Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Blast The Phillies To Win The Series

Starting point is 00:00:00 Did the boys stop scoring yet? The St. Louis Cardinals unload on Aaron Nolan, the Phillies to win their fourth straight series. 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. Haffern and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on X at JD Sports Radio.

Starting point is 00:00:32 Follow the podcast at L.O. underscore Cardinals. on X. We're also on YouTube, like, subscribe, and comment. Hit that notification button so you know when new episodes are posted. Also available on TikTok and Instagram of Locked on Cardinals. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving the best fans in baseball all of the info about the birds on the bad. After a tough loss in game one of their double header on Wednesday, not a bad loss. Not a bad loss. If you saw the last episode, not a bad loss. A couple of things to tweak. and improve on, but nothing to freak out about. It was a tough, tight ball game that the Phillies just won. It's going to happen. Reports were that the Cardinals Clubhouse was still nice and loose and excited to get on with things and move on to game two. The winning streak was going to end eventually, so no big deal.

Starting point is 00:01:24 Best thing to do is just focus on the next game, which is one of the great things about baseball. You know, when it comes to other sports, more like football where you got like a whole week, You got to wait to get the bad taste out of your mouth from a game. At least in baseball, normally you just move on to the next game right away. Double header on Wednesday. So you really got to move on quickly from that 2 to 1 loss in game one.

Starting point is 00:01:46 You had Sunny Gray on the mound. It has been solid over his last few starts. So you liked your chances. You love them even more after the Cardinals opening up the top of the first inning by scoring a run and taking the lead. Newt gets that lead off single, win singles. It's a beautiful base running on that Mason win base hit by the Cardals who takes second and third on Philly's left fielder Max Kepler. Again, little stuff like that is going to go a long way for a team that doesn't have just all these massive sluggers and high paid all stars and stuff.

Starting point is 00:02:21 They got to do little things like that to pull out wins against good teams. And they take advantage of Max Kepler and left field. I loved it. I know Cardles fans very much appreciate those things. strikes out, but Aronado gets the job done by grounding the ball to the right side. That gets nude in. It moves Mason win over. One-the-nothing Cardinals. Good, smart, baseball, just the way we like it in St. Louis. But then the bottom of the first inning happens.

Starting point is 00:02:49 And you're like, what in the actual funk just happened? Like, what? Sunny gets absolutely blasted in the bottom of the first inning. up a five spot. And they do it with two outs too, which is just like salt in the wound. It stings, man. And I remember reading the tweets as this game began. And I saw them as the beginning ended and boy, oh boy, the trolls came out of their caves and were spitting all sorts of venom. You know, things like, oh, sunny gray is washed up. Why is this guy in the league? He's a disgrace. Can't believe that the cardals thought this was their ace. What a waste of money.

Starting point is 00:03:37 Just on and on and on and on. During this winning streak, one of the best things about it is that you didn't hear a whole lot of that stuff coming from the peanut gallery. The trolls. They kind of went away for a little while because it's hard to complain about a team that was playing as good as they were and had won as many games as they had in a row. Doesn't mean they all vanished. They were still out there still trying to find things to rip on making fun of jordan walker for for not being god's gift to baseball yet all kinds of things and i hate giving it attention but i'm just saying this is where people wore it's it's it's i'm trying to show you how quickly things can flip i didn't hear a whole lot of fire moe fire ollie sell the team during that nine game winning streak card'll suck i didn't

Starting point is 00:04:34 hear all that stuff all that much. And it was refreshing to not have all that negativity constantly popping up. But then sunny goes and gets his brains beaten in that first inning. And as deflating as it was, I didn't feel like that game was over. My initial thoughts were, well, there's still eight innings to go. It's a four run game. It wasn't 15 to 1. It was a four run game. still eight innings to go. I know that the ballpark in Philadelphia clearly meant for offense. Aranola hasn't been great. They scored on them in the first inning.

Starting point is 00:05:14 I wasn't freaking out. Last year or the year before, I would have felt a lot less confident for sure. The offense this year is just different. It is the changes in their approach each and every at bat that Bram Brown has implemented has made a world of different. difference. I am still like, wow. I never thought a hitting coordinator or a hitting coach, whatever you want to call the title could have this much of an impact on what the same group of

Starting point is 00:05:48 guys that were here last year and how much better they look and how much different they look at what they're doing at the plate. Obviously, you've had the progression of guys like Yvonne Herrera and Victor Scott. Those have been huge. A couple of spots in the order. last year that, you know, weren't so good, like Centerfield for sure. And now you're getting really good production out of that spot. So after going down five to one, I wasn't switching channels by any means. I'm in it. And I'm glad I didn't.

