Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - OUCH: Nick Castellanos HAUNTS St. Louis Cardinals Again—Should They Have Even Pitched to Him?

Starting point is 00:00:00 One strike away from what would have been a huge, huge series when turns into bitter disappointment. I hate that Nick Castiano's. 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 Jannie Haftor. And today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account.

Starting point is 00:00:34 use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. On today's show, we're discussing the weekend that was in San Diego. Cardinal starters were insanely good. Offense was, but how angry can we really be? Right. I mean, the San Diego Padres are one of the best ball clubs in the league. Their biggest problem is that they play in the same division as the Dodgers, or they'd probably have a lot more divisional titles.

Starting point is 00:01:00 They've got a ton of high-priced talent. They've got an incredible bullpen. and Miller is everything you could imagine him to be, although the Cardinals, you know, got to him a little bit because of his walks, but still, I mean, four strikeouts in that any, he's disgusting, a fan base that is out of this world. And still, the Cardinals went to Petco Park and played them extremely tough in four straight games and were one out away from winning the series. And that's when that's son of a guy, Nick Costiano's. steps up to the plate and ruins all our fun, something he's been known to do against the Cardinals in his career.

Starting point is 00:01:41 And this has some people wondering if they should have even pitched him in the first place and instead moved on to the next header. So I want to dissect that real quick because it's a fair question. You know, should we have been even pitching to Nick Castiano? Now, I'm going to give you both sides here. Coming into the series, he was and still is having his worst season as a major leaguer. He was batting 183 with one home run and 11 RBIs with an OPS plus. of 41 in Friday's game. He was 0 for two with two strikeouts. Was that Friday? No, Thursday's game. He was over two with two strikeouts. Legitimately a shell of the guy who used to be a doubles

Starting point is 00:02:18 an RBI machine while in his prime with the Tigers, the Cubs, the Reds, and then the Phillies. So why wouldn't you attack someone like that with two outs in the ninth inning? Why wouldn't you? Why would you walk somebody like that? Like if he took his name away, and just looked at who he was this season. Why would you ever consider walking him? And that's where we got to what he's done against, or how we get to what he's done against the Cardinals, okay?

Starting point is 00:02:48 Because now you're thinking about what has happened in the past that makes you fear that dude who's at the plate. And in his career, Nick Castiano's has hit the Cardinals well. He was hitting 290 with nine home runs and 37 RBIs and 63 games, total OPS plus of 112, which was the seventh highest number that he has against any major league team. So there is some history there of success when facing our St. Louis Cardinals. He's also the guy that once flexed on poor Jake Woodford while he was with the Reds, a photo that the Reds used as a symbol for their 2021 season.

Starting point is 00:03:24 It was on posters and it was hanging outside the ballpark. The footage was constantly used in their highlight reels. it triggered a skirmish in that game between the two teams. I should know I was there. And it made them feel like tough guts for a little bit. Reds kind of walked with their chest out a little bit, like, yeah, we got this guy. And then that year, they did win 10 of 19 games against the Cardinals, but they still finished seven games back of the Cardinals and the division.

Starting point is 00:03:51 So we got the last laugh at the end. But back to this. So should we have pitched to Nick Castellanos in that situation and instead moved on and attacked another hitter. Personally, I'm not bringing the game winning run to the plate because that's what you're talking about. The game tying run is at home play to Nick Costianis. I'm not doing that. I'm not putting him on and then put the go ahead run like at home play, the winning run. That's just not something I want to do. All right. I'm trusting my closer. Riley O'Brien, who has been outstanding this year, he's been filthy. And as the event continued,

Starting point is 00:04:32 and you can start to feel it coming on. It was a nine-pitch at bat, and Castiano's kept fouling pitches off. He fouled four pitches off in this at bat. You could just sense that he was seeing the ball well off of O'Brien. He wasn't really getting fooled all that much. And Riley kept going away, away, away, and he finally busted a sinker in. And it genuinely was not a bad pitch.

