Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Sonny Gray Masterclass STIFLES Dodgers as Cardinals Snatch Unlikely Victory | Team Adds A Lefty And Loses Luken Baker
Episode Date: August 5, 2025Cardinals stun Dodgers 3-2 in thrilling pitchers' duel. Can St. Louis build momentum from this win?Sonny Gray dominates with 7 strong innings, outdueling Dodgers' ace. Yohel Pozo delivers clutch pinch...-hit RBI single in the 9th, while Lars Nootbaar's game-saving catch seals the victory. JD breaks down Gray's resurgence, Masyn Winn's offensive spark, and the bullpen's lockdown performance.Roster moves as Luken Baker departs and Anthony Veneziano joins the pitching staff. Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIOFollow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_CardinalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYTime to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.PrizePicks — Run Your Game.Click Link Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLBGameday HueLet your colors talk—because colors speak louder than words. Right now, you can get 15% off with code MLB15 at GamedayHue.com.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.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 #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Fun, entertaining baseball was back as the St. Louis Cardinals shocked the world and take down the Dodgers in LA.
Let's get to it.
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.
I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm your host for Lockdown Cardinals.
Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day.
Follow me on X at JD Sports Radio and the.
podcast Twitter handle or X handle at L0 underscore Cardinals.
You got us on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram at Locked on Cardinals.
This is a show that serves Cardinal Nation and gives the best fans in baseball, all of the
info about the birds on the bat.
This episode brought to you by five-hour energy transfusion.
Go to five-hour energy.com today and use my promo code locked on golf to receive 20%
off your order, only valid through September 30th, order transfusion flavored five-hour
energy shots today.
So on today's episode, we,
have a conclusion to the Lucan Baker era in St. Louis, as well as a new left-handed reliever to
talk about that they claimed off of waivers from the Marlins. But let's get into the game
from last night because this was fun. This was one of the more fun games to watch this year.
And I mean, there hasn't been a whole lot to cheer about recently, right? I mean, let's be honest.
It's been a bit depressing.
It's been annoying.
It sucks that the Cardinals are where they are.
Big letdown in the month of July, which essentially knocked them out of contention for a wild card spot.
They sell at the trade deadline.
Everything is going down the crapper, right?
And then they go to San Diego.
They lose two or three to the Padres.
Now you got the Dodgers staring at you.
And the Dodgers obviously are a very good team, just like San Diego is.
And you were just hoping that maybe the idea of being at Dodger Stadium and taking on Shohei Otani and the boys maybe would lift the spirits of the Cardinals and they could play up to their competition.
And that's kind of what happened in this one.
And it all started with Sunny Gray.
The struggles have been well documented, the last, what, three games coming into this one.
He's been terrible.
ERA, 11.48.
he's giving him five home runs, 13 and a third innings, 30 hits.
What?
19 runs, 17 of them earned.
I mean, he's been awful.
I mean, these are the numbers you expect from, no offense, but Miles Michaelis or Eric Feddy, you know, this is not supposed to be.
Sunny Gray.
Sunny Gray is not supposed to get hit like this.
Summer heat taking its toll on him, sweaty hands, lack of command, all of it has led to the Cardinals number one.
guy to being everything but a number one guy. And it's one of the reasons that this team
decided to sell at the deadline. You know, they come out of that break playing well,
sunny gray pitching well. Maybe things are a little bit different. Maybe they don't sell off these guys.
But that's okay. You know, I still kind of wanted them too just because they need to start moving
forward to what they're going to be, not keep wallowing here and thinking that this group, the way they
are this year was going to do anything in the playoffs.
So even if this team had made any moves to add to the current roster,
they weren't going to be significant moves.
Anyway, they would have been your normal low-hanging fruit.
Garbage guys at the front office would pray to the baseball gods.
Please make him good for two more months.
But for the first time since his game, like in Cleveland,
back at the end of June, June 27th, Sunny Gray,
he looked like himself again.
