Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Fly The L! Cardinals Take Two Of Three At Wrigley

Starting point is 00:00:00 Fly VL as the Cardinals leave Briggly victorious after taking two out of three against the Cubbies. And it all came down to a spot on the team that was the weakest link last year, but delivered big time over the weekend. 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 J.D. Haffern and I'm a national radio sports anchor,

Starting point is 00:00:31 born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan. and I'm your host for Lockdown Cardinals. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio. You can follow the podcast at L.O. underscore Cardinals. I want to think those of you who make Locktown Cardinals, your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast.

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Starting point is 00:01:07 Make every moment more right now. New customers get $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. Visit fandle.com slash locked on to get started. So if you are watching on YouTube, you can see I've got the ugly old man, happy cardinal shirt on today because that's what we wear when we win a series. and that's what happened this weekend in Chicago. The Cardinals had quite the productive week, really.

Starting point is 00:01:38 I mean, you take, what, two out of three against the Pirates and Bush. You secure a winning homestand with that. Then you had to Wrigley and you get two of three from the Cubs and what was just an outstanding weekend of baseball in Chicago. Seriously, the atmosphere, the tightness of the games. I know things got a little bit bad on Saturday and the 5 to 1 loss, but the other two games, super tight, very, very anxious moments, a lot of anxious moments, I should say, to go along with the fact that it's, you know, Cubs Cardinals, so great rivalry.

Starting point is 00:02:14 Everybody is so close in the division. I mean, come on, even if you're not a huge baseball fan, you could pick up on how electric things were at Wrigley this weekend. And the best news of all, obviously, is the Cardinals end up taking two of three, despite scoring, only five runs all weekend. Five. That is crazy. To score only five runs and win two ball games, that's bonkers. But the Cubs, they only scored six with five of them coming in their win on Saturday. So we can be down on the offense if we want to. But I'm trying to stick with the theme of being positive here. So let's talk about how good this pitching staff was again this weekend. And it really comes to your starters on Friday and Sunday. Props to Andre Palante, who pitched pretty well. on Saturday. I'm not going to bash him, but Kyle Gibson and Miles Michael is, how good of these guys been? I mean, Kyle Gibson, what more can you say about this guy? And I know,

Starting point is 00:03:11 you're going to get mad at me here. I know you don't want to hear this, but an absolute home run of a signing by John Moseylock. I know, I know, don't throw anything at me. We don't, we don't like to give John Moseilac too much credit on this show because of all the mistakes that he's made. But come on, you got to admit, give him credit here, because this was a hell of a signing. And remember when it was announced that the team brought in Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, remember it happened on the same day. You can hear the groans all over St. Louis on that day. Hell, I was one of them. I was one of them.

Starting point is 00:03:43 But my dismay was more about the Lance Linton signing because I was like, I was really trying to stay away from him. More because of the type of pitcher that he is right now as opposed to the person he was, which is a big reason why they signed Lance Lynn. And I'm kind of eating crow right now because Lance Lynn has, I've been pretty solid for the Cardinals. But I was excited about Gibson. Well, okay, excited. That's a strong word. Let's not say excited.

Starting point is 00:04:09 I'll say I was more positive about the Kyle Gibson signing than a lot of people. I didn't love it by any means. So it was just like, I was like, okay, solid four or five guy. I get that. I was hoping they were going to aim higher in the offseason. But I also thought he was better than a lot of fans gave him credit for. 15 game winner with the Orioles. You know how many pitchers in Major League Baseball last year,

Starting point is 00:04:34 won 15 or more games besides Gibson? Seven. And I know Baltimore is a really good team, but still he's got to be out there. He's got to take the ball all the time. So seven plus Gibson won 15 or more games last year. Pretty good. 33 starts, something that the Cardinals were really hoping that they would bring in here

Starting point is 00:04:52 was more reliable arms, you know, guys that are going to be able to answer the bell every fifth day. You know how many people had 33 starts or more last year besides Gibson? eight. And the Cardinals already had one of those guys and Miles Michaels. Wasn't a sexy signing, but the Cardinals, they're not a sexy organization, are they? You know, I saw that survey. I don't know if you guys caught it, but I saw that survey done by the Athletic where the Cardinals only got one vote by a group of MLB players that they surveyed, asked them whether, you know, where would they sign? What team, what city would they sign with if contracts, taxes, and rosters were a non-factor? And it's your normal people

Starting point is 00:05:31 at the top, Atlanta, Boston, L.A., New York, Chicago, you know, those are the big cities. No surprise there. Those are sexy big city places. The type of free agents that would want to come to St. Louis, they got to fit a specific mold, right? You know, normally they're going to be a veteran at this point in their careers. And they have to be somebody who respects the franchise, uh, what they've been and what they've done over the years. Those are the types of guys that would be eyeing a place like St. Louis now and in the future. And, kind of Gibson fit that description perfectly, plus, you know, being from the Midwest area, that helped too. And now the Cardinals are reaping the benefits of that.