Starting point is 00:06:21 And for those of you who did switch away, shame on you because the Cardinal storm back. And by the end of the top of the third, I think they had a six to five lead. New got it going. Let's throw up a picture of New Chow. Where is he at? Where's my guy? New. There he is with Willie.

Starting point is 00:06:41 Newt got it going with his seventh home run of the season. He makes it five to two. Leads the team in that category. A healthy new bar is finally showing you why so many thought so highly of him. I'll admit, I was one of the guys asking this off season. Is nude overrated? Are we sure he's going to be that good? We're finding out the answer is.

Starting point is 00:06:58 Yeah, he's pretty good. Just got to keep him on the field. Mason Wynn refused to chase in his next at bat. He takes a walk. Donnie doubles. Now it's five to three. Notto again, grounds to the right side to get the guys over. I don't recall watching Arnado actively trying to hit the ball to the opposite field to move runners over ever.

Starting point is 00:07:20 And maybe I'm just noticing it more now, but he was a dead pole hitter. And twice in this game in the first three innings, he does the unselfish thing. the plate, isn't trying to yank it over to the left side, isn't trying to jack one out of the park. He's trying to do a job and get the runners over. And he does it twice. So, Bravo. I love that. Contreras grounds to third, honestly, was shocked that the Phillies didn't go home on that play, but they were willing to concede the run. So thank you very much. That made it five to four. and then arguably the best hitter on this team, Von Herrera, singles to bring in Burley to the plate. And normally, I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it when Alec Berlinson swings at the first pitch,

Starting point is 00:08:13 when any other cardinals swing at the first pitch, especially in situations where there's a pitcher who's on the ropes, he's struggling a little bit, or having trouble just with his location altogether. I hate it. and I understand the philosophy sometimes of it because they'll be like, well, they're trying so hard to just get one over the plate that they might groove one and you want to jump on it, you want to ambush it. I do understand that, but certain times I'm just like, I want to pull my hair out. But Burley is not that guy normally.

Starting point is 00:08:42 He's more than willing to take a crack at that first pitch more times than not. He gets a fat four steamer from Aranola, not down the pipe, but close enough, like closer to the middle than the outer portion of the plate. He's able to extend his arms and hits a frozen rope, two-run shot, six to five Cardinals, 106.7 miles per hour off the bat, stuns the crowd in Philadelphia. I'm cheering at home. I'm so excited.

Starting point is 00:09:12 And it wasn't over. The carnage continued in this game. As will we. We will continue as well to discuss the final numbers, because the Cardinals got some hot hitters right. now. I want to go through those with you. I want to talk about how this bullpen stop the gashing wound that Sunny Gray left from bleeding into the later endings. And I got three things I want to point out that I absolutely hate about playing the Phillies

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Starting point is 00:11:11 After the top of the third inning, the Phillies being the veteran team that they are, probably we're not in panic mode by any means. You can't look at that after you lose a five to one lead. You can't look at it as if you just blew that lead, you know, that you blew a four run lead. You can't look at it that. We got to look at as if now you're just trailing one to nothing. All right. That's the mental side of things when you do blow a bigger lead.

Starting point is 00:11:37 Like you can't think about it like that. You got to switch it around in your brain. And one run is not a big deal when you have the firepower that the Phillies possess. And that brings me to the three things that I hate about playing the Phillies in Philadelphia specifically. Number one, Bryson Stott's walk-up song. Now the song itself is not a bad song. But it gets stuck in my head every time. that dude comes to the plate and I want to take a power drill to my own skull to get it out. I find it so annoying.

