Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Getting These Two Players Back From Injury Could Be Huge

Episode Date: July 25, 2024

- Injury Updates - Competing With Other Teams At The Trade Deadline - Pittsburgh Pirates Series - Paul Skenes Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOSTLCardinals?...sid=YouTube Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnMLB Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIO Follow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_Cardinals Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! SupplyHouse SupplyHouse.com is the reliable way to get parts fast. Shop for your next plumbing, h-vac, or electrical job and get fast shipping from coast to coast. Booking.com The right stay can make you a fan of any US city - even your rival’s. Book today on Booking.com on the site or in the Booking.com app! Booking.com, Booking dot YEAH! PrizePicks Go to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLB and use code lockedonmlb for a first deposit match up to $100! eBay Motors From brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. FanDuel FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) #ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 injuries and returning players are going to have a major effect on what the Cardinals do moving forward. Plus, we'll talk about the Pittsburgh Pirates series, which ended on a sour now, for sure. 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 are Cardals fans. I'm J.D. Haffern and I'm a national radio sports anchor, born and raised in the Lou. I'm a lifetime Cardinals fan. And I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals,
Starting point is 00:00:37 part of the Locktown Podcast Network, covering your team every day. You can find me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio and the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals. We do want to thank those of you who make Lockedong Cardinals your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And if you don't want to do it, the audio way,
Starting point is 00:00:53 you can go visual. Find us on YouTube. Be sure to like, subscribe, and comment. Up to 10,300 subscribers and growing. Appreciate you. So stop on by, hit that notification button so you know when the new episodes are posted. This is a show serving Cardle Nation and giving the best fans in baseball, all of the info about the birds on the bat. This episode of Locked on Cardinals is brought to you by booking.com.
Starting point is 00:01:17 Booking dot, yeah, the right stay can make you a fan of any city, even your rivals. Check out booking.com for your stay today. So the Cardinals had one of their most exciting wins of the season on Tuesday night, right? They take down the previously undefeated Paul Skeens and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, they followed that up with an absolute stinker on Wednesday afternoon, and they lose two out of three in the series. We're going to talk more about those particular games, how they made us feel, how they made me feel.
Starting point is 00:01:49 We'll do that later on in segment three. But first, I want to circle back to what we all have our minds on for the most part right now. Yeah, the games that are on the field. we're paying attention and we want to watch with stuff. But we're all starting to start to get a little antsy about this trade deadline. Aren't we? I know I am. I'm excited to see what's going to happen.
Starting point is 00:02:11 I'm prepared for nothing to happen. But I'm excited for it all. It's the fun time of year when you have a team that is in the running for a playoff spot. It's also a fun time. Remember last year? I know the Cardinals had to sell, but it was still interesting. And, you know, it was something that we hadn't done in a long time where the Cardinals were sellers and we're trading off pieces and you were curious about who they were going to get in return for all these guys.
Starting point is 00:02:37 And it's going on right now. It's the hottest topic in baseball at the moment. You know, it's who's in, who's out, who's buying, who's selling. And the rumors will continue to swirl as teams continue to make decisions on where they see their particular team this year, like how far they think they're going to go this year. And, of course, where they see their franchise going in years to come. one of the big things that will affect the Cardinals really depends on the injury situation with three particular people. First person is Tommy Edmund, who is set to return to Springfield, the Springfield lineup tonight, Wednesday night, as the designated hitter, haven't had a chance to see how he's done so far. Hopefully he's playing.
Starting point is 00:03:19 I don't know yet. He was in the lineup. I can tell you that much. But he's returning to the lineup, and this is good news since he's had a lot of issues this year, which I've, for prevented him from playing baseball at all. First, you had the recovery from wrist surgery, which was enough on its own. Then on top of that, you then had the ankle issue after he stepped on second base awkwardly during fielding drills on June 25th. And we're like, you got to be kidding me, something else.
Starting point is 00:03:45 And then it appeared like he was past it. Like, okay, he twisted his ankle. He's got to be fine. End up playing four games with Springfield prior to the break. Goes four for 14, two walks, four RBIs. Looks like he's on his way back. But then he starts experiencing pain and the ankle again over the All-Star break. They end up giving him a pain-killing injection.