Starting point is 00:06:09 You know, Kyle Gibson has been really, really good. Five and two on the season, 3.44 ERA, which is top 20 in the National League. Opponents are only hitting 226 against them, which is top 15 in the National League. He's got eight quality starts tied for fourth in the National League, fifth overall, a Major League Baseball. Last five starts, 210, 2.0. 2.20. ERA, fifth best ERA in the National League over the past month. Friday night, he shuts down the Cubs, allows what, two hits over seven innings, walked one, struck out six through just 88 pitches.

Starting point is 00:06:42 I mean, that's exactly what the Cardals were looking for. He retired the final 15 batters that he faced, didn't allow a runner past second base. Yeah, give me more of that. He was outstanding. Defense was awesome behind him too, which also helped the cause. So, yay, Kyle Gibson, really, really Good. And how about the starter on Sunday, Miles, Michaelis? My man is on a heater as well. He was super sharp. Blanked the Cubs on just three hits over the first six innings. All those hits came in that fourth when the Cubs actually loaded the bases. But Michaelis wiggled out of it. He's been on a tear just like Gibson since getting knocked around by the Mets on May the 7th. Michaelis has made seven starts. He's three and one, but the team is five and two when he gets the ball. He's thrown 42 in a third innings, which is right about six innings per start, which is what you're looking for. ERA at 2.76. Opponents hitting just 182 against them. And when you narrow things down even further, last five starts. ERA 2.59, 7th best ERA in the National League over that time.

Starting point is 00:07:45 He has allowed just one home run, which we know is something that happens to Miles. When that big inning comes around, it's usually a home run or two that does a lot of the damage, but only one home run over his last five starts. Opponents are hitting just 176 against him. that batting average, by the way, 176, that is tops in the National League over the last month. His whip, a minuscule 0.73, also tops in the National League over the last month. He now has nine quality starts on the year, which is tied for the third most in Major League Baseball. The Cardinals are getting elite pitching from these two, and it's a big reason why they are where they are in the standings.

Starting point is 00:08:28 They're all alone in second place in the NL Central now. I know that they're at that 500 mark, which is, can we get past it? 35 and 35. It's been a struggle to get back over that 500 mark. But they're at 500 heading into Monday's game against the Marlins, who are the proud owner and are now the proud owner of the second wildcard spot in the National League. They pass the Padres this weekend who slide down to number three. And they get to go up against the Marlins now, who are a terrible baseball team this year.

Starting point is 00:08:57 they've lost five in a row. So this is a huge opportunity for the Cardinals to not only get past the 500 mark, but to put a little more space in between them and everybody beneath them. Another big piece of the puzzle for the Cardinals, not only in this series, but throughout the whole year has been Closer Ryan Housley, who went down in the record books after his save on Sunday. We'll talk more about that next on Lockdown Cardinals. Summertime means baseball, the NBA finals, and more,

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Starting point is 00:12:38 It's program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming. We've got can't-miss analysis, opinions, news, again, streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon-Fired TV channels app. It's part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you again for making a lockdown cardal's your first listen every day. Leave your comments on YouTube. You want to make fun of the Cubs? Do it. You want to give us some info about what you think is going to happen against the Marlins?

Starting point is 00:13:04 Do it. Leave them on Twitter. X and of course in the YouTube comments as well. Your feedback is always welcome and encourage. All right. Ryan Halsley on quite a run at the moment. Cardinals closure has been really, really good. And even though things tend to get a little bit stressful in the ninth inning, he has been able to overcome those issues and picks up the save.

Starting point is 00:13:24 And he's done it now quite a few times in a row. He notched his league leading 24th save on Sunday and in the process joins the Cardinals record books. According to Lynnworthy at STL Today.com, He has now converted 24 consecutive save chances to tie the franchise record held by. Anybody know? Anybody know? Alex Reyes is your answer. Reyes's run of 24 also set an MLB record for the most consecutive saves to start a career,

Starting point is 00:13:52 although it did not take place entirely in one season. Now, the only blown save for Hellsley so far this year, if you remember, he has blown one. That was back when they faced the Dodgers. opening series in LA since then he's nailed them all down. They haven't been perfect, but he's nailed them all down, you know, and he's always had, it just feels like consistent traffic on the base pass against him, specifically recently. The clean innings is something that we haven't seen a lot of from Helsley in the last,