Starting point is 00:04:54 I saw some comments like, oh, my gosh, he threw it right over the heart of the plate. No, he didn't. He didn't. 98 miles per hour on the black of the inside corner. on a sinker. But Castiano's breaks our hearts with one swing. Sends the game to extra innings.

Starting point is 00:05:10 He's had moments like this in the past. And he's just one of those dudes who just kind of clutch. And it's why teams have kept them around despite, you know, even this year. Like the Phillies desperately wanted to get rid of him. Nobody wanted it. And he goes to San Diego who were like, all right, maybe we can use, you know, the aura that is Nick Castiano. and it hasn't done well so far this year.

Starting point is 00:05:35 But it comes through here. Comes through here, breaks our heart, sends the game to extra innings. And you know how we say, you know, things usually even out during a baseball season. You've heard me say that before if you're in every day. Any of these blue pits that fall means that line drives are going to get caught later and vice versa.

Starting point is 00:05:53 Well, the Cardinals got kind of a miracle win off the pirates at the beginning of the series in Pittsburgh. Remember the whole perfect game thing that was going on? And then out of nowhere, the Cardinals explode. and steal a game from Pittsburgh and that ninth and he come back. They also got that game saving catch by my guy Nathan Church and another one against the pirates where Riley thought he had given up and served up the game winning Dinger in that game, but Church comes bouncing around and makes the catch.

Starting point is 00:06:18 So, you know, here is your baseball gods balancing things out a little bit. Like Thanos in Avengers and game, perfectly balanced as all things should be. It happens. It happens. You can't get too worked up about this. You know, stuff happens in this crazy game of baseball. And in this instance, Nick Castiano's got the best of Riley O'Brien. All right.

Starting point is 00:06:43 I don't remember coming into the season going, you know what? Nobody hits Riley O'Brien ever. That's not true. He is not Mason Miller, all right, who is virtually untouchable. He's very good. And he's been very good for the Cardinals. But in this instance, Costiano beats him, you know. And you still had a chance.

Starting point is 00:07:00 We keep looking at this home run. if that was the game winning home run. It wasn't. Cardinals had a chance in extra innings to win this game. But the offense outside of the Jordan Walker mammoth home run off the machine machinery building over there in left center or left field, they did very little to get anything going on Sunday. And in the extra innings, you know, the choice to walk Jackson, and Meryl to set up the double play right away in the 10th. It was a choice that I don't see all that often, but I've often wondered why teams don't do this more.

Starting point is 00:07:37 You know, that run means nothing. If it's a tie ball game, that run means nothing. Why not set up the D.P and see if you can get two outs right away instead of just one, you know, but Gordon Grecepo, who's been so good this year, had no feel for the breaking stuff. He couldn't get it over. He was all over the place. get Tatis Jr. despite Fernandez,

Starting point is 00:07:58 Jr. trying to give himself up. He was trying to sacrifice. He looked, he didn't look like he was a very good bunner, but I honestly don't know if he normally is or not. But he wanted to give himself up and move those guys over to second and third. And they couldn't get him. I mean, he's just giving you it out. And Grispo couldn't get it over the plate. Had he done that, you could have pitched around Mani Machado, like if Tatis had made the bunt as well. I'm saying like you could have pitched around Machado who ends up hitting the game winning sack fly after Tatis walked. And at the same time, though,

Starting point is 00:08:34 Mary Machado's hitting just 191 this year. This has not been the same guy that we're used to seeing. Either way, we could go over this stuff again and again. And I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. I thought Ali did a great job setting up the bullpen to be perfectly the blueprint that you want it to be. And it just didn't work. It just didn't work on Sunday. Either way, it sucked. It sucked, right? That wasn't fun. of finishing this 16 game grind that was supposed to be 17 and 17, but we had that rain out against the Brewers, instead of finishing that with 10 wins, which would have been amazing. You finish it 9 and 7, and for whatever reason, just that 10th win just sounds so much better

Starting point is 00:09:12 than 9, even though it's only one win. But you still got to look at what the team did over the 16 games as a success. Okay. again, I said coming into this part, if you can get 500 out of this and somehow like finished with eight to nine wins, that's huge. That's huge because you were facing the pirates, the Dodgers, the Brewers, the Padres, all these teams are good, very good. The weakest one maybe, I guess you would say, well, certainly you would say is the pirates.