Starting point is 00:04:05 And tonight, Wednesday night, he's just getting back on the field again. Simply said, 2024 has not been pleasant for Tommy Admin. But he hasn't quit yet. And we can only assume that by August, he'll be back with the Cardinals barring any more setbacks. And that would be huge for this team. if he's the same Tommy Edmund that we've seen over his entire career, because they would be adding a hitter who can hit from both sides of the plate, one who has been better at hitting a left-handed pitching,
Starting point is 00:04:40 which is something they desperately need. If you saw today's game, you know what I'm talking about. He's an infielder and an outfielder, so very versatile, elite defensively, no matter where you put him, and he adds a speed threat. like Tommy Edmund coming back would be a monster. You would get all of this with one guy. So let's hope that this has been the last of the setbacks for one Tommy Edmund this year. Next on the list here, a guy by the name of Riley O'Brien, who?
Starting point is 00:05:11 Haven't seen him in a while, have you? Look at him. There's the photo. He's like covering me up in the video. Now this is awkward. I'm not going to get behind him a little bit so I don't look like. Look at that. There he is.
Starting point is 00:05:22 I don't know how I did this. that graphic where it's that way, where it looks like he's in the studio with me, but whatever. Anyway, Riley O'Brien, got him in the forgotten man for this team after coming in with all that hype in spring training. We were all really excited about, you know, this hidden gem that the Cardinals seemingly found in the Mariners system. And then after one appearance,
Starting point is 00:05:43 to quote the great movie, the Shawshank Redemption, he vanished like a fart in the wind, flexor, tendon pain, and the throwing elbow. I feared the worst. Thought his season was over. Surgery was incoming. But lo and behold, Riley kept working, training staff kept working,
Starting point is 00:05:59 and he was able to make his first rehab assignment with AAA Memphis on July 20. If he allowed a hit, a pair of walks over his sole ending of work. You know, first time back in a game on the mound. I mean, obviously going to be a little bit rusty. His second rehab outing was on Tuesday, July 23rd, fired another scoreless inning and relief on one hit, is set to pitch again for Memphis on July 26th.
Starting point is 00:06:24 What do the Cardinals lack in the bullpen right now? Go ahead. Raise your hand. What are they lack right now in the bullpen? Right-hander. Another righty that can help Kittridge and Fernandez out in those high leverage situations. Much respect to rookies, Chris Roycroft, who did fine today. Kyle Leahy's been good when he's been brought up.
Starting point is 00:06:49 Veteran Giovanni Gallegos look good today. But it's a spot that needs an upgrade. It needs some help. It needs some attention. It needs improvement. And a healthy Riley O'Brien, from what we've seen, could provide that. But he's not a guy that has this stellar background, you know, this resume that says, hey, he's been there before.
Starting point is 00:07:10 He can do it for you. We don't know. We don't know if we could trust him or not. We thought he was on the path to be a really good addition. to the team this year, but we never got to see it in the regular season because he had one appearance that got hurt. And then, of course, there is Stephen Matt's, Stephen Matt's. He's been dealing with lingering back pain. He's been out since May 1st. He's up. He's down. You never know how good he's going to be or how bad he's going to be. And at this point, I'm just going to chalk him up as
Starting point is 00:07:39 someone who maybe could join the bullpen at some point. We've seen him be successful in the bullpen for the Cardinals before. We've seen him be successful as a starter before. But I just, I don't know how you can put your faith in him to come back and be a starter of significance moving forward this year. He is back next year. He's got another year on the contract. So I'm sure we'll go through this whole circus with Stephen Mattson, his injuries again next year. But as far as this year, what can you really expect that? So the clock is ticking on John Moseilock and the Cardinals to figure out how aggressive they should be at the deadline for these three pieces.
Starting point is 00:08:19 that we've been talking about for weeks, someone who can hit left-handed pitching, a starter, a bullpen armor too. If you can get to them, why not? Mo spoke recently about the state of the trade market, and you'll never guess what word he used to describe things. That's coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals. This episode of Locked on Cardinals is brought to you by booking.com.
Starting point is 00:08:44 Booking.com, booking. Yeah, with summer travel heating up, especially travel for baseball games. It's time to explore those U.S. cities. you always secretly wanted to learn more about. And yeah, we're talking about the rival cities. We're talking about Cincinnati. We're talking about Pittsburgh, although we don't have to go back there,
Starting point is 00:08:59 hopefully at all, again here in 2024. But they were just there. It's a beautiful park. It's a beautiful part of town. It's nice to go to these places. Going to Wrigleyville in Chicago, it's fun. Get to go to Milwaukee. These are fun things to do to go see the Cardinals take on the division rivals.