Starting point is 00:14:24 I don't know what, four or five appearances, really kind of going back to when they face the Cubs at Bush. Since then, there's just been a lot of traffic around Helsley. leaves. He gets the job done. I'm not knocking him. I'm just saying it's been kind of stressful. And his four appearances, the last four appearances, he's allowed at least a hitter, walk someone in all four of those games. Although the one appearance against Pittsburgh on June 11, that wasn't a save opportunity. That's when he allowed the two runs on one hit. And he walked two. The walks are a real concern for me. He's walked six batters in his last four appearances causing this added stress to his innings. And he's doing it himself. It's not like they're hitting the ball hard off of them or anything.

Starting point is 00:15:03 he's doing it to himself where he's just not throwing strikes. I mean, you can only play with fire so many times before you get burned. And Helsley flirted with danger both Friday and Sunday, walking two batters in each appearance, but he's able to wiggle out of it and was able to get the job done. So high five Ryan Helsley, the last 15 appearances for him, which has been 15 innings because that's what he does.

Starting point is 00:15:24 He's a one inning guy. He's allowed 12 hits and 10 walks. That's a whip of 1.47, folks. That is not what you want out of your closer. But again, he gets the job done. Here's what Elsley actually said about it in Worthy's right-up that he did. I believe he released this this morning. Anyway, it gives you that little bit of confidence.

Starting point is 00:15:46 Like no matter what the situation is, I know I can get out of it. I still have a chance if the ball is in my hand. I'm going to look at some film of the last few days and see if I can find anything that I can get better at, see why I'm doing it, or maybe it's just fatigue. Now, the fatigue factor, and fans of it bringing this up a lot online, certainly could be a thing. It certainly could be a thing. I mean, he's already appeared in, what's he got, 32, 32 games this year, tied for the sixth most in the National League. The Trinity itself of him and Jojo and Kitchard, they've been out there a lot.

Starting point is 00:16:20 You know, Helsley's got 32 appearances. So does Jojo, Jojo Romero, and Andrew Kitchie, Kitchridge leads the club, and he's got 33. And those appearances, you know, they have. up. They add up over time, but that's how his squad is built. That's why you've been seeing a little bit more of Ryan Fernandez, I think, recently. John King has been good. I mean, they're getting the job done, but it's also probably like, all right, let's, you know, let's try to scale it back maybe a little bit because you don't want these guys completely burned out by the time you get to August and September and you're headed down that stretch. So another significant change for Hellsley this year is

Starting point is 00:16:56 the fact that he is a one-inning reliever. That was something that they switched up. Usually it's the ninth inning, not always, but usually it's the ninth inning, which has probably helped his mindset this year, you know, knowing that that's when he's going to get the ball no matter what. Ollie spoke about this to Lynnworthy as well, saying he's been really, really good all year. He's taking the ball. That's the most meaningful part. You look at last year, you look at this year. He's made a real commitment.

Starting point is 00:17:19 We have together to say, you have the last three. And because of that, he's been able to answer the bell every time we've asked him to. He's done a really nice job of staying ready and executing. That's not easy. What he's done up to this point, we're not anywhere close to where we're at right now without him doing right what he's doing. So basically what he said, he's like, they wouldn't be where they are if Helsley was at the guy at the end of the anchor there,

Starting point is 00:17:46 at the end of the bullpen and at the end of games. Where the team is now is in Miami. They're going to face Marlins team. As I mentioned, lost five in a row. they've lost eight of their last 10. They're terrible. They're a terrible baseball team. It's an opportunity, again, for the Cardinals to take advantage of one of the worst teams in baseball.

Starting point is 00:18:06 Now, we've had some problems with this with the White Sox, with Rockies, chances to do some damage and gain some momentum and gain some games in the standings against these guys. And they fail to do it against the White Sox and the Rockies. Hopefully that will change over the next three days in Florida. you got your ace on the mound tonight, Sunny Gray, going up against Braxton, Garrett, who I mentioned a very good left-handed hitter, or left-handed pitcher, I'm sorry, should be a solid pitching matchup tonight. I'm not expecting a ton of offense from either side. But, again, it's a time that the Cardinals are going to have a chance to put some distance

Starting point is 00:18:45 between them and the people below them. And they really need to, it'd be great to get a sweep, but you got to take two of three of Miami. There's no excuses to be losing to the. Miami Marlins. We've got some injury updates, some good news on a couple of big pieces for this franchise, so we'll talk about those next here on Lockdown Cardinals. Order supplies from the website that's made for the skilled trades. Find thousands of parts from hundreds of brands and just a couple of clicks at Supplyhouse.com. Supplyhouse.com gives you 24-7 access to a huge selection of plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with fast delivery anywhere in the United States. And if you need help with an order,