Starting point is 00:09:46 But they're still a very good team too this year. So it's not like they're the old pirates that teams used to take advantage of, not even close anymore. So you got to look at it as a success, feel good about it. As a competitor, you want to win every game. And to have one slip through your fingers like that, that sucks, but that's not fun. But overall, the series in San Diego, at least in my opinion, should be viewed as a success. Okay.

Starting point is 00:10:14 Maybe they wore down over the last couple of games because just the wear and tear of how many games they've been playing. recently, but a lot of good things happened in this series, and most of it circles around the starting rotation and the bullpen in general. The pitching for the Cardinals in the series was outstanding. So I want to give its proper due next on Locked on Cardinals. MLB season is back. You can feel it. We've got the Cardinals definitely outperforming what anybody thought they would be doing so far this year. And now you want to get down to the ballpark and be a part of all the excitement. The problem is getting tickets can sometimes be an issue. It can be a grind. Long Q's surprise fees. Price is jumping up and checkout. Who needs it? That's why there's game time.

Starting point is 00:11:04 The Game Time app gives fancy advantage with constant innovation. It's how you unlock amazing tickets and experiences and you do it in just a few taps. Very simple to use. Game time guarantee means you're not going to get taken for granted. You're going to get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price. And the fees are included in the price that you see. There's no goofy fees. they pop up at the end and double whatever your price was that you saw in the first place. No, the price you see is the price you pay, period. They got seat views, zone deals. You can follow your favorite teams and get alerts on them with just a few taps and it's done.

Starting point is 00:11:37 No stress, no hidden fees, just great seats. And you do it in minutes. And that's why it's very easy to decide last minute if you want to hit up a ball game. So when the Cardinals get back to town, you know where to go. Take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with game time. Download the game time app, create an account, use code locked on for $20. off your first purchase, terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-M-L-L-C-K-E-O-N, MLB, or actually just locked on, not locked on MLB. L-O-C-E-D-O-N. Scratch the other part. Do that for 20 bucks off now. Download the game time app today.

Starting point is 00:12:15 Thanks again for making it locked on Cardinals. Your first listen of the day. Thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you're an everydayer, you're falling in love with the Cardinals again, the Every Dayer Club is where you need to be. It unlocks every episode. It gets to you ad-free. You also get access to our private listener group chat. So tap the link in the show notes or go to locked on sdl cardinals. That's supercast.com for more information. So good pitching beats good hitting, right?

Starting point is 00:12:39 That's the theory. And in this series, there wasn't a lot of offense on either side, to be honest with you. The Padres aren't ripping the ball around the ballparks these days like you'd expect a team that features names like Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Who still doesn't have a home run. Jackson Merrill. Benar Bogart's Miguel Anduhar, Gavin Sheets, he's pretty good. And among others, there's a lot of names over there. And you got to tip your cap to what you saw from this Cardinals pitching staff, the starters and the bull pit.

Starting point is 00:13:10 But the starters were incredible. They were incredible. One strike away from two shutout victories over the Padres in San Diego. Crazy, right? It didn't happen. So we got to quit pretending that we were almost there to take the numbers for what they really are. but still eight run total in four games against that lineup in their ballpark. You're going to take that all day every day. Matthew Libertor. He was awesome on Thursday, six innings, one run. We talked a lot about him and how his curveball was really working on that night. So, you know, Thursday night, he was outstanding.