Starting point is 00:12:10 I hate it. It drives me nuts. And I know it was his song since he got called up to the major leagues and it was a big deal in their playoff run. But I'm over it. And I'm glad that I don't have to hear it anymore because it drives me up a wall. Number two. Cheese steak chatter. Every freaking time the Cardinals go to Philadelphia, you got to hear about the

Starting point is 00:12:32 visiting clubhouse cheese steaks and how delicious and flavorful they are and meaty and oh how they're so they smell so good and this and that the reason i get upset about is because i am jealous i don't have a clubhouse cheese steak in front of me and i can't get one so i'm like ah makes me want to go out and find one but they're not going to be as good as the guys are talking about they're not going to be as good as the ones the guys are getting in the visitors his clubhouse. Jim Cat Hayes posted a picture of his cheese steak. And I was just like, why are you doing this to us?

Starting point is 00:13:06 Rude. I've only been to Philly's airport. I've never actually been in the city doing things. I need to fix that, get my own cheesecake. But that's just me being jealous because I don't have that. And number three is Kyle freaking Schwerber. He plays for them. It's nothing against Kyle Schwerver, the person.

Starting point is 00:13:23 I wish he was on the cardinals. He's so good. Bryce Harper is their superstar. Gets the headlines, but Kyle Schorber is the guy that stirs the Kool-Aid for the Phillies, in my opinion. I know they got a bunch of guys that are pretty good. Harper, Trey Turner, Costiano, I know they got guys. But Schwerber is the dude, in my opinion. As he goes, they go.

Starting point is 00:13:49 His power, his on base ability, it is a game changer. And the funny thing is that they broke his on-base streak, in game one of the double header. They're able to snap that. But he's just, he's tortured the Cardinals for so long, specifically when he's a member of the Cubs. And when he came up to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, I was fully prepared to see exactly what happened.

Starting point is 00:14:14 I had no doubt something like this was going to go down. So a blast off of Sunny Gray to right field ties the ball game and just like that. We're knotted up again. And just like how the Phillies, you know, after they gave up their lead, didn't freak out. The Cardinals on the same side of things. Had to look at it as just, hey, you know what? Brand new ball game.

Starting point is 00:14:38 Brand new ball game, zero, zero, six inning ball game. That's what we're working with. Let's go. Let's get to work. And if they were rattled at all after getting that game tied back up, it sure as hell didn't show because they come out and score three more in the fourth inning. Mason Wendt, Wend, ends up jacking that solo blast once again, gets it up in the air and over that left field wall.

Starting point is 00:15:03 Then you get three straight singles, which mercifully ended Aeronola's night. They bring in the lefty to face Alec Berluson, and he says, brushes it off like, nah, no, I can hit a lefty too.

Starting point is 00:15:17 Let me show you something. Rips a single up the middle. That plates two more. It's nine to six cardinals. They would go on to score three more in the eighth, two more in the ninth, and finish this one with four. 14 runs on 19 hits, a relentless attack on Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff.

Starting point is 00:15:38 It was the worst start in Aaron Nola's career and his whole career. Three and two thirds innings, nine runs, 12 hits, three home runs. That's just Nola. That's not the rest of the staff. That's just him. an absolute ass kicking. And if Philly fans weren't concerned before, they have got to be now,

Starting point is 00:16:05 Nola falls to 1 and 7, the ERA is over 6, and they still got this awesome, you know, pitching rotation. I don't feel sorry for Philly by any means. They still got Wheeler and Sanchez and Lazzardo. But my, oh my, has Aaron Nola had a rough start to the year.

Starting point is 00:16:22 Largest contract in Philly's history for a pitcher when he signed it, seven years, 72 million no opt-outs he's got a no trade clause he's going to be 32 next month i'm not saying you give up on aranola by any means but yikes still got five years to go on that deal and it's not like the arsenal that he possesses is something that's going to get better as he gets older like hmm anyway let's focus on our cardinals let's focus on some good stuff uh final numbers on for the offense on this one.

Starting point is 00:17:00 Let's go back to Lars Newt bar. Newt, five hits in the series, three in the double header, saw his average dip to 232 on May the 6th. Since then, he's batting 367, two home runs, six RBIs and 34 plate appearances.

Starting point is 00:17:15 He has been a godsend at the top of the batting order. It makes you wonder, and I know he wasn't healthy all these years, but it makes you wonder like, why? Remember how I always joked around? I was like, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:27 Team Japan that just won the world, baseball class. They think he's a pretty good leadoff hitter, yet the Cardinals weren't doing that with him. Like, why? And now they are, and now he's healthy, and they're reaping the benefits. Alec Berlinson, huge, huge in game two. Absolute monster. Drives in four home run to take the lead, a pair of singles, one of them off the lefty, as I mentioned, to drive into slow start to the year for Burley. But in the month of May, he's hitting 313 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 34 plate appearances. We don't talk about how, oh, the DH sucks anymore, do we? Because the DH does not suck with Von Herrera and Berlinson hot again. Things, things are better, right? Mason win.

