Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Nathan Church and Thomas Saggese STEP UP With Timely Heroics!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The comeback Cardinals do it again. And it was a couple of guys that have been struggling the most that were able to come through in the biggest spots. 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 Halford. And on today's show, we're going to head to the farm to check in on the red hot Memphis Redbirds as well as the rest of the NL Central.

Starting point is 00:00:34 our three stars from Tuesday's game. But let's start with the biggest swings of the game for the Cardinals who were able to pick up their fifth come from behind victory on the season. Guys, they only got six wins. Five of them are comeback wins. That's awesome. And it was thanks to two guys who have been catching a lot of heat in the early going. And that's Nathan Church and Thomas and Jacey.

Starting point is 00:00:55 Coming into the season, we knew that there was one area of the offense that clearly needed some attention. And that was in left field. Now, Lars Neupar was supposed to be the everyday. guy, but offseason surgery to both of his heels has postponed that. So the Cardinals basically kind of had tryouts for left field in the spring. And they ended up landing on Nathan Church, Thomas OJC, and Jose Fermin is the guys that they trusted the most.

Starting point is 00:01:19 Until Tuesday night, that group had done very little, very little offensively. So Jayce had only had two hits in the game on the game on Monday, but was batting 200 with zero home runs and zero RBI. Church had three hits in the season opener. And it was over 22 cents and was batting 1.15. And then you got Fermin who's hardly played at all. He's got just two at bats on the season. Through 10 games, the left field position was hitting 171 with no home runs,

Starting point is 00:01:48 two RBIs and 10 strikeouts and 38 played appearances. It has been a black hole for the offense. It is not good. And when fans want them replaced, because that's what we do, we're like, okay, bring somebody else in who we got. You go and look at the guys in Memphis. none of them are doing all that much considering what Memphis is doing offensively. It ain't the outfielders that are doing the damage, you know,

Starting point is 00:02:12 prize prospect Joshua Baez has come out of the gate cold. He's only hitting 207 going into Tuesday's game. No home runs. Nelson Velasquez was hitting 48 going into Tuesday's game. Colton Ledbetter was batting 80. Matt Coperniac, remember him, he was producing, 316, one home run, 6 RBIs, but he's not on the 40, man. And then you got Brian Torres, who is on the 40 man, hitting 333, but offers very little power.

Starting point is 00:02:39 Could offer some versatility. But for whatever reason, maybe it's because of his age because he was a late bloomer, going to be 29 in July. Hasn't really gotten a shot at the big league yet, which is a little surprising because he feels like he's like a little mini Luis arrives down at Memphis where if you go look at his batting averages all the way back to double A. He's like in the upper 300s every single year. He offers some speed. Small guy. He's only 5.7, but so what? You get on base, man.

Starting point is 00:03:07 I'm more than happy to bring you on board. But anyway, that's what's going on in Memphis. So bottom line is they just need the guys that are up on the big league roster to get better. Tuesday night, they got better. It was both Church. It's a JC who came through huge to help the Cardinals get that 7 to 6 victory in 10 innings. We're going to start with Nathan Church, who do not start in this game. He was on the bench to begin this one and ended up coming in as a pinch runner late,

Starting point is 00:03:35 took over in center field for Victor Scott and after Victor Scott had gotten pinched hit for. And like I said, you know, earlier, he's over his last 22 coming into this one. So there he is in the eighth inning. He coming to the play down one, two in the count, two out catches a hanging slider, which he deposits just over the long right field for a two run home run, his first dinger of the year, and it couldn't have come in a better time. The Homer tied the game up at five, gave new life to the team, which ended up jumping out to a two to nothing late early in this game in the first, but had fallen behind five to two.

Starting point is 00:04:08 There wasn't much going on offensively. The teams remained tied until the 10th inning, and that's when Thomas and Jacey led off the inning with an RBI double. I love this picture of Cajee, so I'm going to put it up there every single time for him. It's hilarious to me. With an RBI double, scoring Mason went, who began the inning at second base. as you know the rules are in extra innings during the regular season. That makes it six to five.