Starting point is 00:09:16 And with hotels, bed and breakfast, vacation rentals, resorts, and so much more, booking.com you might just find your perfect stay even in your baseball rival city. Just booked a hotel in St. Louis for on booking.com to, you know, because I'm going to be there this weekend. And we don't want to stay with my, with my parents. So we got a hotel because we're adults. And that's what you do. You don't have to stay at your parents anymore.
Starting point is 00:09:41 So we're going to do that. And we were able to get a great deal. Booking.com has so many choices across the U.S. for your summer travel this MLB season. And let's not forget about all your Little League tournaments in different cities this summer as well. Booking.com's got you covered there too. The right stay can make you a fan of any U.S. city, even your rivals, even your hometown. You can find a city, even if you live in St. Louis, you can find a hotel with booking.com. So book today on booking.com on the site or in the booking.com app.
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Starting point is 00:11:19 picks for a deposit match up to $100. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy with price picks. Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day? Got to turn it down because they keep shouting. They make the switch to locked on sports channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the
Starting point is 00:11:43 screaming. You get the can't miss analysis, opinions, and news, and it's streaming 24 7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. So the Cardos are going to be heading home this weekend to take on the Washington Nationals, and you can catch every pitch of the Cardinals hometown broadcast with Sirius XM. Just download the SXM app and search the word
Starting point is 00:12:05 Cardinals. Tom Ackerman and KMOX gets a chance to talk with John Moseilock frequently. Sundays is usually when that goes down, and he's always good for dropping some solid nuggets of information. I would love to be able to talk to John Moseilock and get stuff like this, but Tom Ackerman is the guy, and when he was asking Moe about the trade market, he used. use the one word that we've heard over and over and over and over and over again. And that word was patience. And if you don't believe me, just listen to this, this any bitty clip about John Mosea lock and how many times he says.
Starting point is 00:12:46 This is a little patience. So just be patient. Being patient about this and too patient. I really just ask for people's patience and all of this. I'd ask for from our fan base right now. There's a little bit of patience, forever a little bit of patience plus as a little patience. So just be patient. I can go on and on and on and I can keep going.
Starting point is 00:13:02 But that's the word of yours. And we've heard it before, but at this point, it may not be because of Mo this time. We're not being patient with Mo. It's actually Mo telling us to be patient because he's got to be patient right now, because we're waiting on other teams to decide their future. And I've said repeatedly on the show how that things are going to be a little bit different. at the trade deadline. It's going to get interesting because so many teams are still within striking distance of a wild card spot and that, you know, you've had the recent runs of
Starting point is 00:13:40 the Phillies and of the Diamondbacks, wild card teams that are giving people hope. And it's going to make some teams decide to stick around in the race a little bit longer than normal. You know, teams like, you know, the pirates, just a couple of weeks ago, you were like, they're probably not going to go anywhere. And now they're two games over 500 after taking two of three from the Cardinals. They're playing very well. They've been one of the best teams in baseball over the last 10 to 15 games. The Reds are four games under 500. And there are rumors that they're willing to listen. They're like, hey, you need a relief pitcher. Give us a buzz. We got some expiring contracts. Call us. Hey, call us. We're available.
Starting point is 00:14:25 But there's also talk that we're not waving the white flag. I mean, you can call us. We'll listen to you. But we don't feel the need like we have to sell anything yet. Over in the American League, you got the defending champion Rangers. Three under 500, six and a half games back in the wild card. They're still undecided. They're going to be a big piece of what goes on here at the trade deadline.
Starting point is 00:14:51 Because they've got a lot of guys that people are going to want to get their hands on. but if they decide not to trade and want to buy because they're getting dudes back from from injuries, then it's going to swing things in a different direction. The Tampa Bay race are just four and a half back. We just heard open for business, right? They've already traded away, Aaron Savali, Phil Matan, Rania Rosarena's name is out there, Zach Eflin's name is out there, Pete Fairbanks, but yet here they are, just four and a half back still.
Starting point is 00:15:23 Are they done? Are they going to cash out? We don't know yet. We don't know yet. And there are rumors galore just floating around the league and the internet. But not all that many involving the Cardinals right now. And I have to believe that it's because in the pecking order of teams looking to do something, the Cardinals, they're just not at the top of everything right now.