He looked like the sunny gray that we expect.
to see. He looked dominant. And he did it against one of the best lineups in all of baseball. He came out
humming on Monday night, strikes out show Hey, Otani in the in the first inning, which was obviously
kind of a setting the tone to what was to come. He gets Mickey Betts to fly out. Freddie Freeman
strikes out. So solid first inning. I mean, that's five MVP trophies between those three guys.
So very nice start to the game for Sunny. And he never relented after that. He looked.
he looked energized he looked like he had some juice to him which again the heat in st louis
i mean we all know just walking around town how disgusting and awful it is and how he can beat you
down imagine having to go out there and play a a sport in that weather and uh you know sunny's not a
big guy you know he's a little dude so uh i can see how that that would have been an issue uh
ends up giving up that home run to freeman in the fourth inning but uh it wasn't even really a
bad pitch. You know, it's a cutter low and end, probably wish he had gotten it inside a little more
on Freddie, but didn't happen. Freeman, obviously, a great hitter, future Hall of Famer
obliterated it for a solo home run. But that was it, man, Sunny Fire seven innings, one run,
one hit, eight Ks, and he does it on 90 pitches. He was absolutely brilliant, carving his way
through the lineup. He was in rhythm. He was crisp. It was really a lot of fun to watch if you like
good pitching. The sweeper certainly stood out. That was on point. Had guys fishing all night
long, fooling them. Greyface, 23 batters, only five of them got the ball out of the infield.
And we're talking about the Dodgers here. We're talking about the Dodgers who have all of that
talent. Otani, Muki, Freddie, Will Smith, who leads the NL and hitting. Max Muncie was back.
Hey, Oscar Hernandez and Annie Paez.
Like, they just got a stacked lineup.
These are the defending champs.
They know how to win.
And for Sunday to go out and shove the way he did,
it was awesome to see.
The only sad part about what transpired last night for Sunny Gray
was the fact that as good as he was,
he didn't factor into the decision because on the other side,
the Dodgers had Tyler Glassnow, who is healthy
and back in their rotation.
And he was almost as good as sunny gray.
Glass now ends up going seven innings in this one.
He allows only three hits, one run.
He strikes out seven.
Offensively, the Cardinals were able to get on the board on a no doubt home run by Mason
win in that second inning, which was great to see his eighth of the year.
The only hit of the night for Mason to win, but he was one for three.
And it's hitting 350 since the All-Star break and has raised his overall average up to 270,
which is more, you.
You know, it was what, a week, maybe a week and a half ago that I was kind of like,
we're not really seeing much progression out of Mason when as a hitter so far this year.
Everything's kind of the same.
Well, right now, he looks pretty darn good at the plate and is on a little bit of a heater right now.
And I hope it continues because this is one of the guys that needs to be the dude.
Yvonne Herrera goes yard in this one.
In the eighth inning, to give the Cardinals a brief two to one lead.
It was his 10th home run of the season, another no doubter, 109.4 off the bat, 428.
feet away. He smoked that ball. He was the only Cardinal who had multiple hits in this particular
game and is now seven for his last 11 at the plate after going through a little bit of a cold
spell. I wouldn't say it was a slump. I mean, three games without a hit, I don't call him slumps.
It's just kind of like, hey, it's a little bump on the road. But he's back at it again.
He's got his average on the season up to 310. So good to see Yvonne raking once again.
but the Dodgers would get one off Riley O'Brien in that eighth inning after a leadoff double by Teasca Hernandez.
And the Dodgers, you know, they did it like small ball way to get the run in.
They get a couple ground balls, which moves Hernandez over and end.
Riley O'Brien, I tell you, I see why he's so tantalized.
You know, he's got some of the easiest 99 miles per hour coming out of that arm of his.
Like it doesn't look like he even has to put forth a whole lot of effort.
He's not one of these guys.
It's like, you know, and rocket and firing.
And you're looking all jerky or anything out there.