Starting point is 00:13:46 And he looked as good as I've seen him all season. So that was great. Obviously, Michael McGreevy on Friday night. I mean, my goodness, how good was he on Friday night? Six. out innings, one hit, struck out nine. When did you ever think you would see Michael McGreevy, whose average VILA was like 90 striking out nine dudes? He's changeup extremely effective in that game. He had a little extra giddy up on the fastball, actually, because he

Starting point is 00:14:13 was hit 94, 95 sometimes, you know, on that game on Friday. So I had a lot of friends and family in there. So the adrenaline pumping him up a little bit. But those six shutout innings lowered his season, ERA to 2.18, which is the ninth lowest total among starters in the big leagues this season, is 0.86 width. That's third best. His opponent's batting average of 184 is eighth lowest in the league. And I know the analytics, we've said this before. They tell you that he's not supposed to be this good. Like, if you go look at his baseball savon page, there's nothing that stands out to you. Fastball below, bottom of the league in the fifth percentile in an era where everybody is throwing 1001.

Starting point is 00:14:54 The expected ERA is 5.07, yet it's at 2.18. The chase, the whiff, the K percentage, all lower third in the league. But here we are with Michael McGreevy, only allowing more than three runs in two of his eight starts so far, hasn't given up a run in his last 14 innings pitched. And these are games against good teams, Seattle, the Dodgers, the Padres. These are not pushover lineups. These are really good teams. These are World Series caliber teams.

Starting point is 00:15:27 And Michael McGreevy has baffled them. He's got some magic going on. So props to Michael McGreevy. He's been awesome. Let's go to Saturday, Dustin May, who although not as sterling as Michael McGreevy, tough to match those numbers. Still, another quality start from Dustin May.

Starting point is 00:15:45 Six innings. He allows three runs. Only two of them are earned on just three heads. he strikes out of season high, seven, but a losing effort because the offense couldn't get anything going against Vasquette's, four to two loss on Saturday. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning when Ty France took him deep, and that's when all the damage got done was in that fifth inning. So since Dustin May's first two starts, which we know were fugly, he's now had six starts

Starting point is 00:16:14 has gone three and two. The team is four and two starts, has thrown 35 in a third innings, the struck out 25 in the IRA at 2.55. His FIP also a solid 3.30. He's steady. He's getting it done. Got to keep him healthy. That's always the thing. Like, you know, at this point, you're like, all right, things are really good. Let's not, let's not foobar this thing and have an issue an issue because of an injury or something like that. But so far, Dustin Mays looked great out there. And then on Sunday, something lost in this game because of the way it ended was how good Kyle Leahy was. Did pitch around a few walks, four of them to be exact, which is not what you want.

Starting point is 00:16:54 But he fires five shutout innings. And then you combine that with his last start when he went five and a third and allowed just one run. And you've got the makings of a pretty good stretch of baseball for one Kyle Leahy, who seemed like the weakest link in this rotation so far this season because of how well Andre Palante has pitched. McGreevy's been really, really good. You know, Libby and May have been solid. And then, you know, it was. Kyle Hayhew's kind of been like, it's still a work in progress, which it is reliever,

Starting point is 00:17:25 switching to starter. It's not the easiest thing in the world. But he looks like he's starting to figure things out a little bit. Looks a little more comfortable out there in his start. So, you know, until that home run on Sunday, let's go to the bullpen on the side of things

Starting point is 00:17:41 until the who we got here. We got Stanick here. Yeah, who we're going to get to him. Hold on. But until the bull the bullpen gave up the home run on Sunday, they'd allow just one run in the three games prior. And that came off Matt Sponson on Saturday, which was the home run.

Starting point is 00:17:58 You know, George Soriano, Jojo Romero, Ryan Stanick, Justin Broly, all came away unscathed. Gricefo gives up the underrun on Sunday. And then you have the dingers off O'Brien and on Sponson. That was it. And I want to show some love to Ryan Stannick for what he's been doing recently. I know I made that AI, Stannick Panic Cartoon, which was a little petty on my side.

Starting point is 00:18:22 I just wanted to try AI for that. That was the first thing I've ever done with AI. And I thought it was, I was like, that's kind of funny. But the guy's been really good since April 29th in that game against Pittsburgh. Since that day, he has rattled off five straight scoreless appearances with six whiffs, two hits, one walk. One walk is the key there. You know, they're going to get base hits here and there.