Starting point is 00:15:48 I do believe they'll make a move or two. but it's nothing like the guys that are being talked about a lot right now. They're not going to chase down the biggest names. Like, I would love to see them get Britt Rooker out of Oakland. It would be a monster addition to this lineup. There are a lot of people that want somebody like that. You know, Detroit Tigers ace, Terrick Scoobal, an absolute beast. One of the top pitchers in baseball is reportedly being sought after by the Dodgers and the Orioles.
Starting point is 00:16:20 and that other teams would join them if the Tigers decide to make them available, which they haven't really done yet. They haven't said, all right, bring me your best offers. But like any franchise, any good franchise, you should always listen. Because you never know when somebody's going to come at you with some just crazy deal, one where you're just like, okay, we'll take it. I mean, of course the cartels could use Terik Scouble. but are they at this point where they are in their franchise?
Starting point is 00:16:56 Are they going to give up what it takes to get somebody like him? The tigers are going to ask for Teen Kent's, Jordan Walker, names like this, okay, Teen Kent, Jordan Walker, Quinn Matthews, Victor Scott, Coa Robey, Cooper Jerpy, Chase Davis, Lars Newpar probably. Like, those are the guys that are going to ask for. And I'm not saying all of them in one deal, but a combination of those kind of guys, your top dudes. Some people think he'd be worth it, and he might be, to be honest.
Starting point is 00:17:29 He might be. Because you have him under control for another couple of years. He's arbitration eligible for two more before becoming a free agent. I mean, he's really, really good. But it's the Cardinals. Do you see them jumping into that bidding more along with the Dodgers and the Orioles? Probably not. The Phillies are apparently interested in two things that are also on the Cardinal's shopping list. They want a relief pitcher and they want somebody who can hit left-handed pitcher, right-handed hitter, preferably in the outfield.
Starting point is 00:18:06 Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan and outfielder and former Cardinal Lane Thomas are the guys that apparently the Phillies are interested in. Adding those guys to the Cardinals roster on paper seems like a perfect fit, right? but when a team like the Phillies want the same thing that you want, which franchise you put your money on being aggressive enough to win that bidding warrant? You're going to bet on the Cardinals or are you going to bet on the Phillies? The Dodgers also reportedly on top of the Terrick Scoobool are reportedly in on trying to get both Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. From the White Sox.
Starting point is 00:18:45 Again, two guys who would fit the needs, perfectly in St. Louis. You get a pitcher who's on the upswing. He's young, doesn't cost you a lot right now as far as money. You got him locked up for a little while. Luis Robert Jr. locked up for a while. You've seen how good he can be when he's healthy. But the team is unlikely to give up the big name prospects
Starting point is 00:19:07 it's going to take to pull those guys away. And then you're going up against, again, the Dodgers. The Dodgers do not care of. about prospects because they keep turning them out and then they just ship them off to go get whatever their needs are right now. I'm not concerned about next year or the year after that, really. They want to win tonight. They want to win this year. It's what they did to land Tyler Glass now in the offseason. Worked out pretty good. It's what they did back in 2021. Remember, they went and got Trey Turner and Max Scherzer Monster Deal. They will presumably be willing to give up
Starting point is 00:19:47 top guys again this year. And if it doesn't work, we'll go buy whomever they need to in the offseason. And then I'll try to get next year. That's what you can do with a payroll like the Dodgers. And when you get like a Shohei Otani who comes in and then gives you that crazy discount, like he helped it out. I mean, how huge was that of Shohei to do what he did? But these are the teams that the Cardinals are competing with to land players who could help them. And they're all fighting over the same guys. And it's hard to trust. John Moseilock and the Cardinals to be the aggressive ones to go get those pieces ahead of these other teams. At least it is for me.
Starting point is 00:20:26 I don't know how you feel. So it won't be easy. And any move that they do decide to make is probably not going to be up to the standards of what the fans are hoping for. They don't want to hear excuses. Go get these guys. Go get Rooker. Go get Zach Afflin. Go get a relief pitcher of some sort.