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Starting point is 00:20:09 Real people, real service. Locked on his launch the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. And now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV on the free fire TV channels app. Locked on Sports today is here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locktown, plus our national shows covering every league. You can find Lockedon Sports today now available on the Free Fire TV channels app. All right. So the Cardinals have not been all that healthy so far this season. They've had to endure a lot of injuries, specifically in the outfield. You've got your catcher. You've had your starting pitcher. Stephen

Starting point is 00:20:52 Matt's go down. And we've got some updates on a few of these guys. So let's start with Stephen Matt's. Made a minor league rehab start for AA Springfield and pitch three perfect innings and struck out five. you like to hear that through 35 pitches, 24 of those were strikes. The start marked his third rehab outing since June the 6th. Now, Ali has said that they would like to get him up to 75 and 80 pitches before he returns to the big league. So it's not like Matt's is like on the verge of coming back to the team just yet. But he's making his way.

Starting point is 00:21:23 And if you get good Stephen Mats, what a boost that would be as your fifth guy in the rotation. Not that Andre Palante hasn't done a good job, but you're going to side with Stephen Mats if he's ready to go. Starting catcher Will Scatreras, who suffered a fractured forearm on May 7th, is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday with either AAA Memphis or AA Springfield. I haven't seen an update yet of which one he's going to.

Starting point is 00:21:51 How long is he going to be on this rehab assignment? That's anyone's guess, but Willie said this about it. Excuse me. I've been on a rehab assignment before, and I've never played more than three or four games, and it will be just a matter of timing. It doesn't matter if it's in the minor leagues or in the big leagues. It will be just about working to get my timing back,

Starting point is 00:22:09 and I think it will come back quickly. Now, I don't think I need to tell you how significant his bat returning to this lineup would be for the Cardinals. The question now is, like when you start thinking ahead of things, do you carry three catchers again like you did last year for a little bit? Because of how well Herrera and Paw hasn't been. as your backstop and as hitters in the lineup. You know, they've been very significant to what the Cardals have been able to do

Starting point is 00:22:35 since Wilson Contreras went down. I mean, look how much winning has happened. Pahazque is clearly the best defensive catch that they got and they trust him. The pitching staff likes him. He was outstanding in Chicago this past weekend. Obviously, he showed off a little bit of the pop that he possesses to Dingers and Wrigley, which were huge home runs, game-winning home runs for the team. Herrera, you would argue.

Starting point is 00:22:58 was better offensively. He's been hitting 278 over the last month, but has struggled with throwing runners out. So it'll be interesting to see what they decide to do and what they go with there. I don't know. I don't know what they're going to do. Outfielder Tommy Edmund is set to shift his rehab from offseason wrist surgery to the club spring training facility in Jupiter this week. They'll get in work with the club's complex league squad and with Singale-Palm Beach. Ali said that it will allow Edmund to get in more at bats during live batting practice sessions and more defensive reps with the team. So again, this feels very much like a post-all-star break type of return for Tommy Edmund.

Starting point is 00:23:40 No need to rush it right now, but it'll be nice to have him back in the lineup, switch hitter doing what he does. So a huge part of this Cardle's offense, which again, they could use it. They could use it. getting him and Willie back will be huge. Getting a large new bar back at some point would be huge. Maybe even Jordan Walker. That would be nice.

Starting point is 00:24:01 Right-handed reliever Riley O'Brien has been slated to pitch for Springfield on Saturday, but his outing was pushed back in order to give him more recovery time. He's now slated to pitch on Tuesday. And shortstop, Brandon Crawford, who left Sundays when over the Cubs, midway through the eighth inning, had a cramp in his left hamstring. It wasn't anything significant, but he was removed from the game. It was precautionary. should be available for the team on Monday

Starting point is 00:24:24 when they open up this three-game series against the Marlins in Miami. So that is the latest. Marlins, Cardinals, Sunny Gray on the Hill tonight. Let's get it done, right? Thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven't already,

Starting point is 00:24:38 give me a follow on Twitter X at L.O. underscore Cardinals at a JD Sports Radio. Like, subscribe on YouTube. We're almost to 10,000 subscribers. We're getting there slowly but surely. So if you do watch on YouTube and you like what you've been hearing, please hit the like button. Please subscribe.

Starting point is 00:24:54 It helps this channel grow immensely. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. And I will see you next time on Locked-on Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Fly The L! Cardinals Take Two Of Three At Wrigley

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