Starting point is 00:04:32 J.J. Weatherholt follows with a two-out RBI double up his own to push the lead to seven to five, which became very important because the Nats come back in the bottom of the 10th inning. They get one, but left the tying run on third base. The Cardinals have now won six games on the season. And again, five of those have been come from behind victories, which is not sustainable. It's not going to continue this way. They need to get ahead and stay ahead in some of these games, but it sure has been fun to watch. Let's be honest.

Starting point is 00:05:01 The last couple of years, we've watched Cardinal teams just kind of roll over and look lifeless after they fell behind, but this team has been able to show some resiliency, which is infectious. And it's part of the, you know, the guys in that locker room, in that clubhouse, they're all young and they're all in that dugout. And these aren't veterans who think about, ah, you know, it's late. you know, we'll live to fight another day. We got to play again tomorrow. These guys want to win now.

Starting point is 00:05:31 And it's got that. And it's why I'm wearing my Gooney shirt today. If you saw my short from last night after the game, you know, never say die. Never say die. Goonies never say die. And the St. Louis Cardinals apparently never say die at least so far here in 20206. Even in this game, they're down five to two. And with the game feeling sort of lifeless, I find myself still intrigued watching the game

Starting point is 00:05:54 because I'm not sure what they're going to do next because so far they've proven that they're going to continue to fight until that 27th out or or more if needed like on Tuesday night is made like they're not going to quit until that last out happens they'll continue to scratch and claw their way back into games and I know that doesn't go unnoticed by Cardinal Nation because you can see it in the comments section in social media that fans are at least having a good time watching this team they're getting it that there's going to be some struggles. There's going to be some issues and we got a long season ahead of us. But at least from what I, the vibes I'm getting from everyone is that they're having a good time watching

Starting point is 00:06:33 this team so far. Some key stats from this game. Cardinals drew 10 walks, which is huge. But only two of them came around to score. So that certainly needs to improve. If the opponent's going to give you free runners, you got to say thank you and you got to capitalize on it. National stole five bases in the game matching the total that the Cardinals had allowed in the first 10 games. of the season. Three of them came off Libby, two, against Gordon Grecepho, and all of them came against Pedro Pahas, who has now thrown out two of nine would-be Steelers, while Herrera is over three, which is not great. That combines for just 17 percent of would-be stealers that they're throwing out. That needs to be better, and it's not just on the catchers. Don't get me wrong.

Starting point is 00:07:14 It's not just on them. Pitcher's got to be better at holding runners on, paying attention, using the slide step when you're throwing from the stretch. You can't just forget about those guys and just expect your catcher to bail you out. It's got to be better all around. But on a good note, the team is now three now in extra innings, which is cool. So three stars of the game. We got those coming up for you next on Lockdown Cardinals. Hey, this is Jeff Carr from Lockdown Reds.

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Starting point is 00:09:22 All right, time for the three stars of the game. And, you know, we can easily give it to church or C.C. For their clutch of bats, for their timely hits. But since we've already talked about demo that, let's move on to a little bit. Let's move on to another guy, a big guy. How about Jordan Walker, whose breakout season continues? Now, he was only one for five in this particular game, but he hit his fourth home run of the season. He drove into runs.

Starting point is 00:09:45 His two-out home run was another opposite field rocket, 109.1 miles per hour off the bat. And the pitch was actually sort of inner half of the plate, but Jordan was able to stay back and just drove it over the right center field wall to make the score five to three in the pitch. the seventh inning. And this was really important because the boys had scored since playing the two runs in the first inning. So this was a huge momentum boost. And it kind of woke the team up a little bit. It was like the smelling salts to get things moving again. Three run deficits for whatever reason feel way worse than two run deficits. So to cut into that lead was huge. He got a hold of another one in the ninth inning that he drove to the wall in right center field, which was run down by

Starting point is 00:10:29 Jacob Young, who is one of the best defensive center fielder's in baseball. So a lot of other guys would not have made that catch, but I was able to track it down, get it right in front of the wall and make the catch. And unfortunately, Herrera wasn't able to tag up because he thought it was going to get down. So he kind of went halfway like he should. And, you know, he makes the catch. So it is what it is. Walker remains on a heater.