Starting point is 00:20:49 and go for the title. That's what they want to hear. Is it realistic, though? The Cardinals go after those guys. I'm sure they'll call and ask, but it's probably going to be a quick phone call. It's going to wrap up with some thoughts on the Pirates series next, and why Tuesday night was so much fun,
Starting point is 00:21:08 and then how Wednesday was not at all. It's coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals. Going to baseball games at St. Louis, it is a tradition. I will be there on Saturday. My grandmother turns 99 years old. we're going to celebrate and freeze landing. So if you're out in that vicinity of the ballpark and you want to say hi, by all means,
Starting point is 00:21:29 come on over and say hi. I would love to talk to you. But you're like me. You're with the family. You grow up to St. Louis, and you want to go to Bush Stadium. You want to go to Ballpark Village. You want to get a pre-game meal.
Starting point is 00:21:39 You don't want to eat too much because you want to save room for hot dogs. And then it's on a Bush Stadium. There's cheer on the Cardinals. And when you need tickets to the game, look no further than the GameTime app because that's what I use and you should too. GameTime is an authorized ticket.
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Starting point is 00:22:31 Again, create an account, redeem code Locked on MLB. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-M-LB for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute, tickets lowest price, guaranteed. Locked on Lockedon has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. It's also available on Amazon Fire TV and 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 our local experts of locked on plus our national shows which cover every league you can find it now available on the free fire tv channels out so let's go back to tuesday night when life was much better it was a it was a special night at p and c in pittsburgh and for all the right reasons cardinals lose on monday by a score of
Starting point is 00:23:21 two to one tough loss cardinals had just a one game lead over the pirates coming into tuesday night's game Pirates have been playing as good as any team in the league recently. With a win, the pirates could not only gain ground in the division, but also draw even with the Cardinals in the wild card race, which right now seems very much more obtainable for both franchises than catching and overtaking the Milwaukee Brewers, who just will not go into a long slump. They just continue to win two, lose one, lose two, win two.
Starting point is 00:23:53 Like it's just up and now they're not running away with things anymore, but they're not losing ground either. They just continue to stay just out of reach of all of us. So the pirates had their feet on. Paul Skeens on the mound, one of the best pitching prospects. Anyone has ever seen. He's coming off his start for the National League and the All-Star game. He's got his famous girlfriend in the crowd, Olivia Dunn.
Starting point is 00:24:15 He's undefeated at 6'0. Whole cities behind him. He's their new hero. And he's going up against the Cardinals and our grizzly veteran, Lance Lynn. Right? the old man, the old man, the big guy. And it was a playoff atmosphere in July in Pittsburgh, between the Cardinals and the Pirates, something,
Starting point is 00:24:38 if you watched these teams last year, you did not expect. But here we are. Every pitch, every play could change the course of the game. It was intense. It was exciting. Nolan Aronado, the big fly, tax schemes in the fifth inning with his 10th home run of the year, solo shot into the left field stands just out of the reach of,
Starting point is 00:24:58 what was that, Brian Reynolds in left field, almost robbed it. Surprisingly, Skeens has given up eight home runs this year, which caught me off guard. I didn't realize that he'd given up that many home runs already. But outside of that, he's dominating McCartes. He gave up only two hits in the game until the ninth inning. Meanwhile, you got Lance Lynn over here doing his thing. He's a photo of Lance.
Starting point is 00:25:22 Looking good, brother. going toe to toe against, you know, top pitching prospect in the world right now. He picks up his 2000 career strikeout in this game. Only five other active pitchers have that many. And three of them are for sure Hall of Famers. So very nice, very well-deserved milestone for Lance Lynn. But the pirates, after Lance Lynn comes out after six, they get to the Cardinals' bullpen in the eighth inning.
Starting point is 00:25:51 they tied up at one. And the pirates decide to make a decision that they're going to stick with Paul Skeets in the ninth inning. Crowd goes bonkers, right? He emerges from the dugout and they're like, yeah, here he is. Never before had pitched this long in a major league game. It was about to hit the 100 pitch mark. And I'll be honest, I was surprised because I thought schemes looked like he was getting tired a little bit. Not so much in velocity or anything like that.
Starting point is 00:26:23 It just, you can see him on the mound just, you know, just body language and stuff just showed me that, you know, he was getting tired out there, you know? And what do you know? You get a lead off double by Michael Siani, a guy that's not even supposed to be on the team this year. Called that at second, but then it was overturned correctly to a safe call. Mason Wend moves him over with a ground ball to the first base side.
