right, so let's look at the standings, shall we?

Starting point is 00:23:15 After last night's win, cardinals are now 59 and 56 on the season. There's still six back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central who were winners again last night. They've won two in a row to match the Cardinals. It just seems like every time, every time the Cardinals do win a game, the Brewers win a game. When they lose, the Brewers lose.

Starting point is 00:23:36 Like they're just, they're in sync right now. And it's not helping the Cardinals out as far as gaining any ground in the division, which some people still will tell you, they think is probably the easier way for the Cardinals to make it into the playoffs, which it's, I understand. I see that because there are a lot of teams competing for the three wild card spots, but trying to make up six games. And I know they got to play the Brewers a bunch still this season, in which you got to win those games, obviously.

Starting point is 00:24:08 You can't just split and be right where you started. But six games is a lot, guys. And the brewers just don't stop. Like they just keep staying the course. You know, like I said, last 10 games, the Cardinals are five and five. Guess where the Brewers are? They're five and five.

Starting point is 00:24:27 The Pirates did lose. They've lost three in a row now, so they've fallen two games back of the Cardinals in the division. Cubs have won two more. Reds are losers down in, where were they in Tampa Bay, no, they were in Miami. Miami. They lost. So they're still in last place,

Starting point is 00:24:44 nine and a half back in the division. As far as the wild card goes, in the National League, the Diamondbacks and the Padres continue to be scorching hot. They're both eight and two in their last 10. They both won four in a row. So they just keep doing their stuff.

Starting point is 00:25:00 The Braves are on really hard times. They've now lost four in a row and are very close to falling out of a wild card spot. The Mets and the NL East are just a half game behind the Braves now for that third wildcard spot. The Cardinals are now two back. Behind them, it's the San Francisco Giants at three and a half back. And then you got the Pirates at four and so forth as you make your way down. So, I mean, the Cardinals are two back.

Starting point is 00:25:31 But, you know, losing the Mets earlier this week, that didn't help matters, considering that's who is in front of you right now in the wild card chase. So I can see both sides. Why you would think that the NL Central way is a way to go? Because you're only competing against the Brewers there where here this last spot, you've got the Braves, you've got the Mets, you've got the Giants. Obviously the Padres and Diamondbacks, if they stay where they are, you don't even worry about them because you'll never catch them.

Starting point is 00:25:56 But, you know, there's a lot of teams that made some upgrades at the trade deadline that are ahead of you now. So bottom line, really, is just got to take care of yourself. You got to take care of what you can control, which is your particular game. And so far, two games against the race, they've been able to do that.

Starting point is 00:26:15 They need to do it again tonight. They won the series, so we got the ugly old man shirt on, which is great, but I'd love to have a broom out later tonight, wouldn't you? That would be nice. The cartels could use a sweep. It's been a while since we've had one of those good feelings like that. So, again, Gibson on the Mines.

Starting point is 00:26:35 tonight at Bush Stadium. Bring your brooms. I hope there's more people in the crowd than there was on Wednesday night. It seemed very, very empty to me. So they're in a playoff chase, guys. Maybe head on out to the ballpark and see what's going on in person. So anyhow, let's wrap things up today. Thank you for making a lockdown Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:26:57 your first listen each and every day. If you haven't already, do me a solid. Give me a follow on Twitter X at L.O. underscore Cardinals at the JD Sports Radio. So like, subscribe on YouTube. We're at, we're almost said, what was it, 10,500 subscribers. We're almost there. We're almost there. So if you're somebody who enjoys the channel and you enjoy Cardinal baseball and

Starting point is 00:27:17 talking baseball just in general, would love to have you as a subscriber. So do that on YouTube and make sure you hit that like button, smash that like button if you could because, you know, I get thousands of views on these and then I have like 120 likes and like one or two dislikes. but hit the like button, man. It'll help get things sent out there so more Cardinals fans can enjoy what we're doing. You're the best fans in baseball for a reason.

Starting point is 00:27:42 I will see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Cardinals Get Another Strong Effort From Their Starter Plus Timely Hitting To Win Again!

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