Like it seems to come out of his hand just so nicely.
And you look at you're like 99 mile an hour sinker.
That's some wicked stuff right there.
Really just needs to work on locating properly.
You know, I can see why they love the upside.
He hung the breaking ball to day Oscar who hit the double.
If there's something else that, you know, you would like to see more,
a little more swing and miss, right?
It needs to improve the chase rates and the whiff percentage.
Because when you've got a guy he throws that hard,
he's got that much movement,
it's shocking to me how the percentages for the whiff and the chase,
how they're not higher than they are.
If you go to baseball savant, they're very low.
So it's strange to me that it doesn't match up
with what the stuff is that he's got compared to what the numbers are.
I'm not sure how you teach that and how you get it better.
But somehow if he can improve that stuff,
he could be a real weapon for the Cardinals.
And obviously he's got to stay healthy.
That's been a real issue for him as well since dawning the Cardinal uniform.
But you can say that for everybody.
You just got to keep these guys healthy.
But Riley O'Brien is somebody that, you know,
I hope he stays healthy.
We get to see a lot of them over the last couple of weeks here of the season.
And that takes us to the ninth inning where things really got exciting
and really got tense as well.
But, you know, it's what made this game so much fun to watch.
So we're going to break it all down for you.
Coming up next on Locked on Cargles.
Summer sports are in full swing and whether you're all about the baseball under the lights,
golf on the green or high-stakes soccer,
Fandall is the best way to make every game even that much more exciting.
You know, you're already following the action.
Why not?
Make it better.
Make it more thrilling.
Why settle?
Why would you settle?
Like make it more fun for yourself.
And with Fandall, you can do that, get in on the game while your friends are out doing whatever they're doing these days.
You focus on the sporting events that excite you and you have fun with it.
And I've been having fun with Fandall for many, many years now, able to track my favorite matchups.
The app is great because it keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet.
So it never feels like you're just doing the same thing over and over and going through the motions.
Very easy to use app.
They're fast to pay out when you win.
and it makes the regular season games like these games against the Dodgers,
they make it feel like must watch a bet.
So whether you're placing a same game parlay or watching a bet right into the ninth,
Fandau will make it feel like you're a part of the action.
And if you're new to Fandall, new customers can bet just $5 to get $150 in bonus bets.
If first bet win.
So open up the Fandwell app today or visit fandle.com slash locked on to get started.
Thanks again for making it locked on Carlos your first listen every day.
Leave your comments on YouTube as well as
X and TikTok anytime you want feedback always welcome and encouraged love hearing from you guys.
Loved having everybody up late last night watching this one with me. I appreciate that.
I kind of threw out a tweet and was just like, anybody up watching this?
Because I could understand if people aren't.
They're like they've already closed the book on the Cardinals this year.
I can understand that.
But there was a lot of people up last night, having some fun.
And I hope you guys are all up with me again tonight.
But ninth inning is where things got really, really exciting.
You know, you had a pitcher's duel for the first eight innings, and then you get to the ninth inning where it's like, you know, anything going to happen.
Here we go. Cardinals get off to a good start against one of the newest Dodgers, or Levers and Brock Stewart who came over from the twins who completely blew up their major league roster.
It was 40% of their active roster got traded.
I mean, talk about a fire sale.
Can you imagine, would you have wanted that if you were the Cardinals?
Would you want that kind of a blow up to happen?
I find that hard to believe.
but the twins did it.
So one of the guys that wasn't traded, wanted to stay in St. Louis,
Wilson Contreras starts it off with a soft single to right field,
the chip carry special with that 69 mile an hour exit velocity off the bat.
They bring him Garrett Hampson to run for Willie.
And I saw online people wondering like,
the hell is Garrett Hampson still doing on this roster?
What is he doing here?
I honestly forget that he actually is a St. Louis Cardinal until he comes out.
And I was like, I pointed that out.
So I was like, oh, we got a Garrett Hamson.