Starting point is 00:10:51 He's going, he's gone seven for 17 in his last four games, three home runs, eight RBIs on the year. He's now right at 300 batting average. with four dingers, 11 ribbies, nine runs scored, all of which lead the club. And he's played a solid right field. He's a plus two defensive runs saved. And although the outs above average are at zero, which is not going to, you know, blow you away, don't forget that he was at minus 13 and minus four and then minus four again over the last

Starting point is 00:11:21 three seasons. So a zero is a positive. I don't feel like when the ball gets hit that way, that I'm like, oh, boy, I'm not hide my eyes like, oh gosh, this could be bad. I watch him take some pretty goofy routes on some fly balls, but he circles back and comes in and makes a catch. And maybe that's just the way he's going to be doing it. So has made an error so far. Second start of the game is going to get split. I want to give it up to both of the relievers, George Soriano and Riley O'Brien. Soriano comes on in the eighth inning through two outstanding innings did not allow a base runner. He struck out three.

Starting point is 00:11:56 He was hitting 97 and 98 on the fastball consistently. And it was cold out last night. And he looked good. My boy was hot. Was he a little amped up because he was facing his old team? Maybe. How do we get him to do that all the time? Because he looked outstanding.

Starting point is 00:12:12 And then you got Riley O'Brien, who takes over in the 10th inning. And it wasn't smooth by any means. Starts with a guy on second base, which is always tough. And he hits the first batter after getting ahead of him in the count. So that sucked. But he gets the big strike out of C. James, who's been on a tear to start the season, one of the best hitters in baseball, gets the weak contact on Jacob Young, which Gorman and Burley team up for this awesome play

Starting point is 00:12:35 to get the out. Yeah, he did uncork wild pitch that brought a run in, but he got the strikeout to end the game to pick up his third save of the season. And then our third start of the game, we're going to give it up to Nolan Gorman, who hopefully broke out of this recent slump that he's been in, had a three-hit effort. All of them were singles, which is weird, off of Nolan Gorman's bat because he's got so much power. But he added an RBI in that first inning to make it two to nothing. And then the barehanded charging play in that 10th inning to get the out of first base with barely making the scoop.

Starting point is 00:13:07 I had multiple people reach out to me saying I feel like I'm seeing flashbacks of Nato and Goldie back in their prime on that day or on that play. And it was it was awesome because it had to be made. They could not make a mistake there or that base runner's. getting on and then you get the wild pitch and things could have really unraveled quickly. But Gorman, a fantastic barehanded play over there, Burley making the pick. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Honorable mention, let's send one out to JJ Weatherhole.

Starting point is 00:13:38 Now, one for five with a walk and a run scored. It may not sound like the most impressive thing in the world, but that two-out RBI double in the 10th inning proved to be the game-winning hit. He also added his third stolen base of the season, the OBP, now is at 380, which is currently 20th in the National League. He's got nine runs scored, which tied for third, tied with Jordan Walker for the team lead. But JJ Weatherholt continues to be very impressive. And he continues to be a big cog in anything positive.

Starting point is 00:14:11 That goes on with the Cardinals. Like he's kind of the engine that gets things moving. And then you get the big boys who come up later on. We're still kind of waiting on Burleson to get hot again. But with Jordan Walker doing what he's doing right now, You know, Gorman hopefully is coming out of his mini slump at the moment. But it always seems to be that J.J. Weatherhold is the guy that's just getting things going or he's involved in some way, shape, or form, whether it's a walk, whether it's a sacrifice fly, whether it's, you know, the game winning RBI double in the 10th inning. You know, he just always seems to be involved in the positive things that are happening with this club, which is exactly what you want from him.

Starting point is 00:14:53 not an efficient night for Matthew Livertore. Needed 92 pitches to get through five innings, which is really getting old to see the starters not making it past five innings. A lot of four runs on nine hits, including two home runs while walking two and striking out six. Granted, it's early in the season, and these guys are still building up. And, you know, maybe in June we're talking about, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:15 him pushing through and trying to go for another inning. But Rob Raines points out at STL Sportspage.com, in the five games on this road trip in Detroit and in Washington so far. Cardinal starters have worked a total of 24 innings while the bullpen has had to cover 20. You can't do that. You just can't, especially when you don't have a bullpen that's just built with, you know, godlike relievers back there. We've seen them struggle.