Starting point is 00:26:49 And then for whatever reason, the pirates decide to stick with schemes against the left-hander Burleson, one of the hottest hitters on the planet, and he burns him for an RBI single, rips one into right center. Halsley comes in next inning, blows the pirates away, games that match. Just an outstanding baseball game. So much fun to watch, so exciting. Like I had that, I don't know, that high you get after something like super exciting happened in your life and you're just like bouncing around. That's how I felt.
Starting point is 00:27:17 Like it was amazing, you know? you beat Paul Skeens, you beat the Pirates, in a great game for both franchises. And you got all this momentum coming into the game on Wednesday. And we knew it was going to be a bullpen game. So you're kind of like, I'm not sure how it's going to go with Matthew Livertore on the mound. And it was the exact opposite of Tuesday night.
Starting point is 00:27:40 Cardinals showed little to no life whatsoever in this game. Perhaps a bit worn down because of the road trip. But they get shut out five to nothing. The Cardinals were hitless and five at bats with a runner in scoring position. They hit into three double plays. They left 11 runners on base. It was the worst of the worst, offensively for this team this year.
Starting point is 00:28:02 Matthew Libertori gets the start in, again, a scheduled bullpen game. It's not like this was a surprise. And he wasn't any good. He just wasn't. Libertory hit the lead off batter in the second inning with a pitch before allowing three hits. He walks to, he was his own worst enemy in that inning. The big blow was that two run, two, out double by Connor Joe.
Starting point is 00:28:21 It goes off Dylan Carlson's glove in center field. Carlson in the game because they're facing a left-hander in Martin Perez. And Carlson normally in his career hits lefties well. So they were like, all right, Siani does not hit lefties all that well. Let's give them a day off. It'll get back-to-back days because they're off on Thursday. And that ball that went off of Carlson's glove, Siani probably catches it.
Starting point is 00:28:49 his back pocket, no problem. But DC is not the great Siani in center field. He's just not. And instead, the ball falls, makes it four to nothing. Libby gives up a home run to Radie Talas, which on TV, it says it landed in the water, but I don't even know if it's landed yet. That was an absolute bomb. And that was it for Matthew Libertory. Correct to Chris Roycroft and Giovanni Gallegos, talked about them earlier, all zeros after that, but the offense It's nowhere to be found. Got some tweets from people who are at the game. We're like, I haven't seen the team look this just blah all season.
Starting point is 00:29:26 And it felt that way. You could sense it from the way things were going on TV. It's the third time they've been shut out this season, first time since April 21st. So it's not like it's happened a bunch. But they struggle hitting left-handers. And Martin Perez shoot them up today. Coming in today, they were hitting 2-24 as a team against lefties,
Starting point is 00:29:45 254 against Ritees. They need help. They need a bat plus Tommy Edmund, in my opinion. They need Tommy Edmund coming back. They need to add a bat and help with this problem because they cannot hit left-handers very well, which is weird because for many years, the Riteys or the Cardinals Club left-handed pitching. They just destroyed them. And for whatever reason this year, it's not happening.
Starting point is 00:30:12 Three runs and three games is not going to cut it. if you get into the playoffs. So if you don't, you know, and I get it. The pirates aren't like, they're not the Phillies or the Dodgers stuff, but they're right there in the playoff push. So you can't overlook them and think, oh, same old pirates. They're not and they're not playing like that right now. So if you get into a series in the playoffs and you're going to go up against teams
Starting point is 00:30:35 who line up similar to what you just saw in Pittsburgh, where it's going to be two of their top pitchers and then another guy. and one of them is probably going to be left-handed. And the Cardinals scored three runs in three games. That's not going to get it done. Not going to get it done if you even make it to the playoffs. So they need help. Cardinals can't beat a three-pitcher setup like that.
Starting point is 00:31:03 They're not good enough. They need help. So it needs to be addressed in some way, shape, or form. Clock's ticking, like I said. Trade deadline coming up. All right. They got the day off on Thursday. Everybody rest.
Starting point is 00:31:15 Everybody relax. Back home against Washington at Bush Stadium on Friday. A Washington National team, which has waved the white flag. So hopefully their, you know, their energy is kind of, we're not going anywhere. We'll see. Thanks for making a lot on Cardinals your first listen to every day. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on Twitter,
Starting point is 00:31:37 X at L.O. underscore Cardinals at a JD Sports Radio. Like, subscribe on YouTube. If you haven't already, do me a solid to help our channel. and love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. I'll see you next time on Lockedong Cardinals.

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