Starting point is 00:18:43 He's going to pick up his strikeouts. He was already doing that. But he was putting so many guys. guys on base causing him so himself so many problems. But one walk in those five appearances, that's freaking awesome. So props to Ryan Stanick and the pitching coaches for getting him back where they need him to be because we know he's got some naughty stuff in that right arm of this. We know he's hitting 99 constantly with the fastball. We know he's got the splitter and he's got the sweeper slider and he's got nasty stuff. But he kept walking.

Starting point is 00:19:17 in everybody and it was causing so many issues. So now that he's not, you're seeing him be a very nice piece of that bullpen right now. Will it continue? That's what you got to figure out. Is this just a phase? Will we get the static panic guy here in another week or so? I don't know. I hope not, because I like it when they succeed. And I know the offense, well, we'll talk about the offense a little bit here because I know they didn't quite live up to what we wanted to see two runs on Thursday, six on Friday, but all of that came in one inning helped out immensely by the J. Weatherhole Little League Grand Slam under Tatis's glove. Two runs on Saturday and Sunday, but, you know, they ran into a couple of buzz sauce starters.

Starting point is 00:19:56 You know, Michael King's been awesome. Randy Vasquez has been really, really good. The real disappointing game, in my opinion, was what we saw on Sunday and not being able to muster more off of Walker Bueller, who's very erratic. You know, he's up and down and, you know, we happened to catch him on a day where he was pitching well. but, you know, because he's also held the Cubs and the Mariners in check recently, but then he'll give up like four or five to somebody else. So we just, this was a good day for Bueller and a bad day for the Cardinals, bats. And again, maybe being at the end of this stretch here, they're a little worn out.

Starting point is 00:20:28 That's a possibility. I'm not going to make an excuse, you know, they should, that extra day off they got with the Milwaukee rain out, they should have felt better than maybe they do. But either way, still, nine and seven over the stretch. I feel like that was a success by far. Like even if they had lost, even if they'd gone seven and nine, I don't think I would have been hugely disappointed with that.

Starting point is 00:20:52 Like, got to remember where we were with this team. Like this team's not supposed to be what it's doing, yet they are doing it. And it's got everybody excited. So now we expect them to win every time they go out there. And it's still a young team. And it's still a team that's learning. And hopefully they learn from what happened here.

Starting point is 00:21:09 You know, how many games of the Cardinals, you know, pulled the rabbit out of the hat so far this year and got a victory. And now they had one pulled out against them. And it doesn't feel so good, does it? So I hope it's just a learning experience. Riley O'Brien, do not hang your head. Let's just, you know, you got to move on. You take this day off on Monday and you get ready for the A's.

Starting point is 00:21:29 So we're going to check in on what else happened over the weekend as far as the NL Central, see where things stand for the Cardinals. They get their first scheduled day off in a couple of weeks today. So plus some listener comments on the. game from Sunday. We'll get into those first. That's coming up next on lockdown cradles. If you've got a sweet tooth like I do, you know how tough it is to find that perfect treat, but get it without all the sugar. That's why confetti craze five hour energy shot brings that nostalgic flavor, but it does it in this whole new way that doesn't make you feel guilty.

Starting point is 00:22:05 You don't feel bad about it. It's the classic taste you remember, but with a tasty caffeine boost that's going to get you, you know, revved up for the day. It's a Monday. So we got to get our energy up to get the week started, but you get to do it without sugar. Zero sugar. It's very quick and easy way to satisfy not only your sweet craving, but get you going. It's very simple. It's something that you can take on the go, which is one of my favorite things about this is that, you know, it's convenient, small, portable shot. I can grab whatever I need to a little pick me up and just, whoop, toss it back, and you're good to go. It's become my go-to when I want something not only sweet and not, you know, so I don't go overboard and eat a lot of like bad calories and

Starting point is 00:22:44 sugar, but also, instead of drinking like a huge energy drink, you do the five-hour energy shot. Like, it's beautiful. You're going to love it if you haven't tried it already. So give it a whirl. The funfetti flavor is back on five-hour energy.com or Amazon crack open, confetti craze, five-hour energy shot today. Thanks again for making Locked on Cardinals. First listen to the day, thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network.