Hamson's siding. And I think what's cool about Hamson on that, I shouldn't say cool,
that's not a great word for this. But I understand why he's on the roster because he doesn't need
a bets or playing time. He's perfectly fine, waiting for a chance to contribute and
pinch run and defensive replacement. That's his role. That's what he can do. You're not going to
bring up a prospect that you want to see play more ride the pine. And that wouldn't do a much good.
so you let them stay down at Memphis and play more, where Hampson, again, you can forget he's on the roster.
And then you're like, wait a second.
Hey, Garrett, we need somebody who's faster than Wilson Contreras to run.
And it worked out.
So we don't need to see him starting ever.
But he's a guy who serves a purpose as a bench guy.
And he certainly paid off here because Lars Neupar rips a single.
And because of Hampson's good speed, he's able to get over to third base on that.
scoots over to third. So you got first and third. You got nobody out. Cardinals are primed to take a lead in a
situation like this. And you've got the right guy up. You've got Mason win coming to the plate. He is the man,
right? Base of the franchise, in my opinion. I wanted so badly, so badly to see a big moment for
Mason win here. Drive one into the gap, deep fly ball, do something productive and really put your stamp on
this game because you had the home run earlier.
And instead he pops out to first
race. And I'm like,
dude,
just very anti-climactic.
Your best guys have to be your best
guys in those situations and in this spot.
He doesn't get it done.
Not saying Brock Stewart's the easiest pitcher to
hit off of because he's not, but at the same
time, I was really hoping for a big
moment there. You need these big
moments to continue the progression
of your young players to becoming
stars for this team in
the future and it was unfortunate to see him not come through there.
Then you got rookie Thomas and Jaycey.
He comes up, another guy that you want to see take more steps towards becoming more
than he is right now, you know, to take advantage of this extra playing time that he's
going to be receiving.
He can come up in a big moment and come through and that would have been nice, but he
strikes out completely overmatched in that at bat.
And now you go from feeling extremely excited and confident about, oh, it looks like we're going
to push one across here to, uh-oh. Now we're in trouble. Here we go again. They're going to
strand these dudes, aren't they? First and third, nobody out. We are effed. We are not going to score
this, are way? Why wouldn't you feel that way? That's how a lot of these games have come down
for the Cardinals. Like, they just not, they can't find the big hit. But Ali has found something in the last
like month or so where he's got a weapon off the bench for whatever reason.
that has worked consistently.
And his name is Joe Al Pozo.
Now, Joe Al Pozo, sadly, they don't have a picture of him from last night's game.
I was a little pee off for that.
Five for 11 coming into this at bat with six RBIs as a pinch hitter on the season.
Five of those hits or three of those five hits for extra bases, two doubles and a home run.
And he makes perfect sense to be a good bench bat.
You know, he doesn't strike out much.
Usually he puts it in play.
and he has found success in this role.
It has been a pinch-hitting extraordinaire, if you don't mind me saying.
And Joel Pozo delivers again.
Comes up in this situation, singles to right field, drives in the go-ahead run,
when everything looks like it's going to come crumbling down and the cartels aren't going to get the run
and we're all going to get mad and we're going to start whining online and bitching and moaning.
I'm with you there. I'm with you there.
I do it too.
It's not I'm not making fun of the people who are.
and I'm not complaining about the people who can play.
I get it as a fan.
You're like, oh, please, for the love of God, just come through.
And Joel Pozo does it again.
Now six for 12 is a pinchitter with seven ribbies.
Some guys just have it in their DNA to be able to come through in big situations.
And Joel Pozo has proven that he can do that more as a pin chitter than he does it as an everyday player.
But he's for whatever reason, he's been clutch.
as a pinch hitter for this club on multiple occasions now.
And it's quite a story from him being homeless during the COVID pandemic
to now playing against the greatest baseball player in the world
and Joey Otani in driving in, go ahead, runs.