Starting point is 00:15:39 And part of that is because they're having to work so much. You want to know how to expose your bullpen, which is already leaky early on in the season. This is how you do it. Not pitching deep in games. Some people are saying Ali's pulling guys a little bit too early. My guess is they just have a plan. There's a pitch count. There's a plan.

Starting point is 00:15:58 And they're not risking pushing people through that threshold just to get into another inning here in April. I think they're more concerned with the long run and, you know, the long term goal of this season. So I believe that's what it is. Some people are just like, you know, Ali sucks and he just keeps pulling everybody before they need to be pulled. maybe there's a little truth of that,

Starting point is 00:16:22 but I would assume that it has something more to do with building these guys up and then probably in the month of May, they're going to be pushing a little bit further, maybe 10 to 15 more pitches. And we'll see. We'll see if my theory is right or if Ali is just pulling us too early. So we'll find out. But not pitching deep in games.

Starting point is 00:16:41 The starter's got to be more efficient if they want to be able to do that and help this bullpen out a little bit. Up next, we're going to jump over to the minor league side of things where the Memphis Redbirds just keep. stacking winds behind a scorching hot jimmy crooks and an offense that just keeps piling up runs we'll talk about it next on locked on cardinals imblebee season is back you can feel it we've got the fresh starts for a lot of guys we've got big expectations for others and of course you know the the first cracks of the bat of the season they're always good time whether you're you're keeping an eye on a breakout rookie

Starting point is 00:17:18 like j j weatherhole whether it's the the division race which is you know already shaping up and a lot of places that could head down to the wire. There's nothing like being in the ballpark for all of the action. The only problem is getting tickets can sometimes feel like a grind. Long Q's surprise fees. Prices jumping at checkout. Who needs it? That's why you get game time. Game time is the app that gives fancy advantage with constant innovation. And it's how you unlock amazing tickets and experiences and do it in just a few taps. Very simple to use. You get the game time guarantee, which means you get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price. And the fees are included in the price you see. There's no like hidden fees to pop up like it used to be on some of these apps.

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Starting point is 00:18:42 the day. Thank you for making Lockdown, the number one sports podcast network. Memphis picks up another victory on Tuesday night, beating the Charlotte Knights 9 to 4. They're now 9 and 1 on the season. they got home runs from Nelson Velasquez. All right. Nelly popped his first one of the year. Many think he's been sulking and has just been in a rut because he's sad that he didn't make the major league roster. You got to have thicker skin than that if that's what's going on.

Starting point is 00:19:10 I don't know if that's what's actually happening, but that's what people are saying. Online. I'm not saying that I have some source that tells me that. Cesar Prieto pops his third. And he got catcher Jimmy Crooks clubbing his fourth of the year. three-run shot to cap a sixth run, sixth inning. Crooks is now betting 375. He's got four dingers, nine RBIs. His OBP is at 516. His sluggings at 917 in the Ops, an Astronomic 1.433. And fans are starting to chirp a little bit, starting to wonder if Crooks should be up on

Starting point is 00:19:44 that big league roster instead of, Pedro Pahez, Joel Pozo. Pahez is now hitting just 182 on the season. People are like, all right, well, you got a lefty down there that is mashing everything. You got a righty up here who's not throwing that many runners out. He's not hitting. What are we doing here? So we'll see how long this lasts. And if Crooks continues to do what he's doing, I don't know how you can leave him down there, you know, too much longer when he's just destroying everything in his path.

Starting point is 00:20:18 So we'll see them. You know, patience is going to be a thing this year because they're not in a run. to push these guys through and bring them up and not give them the playing time that they need. You know, they still want to get Yvonne Herrera plenty of time behind the plate. So we'll see. We'll see what they decide. But, you know, I would temper your expectations right now. Just relax a little bit and let's see how things progress.

Starting point is 00:20:43 I mentioned Brian Torres earlier since he's on the 40 man. Three hit night. A couple of runs scored. He's now batting 400 down there at Memphis. He's got previous batting averages of like, in the 370s when he was at double A last year. He was in the 300s like, I don't know, man, the guy could just hit. I don't know what it'll take for him to get a shot at a major league roster.