Starting point is 00:23:12 All right, let's start with some comments from Sunday's game, which most people, despite being bummed, for good reason after the game we're like I'm going to be honest with you too I had the ugly shirt is right over there I had it out and was putting it on buttoning it up when the home run by Castiano's happened I was like I was like did I just jinx everybody

Starting point is 00:23:36 but then I saw other people online taking credit for jinxing them as well so it wasn't just me but that's how close we were I mean it was one strike away from another series win but despite that Despite that, things seem to be very positive among Cardinal Nation. I mean, does anybody remember how crappy we felt during the offseason in spring training? There were so many questions about this team. Like, it was just, you know, like where we are right now is amazing.

Starting point is 00:24:06 And that's what some of these people are saying here. So let's start with some comments from Sunday's game, which most people, like I said, despite being bummed, very positive about it. kids are playing above and beyond. We had so many questions this offseason. I'm thoroughly pleased with everything that's happening. I think that's what he's trying to say there. Hits runs were tough to come by and the Cardinals did everything right

Starting point is 00:24:27 and in the right order pitching wise. So J.C. swinging at the first pitch drove me crazy, but sometimes you steal a game and others steal a game from you. Oh, well, on a Tuesday, let's win another series. A lot of people just putting go cards, go cards, great series still, tough loss, go cards. I hope this doesn't lead to an extended losing streak. The next game will tell me something about this team. We also had some people who aren't even Cardinals fans jumping in here.

Starting point is 00:24:53 Pods fan here. We love your closer. You didn't love him so much on Thursday, though, did you? When he, you know, worked right through you. We got a Philly fan. That's what Casti does. Yeah, yeah. We've been learning for a while that Castianos is kind of a dog against the Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:25:13 That's why it stings more because it was him. Like if Fernando Tatsis Jr. Or Machado beat you, you're kind of like, well, you know, these are these are guys that we don't mind. You know, it's just something about Nick Castellanos. He's always going to, you know, it's just going to hit a nerve with Cardinals fans. He's, again, a guy that you love on your team, but you hate when you have to go up against them. Like, if he was a Cardinal, we'd probably love him. Love that other teams are coming into the comments and watching.

Starting point is 00:25:43 kind of means we're relevant. You know, I enjoy that, you know, thought that that was a possibility when the season began, that, you know, maybe we'd surprise them people. I did not realize we'd be surprising people as much as we are right now. And now that we've got Pods fans and Phillies fans, I'm sure we're going to get some A's guys that pop into the chat and stuff coming up in the next few days. And it's awesome. I love the fact that, you know, the competitiveness is here.

Starting point is 00:26:09 Cardinals fans are sticking up for themselves in the comments section as well. So I love that because many of us thought that, you know, the cardals are going to get kicked around a little bit this year and it was going to be a down year. And so far, that has been completely false. And in coming back from whatever bad stuff has happened for this team this year, it's one of the things that has stood out about this team. Because like this one says, it's okay, we'll just start another winning streak.

Starting point is 00:26:39 That's the attitude. That's the attitude that you need. It's something that this team has shown. on the ability to do. Win or lose, they just move on. They move on to the next game. They don't dwell on the previous game. They don't say, hey, look how great we are.

Starting point is 00:26:51 No, they just move on. They're like, cool, victory. Let's keep it going. Moving on. Same thing with losses. Ah, that one sucked. Let's move on. They've had tough losses already this year.

Starting point is 00:27:01 This is not the first. It certainly will not be the last, believe me. But they've shown a resiliency to bounce back from adversity. They get the day off. And they'll get a chance to do that in Sacramento, which is still weird to say the Sacramento A's. Like I want to say Oakland all the time. But anyway, they're going to be battling the A's in Sacramento at that minor league

Starting point is 00:27:22 ballpark where offense is usually king. So get ready for that. And the A's currently lead the ALS at 21 and 19. They're only eight and eight at home. They took two out of three from the Orioles over the weekend, but had lost back-to-back series against the Phillies and the Guardian. So they've got some hosses, you know, Nick Kurtz is a dog, you know, They've got some young talent on that team.