It's been quite a ride of Proposo, who's become a fan favorite
because he's got that great smile, he's got energy,
he's got enthusiasm for the game.
Because he's been down in the trenches.
And he's been homeless for a bit there during the COVID pandemic because the minor league season got wiped out.
Didn't know what he was going to do.
He's been in the minors so long.
And now he's up in moments like this against the Dodgers, against Joey, Tony.
And he's coming through.
And it's just really cool to see.
I just enjoy Pozo being on this team.
I don't know what his future is with this team because the Cardinals got a million catchers coming up.
But it was a great moment.
That's for sure.
These are the Dodgers, and now you've got to finish them off, which is never an easy task.
They have been that team that just consistently comes back and beats teams.
So Ali turns to Jojo in the ninth inning.
He's been arguably the best reliever in the bullpen this year.
You know, I know Mayton was really, really good, and you had Helsley.
Jojo's numbers are phenomenal, phenomenal this season.
So he's kind of become the closer on this team right now.
and it's no easy task because he's got the top of the order.
So he starts with Otani, first pitch single off the bat.
And again, this is what the Dodgers have done all season long.
They lead the league and comeback victories.
But then you get arguably the play of the game.
Like it's up in the air, whether it was the Pozo hit or this catch from Lars Dupar,
robbing mooky bets of a blue pit with this insane diving catch along the line in right field.
I had no, I never thought he was going to get to it.
Like Lars Newpar runs okay.
Like he's not, he's not Victor Scott out there.
My dude was hauling balls coming towards the line and he was flying.
He was not going to let that ball drop.
Insane catch.
Insane catch.
If you haven't seen it yet, you've got to go check it out.
If that ball drops, no doubt that that's going to scoop by him.
Otani's going to score.
Dodgers probably, you know, Mookie probably ends up on third base and the Dodgers are going to win this game.
It was an incredible catch by Lars Newpar, one of my favorite plays all year.
And, you know, it puts a little fire back into this game.
And Jojo then whiffs Freeman, battles with Will Smith, who eventually walks to get to another left-hander, a Max Muncie,
who hit the ball well, but lines out to right field, right?
At Lars Newpar, ends the game final score three, two.
And I know the win on Saturday against San Diego was good.
but this game, this game was fun as hell to watch.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
I mean, pitchers duel, glass now against Sunny Gray.
You saw a few home runs.
You saw some solid defensive plays.
You saw clutch hitting drama in the ninth inning in the latehings
because eighth and ninth innings were awesome.
It just had it all.
And a game like this, like it's one of the reasons why I love the game of baseball.
Like I had so much fun watching it.
Even if the Cardinals and Losson,
lost this game.
I'd be like, dude, that was a lot of fun to watch, though, right?
It had it all.
And it got the Cardinals back to 500.
They're at 57 and 57.
Now, I'm not going to get overly excited and say, here we go.
We're going to start a streak here.
I'm not thinking that.
But it's fun to win.
They've also now beat the Dodgers in three or four games, which is no easy task.
It was just, it was cool to see Sunny Gray looking like himself again, looking in command,
looking healthy.
You ever notice Sunny does not look healthy?
healthy out there on the mile. He just always looked like he's dying in the heat in St. Louis and pretty much anywhere he's paid. Like he just always looks like he's wiped out because of the toll that the heat is has taken on him. He didn't look like that at all. He looked like he was in full control. I don't know if you drank a whole bunch of hydration stuff before the game or what, but whatever you did, Sonny, the long sleep, whatever. Whatever worked for you, do it again. Do it again because that was cool to see. You saw the power from winning Herrera.
who I want to, what do you guys think about this, by the way?
For Ivan Herrera, El Martillo as the nickname.
El Martillo means the hammer in Spanish.
I don't know if he's got a nickname.
I haven't seen that he has a nickname anywhere.
But the hammer Herrera, I don't know, had a nice ring to it, go Spanish with it.
I think it sounds cool.
Let me know if you guys think it's cool.
I think it's Martillo is how they say it.