Starting point is 00:21:05 And he seems like he'd be the perfect Milwaukee Brewer, which is where he was before the Cardinals brought him in. And, you know, the little guy who just gets on base like a little mat with some speed, like he seems like a perfect brewer. I would take advantage of that at some point. Blaze Jordan continues his huge beginning of the season. Two for five with a double. He's hitting 4.67. Cesar Prieto mentioned his home run.

Starting point is 00:21:31 He's now bad at 452. Everything Memphis sees. They hit right now, except for, you know, something like the outfielder. So another big story in this game for Memphis, starter, 100 avids, allowed one run on five hits. He walked one. He struck out seven in five into third innings. He's going to be, he moved up. 2-0 91 pitches 62 of them for strikes he looked really really good he's now 2-0

Starting point is 00:21:56 richard fits is 1-0 with his eRA at 1.7 4-2 starts eventually these guys are coming they're not just going to leave him down there at memphis they're going to be up with the big club but when and how they move guys around to make room to make that happen is the real question um by the way talking about bullpen guys ryan fernandez made his fifth appearance and still has not allowed a run with the memphis redbird so just just kind of keeping an eye on him as guys like Sphonson continue to struggle, you know, whatever it is that's going on with him, does he need to go down to give somebody else a chance?

Starting point is 00:22:31 Or do they just want to fix them here in St. Louis? I don't think they want to move them down. I don't think they want to ship them. They want to get him right so he can stay with the big club. But Ryan Fernandez doing things down in Memphis. NL Central Roundup, Brewers lose to the Red Sox 3 to 2. really good pitchers matchup, Jacob Mizorowski, Garrett Crochet. That's a good one.

Starting point is 00:22:55 Ms. With 10 and 5 in a third, but still took the loss. So thank you to the Red Sox for not going off the Brewers. Reds were getting blanked by former Cardinal Sandy Alcantara for eight in a third inning. He was about to throw another Maddox. Like he was having another dominant performance. Two guys get on base in the ninth inning and the Marlins pulled him. The Marlins manager came out and pulled him and the bullpen immediately blew the game. It did not take long and they screwed it up.

Starting point is 00:23:28 And they end up losing an extra innings. Reds take it six three. Reds have now won five in a row. Pirates get a dominant start by Paul Skeens and crushed the Padre, seven to one. And then the Cubs, they got that bad news that Kate Horton is now done for the year. He'll have elbow surgery.

Starting point is 00:23:42 And they ended up taking out their frustrations on the raise, winning nine to two. Alex Bregman and PCA each at three hits each. So your standings, After April the 7th, Reds and Brewers tied at the top of the Central at 8 and 3. Pirates are behind them at 7 and 4. Cardinals at 6 and 5 and the Cubs in the cellar at 5 and 6. Michael McGreevy gets the ball today in a late afternoon tilt against former Cardinal Miles Michaelis,

Starting point is 00:24:07 who's got a 14.46 ERA after two starts. Supposed to be a much nicer day in Washington today. Sunshine mid-50s. So let's hope the Cardinals can go. Negan style with their bats on Michaelis's brains and get that win. You can't lose to Miles Michaelis. You can't do it. My heart, my mind, my soul will not be able to handle that.

Starting point is 00:24:32 You have got to pummel this guy. Please, I'm begging you. Thanks for making a lockdown cardinals. You first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L.O underscore Cardinals. Find us on TikTok and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube and help our channel and our love for the Cardinals. If you never miss an episode, check out the Everydayer Club.

Starting point is 00:24:49 Add free plus members only Discord access. We got that full free month available. Use the code finally. Head to Locked on STL Cardinals at Supercast.com to join the club. For those of you on video, we'll send you to the first ever 24-7 national lockdown podcast network YouTube channel on audio. Make your second list on Locked on MLB. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Locked on Cardinals, hopefully celebrating another series win.

Starting point is 00:25:13 And I can bust out the ugly shirt again.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Nathan Church and Thomas Saggese STEP UP With Timely Heroics!

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