Starting point is 00:27:45 You know, Britt Rooker is back. They got Jacob Wilson at shortstop. He's really good. Soderstum is very good as well. So they've got some really good pieces on that team. Shea Bengaleers is back from Dad Duty. He and his, I know all this because he's on my fantasy team, but he's been a dog all year too,

Starting point is 00:28:04 just mashing home runs from the catcher position. So pitching is going to need to be strong if they want to win this series. But we'll talk more about that in the next episode. But as far as the rest of the NL Central goes, first place Cubs had been undefeated in the month of May until Saturday when they got shut out 6-0 by Texas, who then shot them out again on Sunday, 3-0-0. They'll get Monday off before going to Atlanta.

Starting point is 00:28:27 So that could be an awesome series. So we'll see if the Cubs are real because the Braves are certainly real. The Braves are elite right now. Cubs, a lot of injuries. And this is not a knock against the Cubs at all. Like I've been impressed with how they've been able to stay the course despite all of the pitching injuries they've been dealing with. So we'll see how they match up with Atlanta.

Starting point is 00:28:48 So that's going to be a real test for them. Brewers sweep the New York Yankees for the first time since 1989. Bryce to rank, it's a walkoff dinger on Sunday. They shut them out on Friday, 6-0, beat them 4-3 on Saturday as well. As Sam from Locktog Cubs tweeted earlier, the Brewers are brewing again. Yeah, here they come. They're starting to get healthier. They've pulled percentage points ahead of the Cardinals now.

Starting point is 00:29:11 at 22 and 16 while the Cardinals are at 23 and 17. And the Brewers will be hosting the Padres beginning on Tuesday. Pirates and Reds are now tied for fourth place, both the 22 and 19. Pirates lost two of three in San Francisco. They also lost Jake Mangum to a hammy injury. So we'll see how that affects their lineup. They've got Colorado coming into town starting on Tuesday. And then there's the Reds who hadn't won a game in May until Saturday.

Starting point is 00:29:37 And they had lost eight in a row to start the month. They fell to last place, but they ended up taking. making the final two games against Houston. They're now 22 and 19 as well. They host the Washington Nationals for three beginning on Tuesday. So the whole division has the day off here on Monday. Our next episode, we're going to talk about power rankings. Cardinals bumped up again.

Starting point is 00:29:57 We'll talk about what the team needs to improve on. And we'll preview what's going to happen with the A's and any other things that we want to discuss. We'll take your questions and comments from the listeners. So, you know, hit me up in the comment. section. There's something you want to discuss, you know, something with a bullpen, rotation. And I'm starting to see the Jimmy Crook stuff pop up a little more. Like, what are we doing? Why is he still down there? These are things we can chat about. So,

Starting point is 00:30:22 let me know what you want to hear and discuss in the comments section. And we can do that for Tuesday's episode. Thank you for making Lockton, Cardinals, your first listen every day. Now, if you haven't done this already, give us a follow on X at L.O. underscore Cardinals, TikTok, Instagram, at Lockton Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube. We're pushing for 14,000, 500 subscribers where we're inch and closer to there. You know, the goal is obviously to get to 15K sooner rather than later. But we got to do it step by step. So if you're somebody who enjoys the content and you're loving Cardinal baseball again,

Starting point is 00:30:53 the way these boys are playing, then give me a follow and subscribe on YouTube. And then we'll be in your feet all the time. And if you never miss an episode, the Everyday Air Club is there for you. Get locked on Cardinals ad free. Members only Discord access and more at a locked on STL Cardinals. That 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 sure your second list is Locked on MLB.

Starting point is 00:31:18 You're the best fans in baseball for a reason. Enjoy the day off here on Monday. And we'll be back here on Tuesday on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - OUCH: Nick Castellanos HAUNTS St. Louis Cardinals Again—Should They Have Even Pitched to Him?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.