I don't think it's Martillo.
I think that's a bad way to pronounce it.
But either way,
Martillo. I think it sounds cool. Let me know. Clutch it from Pozo. Obviously, the unlikely hero.
Insane catch by new finishing touch by Jojo. Chef's Kiss. Beautiful game, guys. Good stuff, boys.
Good stuff. Love it. Up next, we're going to discuss the moves that were made on Monday.
The Lucan Baker era for St. Louis Cardinals baseball is over. He got claimed off waivers.
And the Cardinals at a sorely needed left-handed relief pitcher to their 40-man roster.
We'll talk about it next on Locked on Cardinals.
Time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy transfusion.
It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink without the alcohol.
And it puts it into a quick, energizing shot.
So whether you're out on the course sinking birdies, if you're good enough to sink birdies,
more like bogeys for me or just trying to find my golf ball normally.
I have a wicked slice, by the way.
But this is going to be a hole in one for your energy game if your golf game is suffering like mine.
I did recently play in the tournament.
was out with some friends. We had a blast.
But, you know, 18 holes is a long day at the golf course.
I mean, especially in the summer heat that we've got in St. Louis.
So getting a five-hour energy transfusion, it's the perfect compliment to whatever else you're doing out there on the golf course.
I love them.
I think they're delicious.
It'll give you that extra boost to stay sharp and energized both on the course and off of it.
Like in everyday life before I hit a podcast, pop the transfusion, five-hour energy transfusion, before going to the gym.
It's awesome.
And then what else is great about it is that, you know, in small doses,
that way you don't have to, like, go to the bathroom after drinking a whole can of something.
So if you go to 5hourenergy.com today, that is the number 5 hour energy.com.
You can use our promo code, which is locked on golf, to receive 20% off your first order.
The offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions
and it's not good on subscription orders.
Whether you're, whatever you're getting into, I'm telling you.
I'm telling you.
This energizing boost you need.
It's available.
It's going to help power you through.
Make sure you get some.
Order transfusion flavored five-hour energy shots today.
Thanks again for making Locked on Cardinals for first list.
If you're your second listen, check out Locked on MLB game night.
Every game, every night all season, longer local analysis on a national scale.
You can find MLB game night on the Locked on MLB YouTube channel or wherever.
You listen to your podcast.
I was on there having a good time with my buddy, John Frisch from Locked on Angels,
talking about a Cardinals win.
I haven't had a chance to do that all that often recently.
So it was fun to smile a little bit more on the show.
So the idea of Lucan Baker was, in my opinion, a good one.
Second round pick, 2018, crushes the ball, crushed the ball throughout his minor
league career.
But like I said, second round pick, 2018, 75th overall out of TCU.
I know it's easy to do, by the way.
So I went back and I'm like, I'm always curious.
Like, who were some of the picks that were, like, right around when you have a player that doesn't pan out?
And I do it in all my, all sports, like NFL, NBA, MLB, obviously.
So, Lucan Baker, 75th overall, second rounder in the next round, 15 picks later.
Seattle Mariners took a guy by the name of Cal Raleigh.
You might have heard of him.
Gold and platinum glove winner, league leader at home runs right now.
Oh, missed on that one.
hitter. Now, one of Lukan's biggest issues was the lack of flexibility for this Cardle's roster.
He can't play anywhere except first base in DH. And after he put up those big power numbers in
the minors over the last few seasons, highlighted by that ridiculous 20-23 season when he hit
334 with 33 home runs and 90-80 RBIs in 84 games at AAA. Are you kidding me?
That's insane. Like, he was on pace for like six.
Bonds and 170 RBIs, just nuts.
That was 2023.
So you remember the Cardle sucked that year.
So we were, at least I was, hollering to bring him up.
Can we not just see what he can do?
Maybe you found something here, you know?
Most people believe that, you know, he didn't have,
he was more of like a 4A type of player that was too good for AAA,
but not good enough for major leagues.
But if you don't see him play at the major leagues,
how do we know?
we found out.
Unfortunately, the numbers never translated to the Major League Club.
Hit just 209 and 99 plate appearances, two home runs, 31 strikeouts in 23.
In 24, he had 32 home runs again at Memphis.
Cardinals bring them up.
It's 175, two home runs again, 11 strikeouts at 49 plate appearances.
This year, he was hitting just 196 at Memphis with 10 home runs and 62 games.
Cardinals had him up for a bit this year, 41 played appearances, no home run, struck out 10 times.
it was over. He wasn't going to get another shot with this team. So, you know, you can argue that maybe he
didn't get a fair shake at the big league level with the Cardinals. That's certainly debatable. But
remember 23, you still had Paul Goldschmidt. And then when he moves on, you got Wilson Contreras there.
And you've got the emergence of Alec Berluson, who certainly deserves to play, whether it's in the
outfield, first base, D.H, wherever you can put his bat. There just wasn't room for him, except at
D.H, really, and you've got Ivan Herrera there now. And, you know, when Lukan got his chances,
he didn't take advantage of him. And unfortunately, it didn't work out. So he is off to the Dodgers.
Cardinals have plenty of room on their 40-man roster, so they didn't really have to run him through waivers.
But, and he made it all the way to the Dodgers. So all the other teams didn't claim them either.
But they decided to took them in, sent them to their AAA team in Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, the
Cardinals were able to grab a relief pitcher off of the Marlins.
And they ended up claiming 27-year-old left-hander Anthony Veniziano, who spent time with Kansas
City, was his original team and then the Marlins.
10th round pick in 2019 by Kansas City.
MLB trade rumors had this to say about him.
The Niziano is a 65 lefty who has made 38 MLB appearances over the past three years,
combined 3.93 ERA through 36 and two-thirds inning, striking out 20.6 percent.
of opponents against an 8.8% walk rate.
He leans mostly on a mid-80s slider while averaging around 94 on his fastball,
has managed serviceable big league production,
but has given up eight runs with an underwhelming 12 to 9 strikeout to walk ratio
in 12 AAA appearances this year.
I'm sure the Cardinals are hoping that a change of scenery will do some good for Anthony
Beniziano.
And the Cardinals have an issue anyway of their own that they only got one left hand
of reliever left in their bullpen.
And that's Joe Romero.
And you're not going to, you know, throw him until his arm falls off.
You move mats and you lost John.
That was the big thing.
It wasn't the mats trade.
It was losing John King right there and two to the oblique injury, which wiped out the other two remaining left-handers.
The options that they have, they don't have anything at AAA to bring up.
You know, it's a real issue.
So they had to find somebody.
And I hope they pluck a couple guys off of the waiver.
from people around the league.
And why not?
See if you can find one of these guys.
Maybe one of them clicks and you can hit on it and use them moving forward.
But yeah, you need somebody to help Jojo.
Even though you got a lot of right-handers you still want to see,
throw in the bullpen.
You don't want to take too much away from them.
But at the same time, you need at least one more, right?
Tonight's matchup in L.A.
You got Michaelis against Emmett Sheehan.
Miles hasn't faced the Dodgers yet this season.
It's coming off too solid.
outings against the Padres and the Marlins, so two teams that have been playing very well in those
two games, 11 innings, two runs, 12 hits, the area at 1.64. She had had just four starts
so far this year. Hasn't made a past five innings in any of them. Hopefully the Cardinals can
ride the momentum from a fun win on Monday night into tonight's matchup. Really looking forward
to watching it again tonight. And I invite all of you to come hang out with us. We'll be up late
doing it. So come join us. Thanks for making a lot on Cardinals for first listening.
every day. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on X at L0 underscore Cardinals at the JD
Sports Radio, TikTok and Instagram and Lockdown Cardinals, like subscribe on YouTube. You guys are
still the best fans in baseball for a reason. I'll see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.