Starting point is 00:18:14 Four hits in game two. There he is, doing the bird. Since that over-20 start to begin the season, and people were, oh, maybe he's not as good as we think. Mason win is bagged 333 since that over 20 start. He's got five dingers, 15 ribbies, and 13 games as the Cardo's number two hitter, which is also a major move that Ali made. Remember, he brought Contreras down, moved Mason win up. As the number two hitter in 13 games, he's hitting 347 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. That move has absolutely worked.

Starting point is 00:18:55 Brendan Donovan had been slumping a little recently over his last 11, coming into this game. It's going to happen. Nobody's freaking out about this by any means, but he pounds out three more hits, scores twice. He's batting 313 on the year. Yvonne Herrera. Oh, Yvonne. Do I have anything with Yvonne on there? I don't think so, this one. Three hits in game two, four on the day. He's had a hit in every game since he returned from the IL. He's batting 389 with an OVP of 455 over that span on the season. He's still, batting 385. Things are going well right now for the Cardinal. So I'm not, no real need to tinker. Why mess with a good thing, right? Just let it be, let it go,

Starting point is 00:19:42 let it do what it needs to do. But at some point, I wonder if Ivan Herrera moves up to that cleanup spot and Nolan Aronado comes down to that number six. We'll see. But like right now, there's no need to mess with it. Like just let it continue to be what it is. You know, him in that number six hole, it's working out just fine. Him behind Contreras. You know, he's kind of like that secondary cleanup guy. Everything's fine. No need to mess with it right now. I'm just wondering, just spitting out things, ideas that I wonder if Herrera gets scooched up at some point. But again, no need to mess with it now. Every starter had a hit in this game. Victor Scott steals two more bags. He's got 13 on the year.

Starting point is 00:20:23 He continues to be a weapon at the bottom of the order. After two really tight games against the Phillies, very playoff-esque type of games, three to two, two to one, to bust out like they did and turn Aaron Nola, who's been one of the better right-handed pitchers in the game for a few years now, turn him into a batting practice pitcher. It's pretty awesome to watch. It's pretty awesome to watch. I was very excited. It made me excited to put on my ugly loud shirt because that's another series when everything

Starting point is 00:21:03 wasn't perfect, though, in this game, right? Offense, not a whole lot to moan about. Sunny Gray was admittedly terrible. He was bad. But the bullpen was brilliant. In keeping things quiet for Philly the rest of the way, we're going to discuss both of those things. Coming up next on Locked on Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:21:31 Thank you for making Locktown Cardinals. You first listen today for your second list. Check out the all-new lockdown MLB game night, every game every night, all season long. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB game night on Lockton. an MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. It was up late last night for the MLB game night.

Starting point is 00:21:49 We didn't get to bed at like 3 a.m., which is part of the reason why this is coming out much later on your Thursday. But we kind of glossed over what happened with Sunny Gray and his start after the Schwabom to tie it up in the third inning. Cardinals retook that lead by a score of 9 to 6. And in the fourth inning, Sunny would get touched up again for another home. run this time it was alec bone opposite field shot to cut the lead to nine to seven sunny just didn't have it that i don't know what else to tell you it was simple as that bad night bad start he was

Starting point is 00:22:29 leaving certain pitches over the plate even good pitches like the home run the jt real muto hit it wasn't like some breaking ball right down the mud it was a low and end and real muto just beat him it was just one of those nights where It didn't really matter where Sunny Gray put it. If he was even hitting the corners, the Phillies were all over him. He just didn't have his good stuff. It happens. I wish he'd put a shirt on underneath his jersey.

Starting point is 00:22:58 He looked like he was freezing out there. Like Sunday Gray is not a big dude. There's not a lot of meat on his bones in the first place to keep him warm. And he was out there and what it looked like just straight jersey, no under a shirt. I don't know if you got a wife beat or anything on underneath that, But it just, it looked cold. I was shocked that that's what was the comfortable outfit for him. But whatever, it didn't work, whatever it was.

Starting point is 00:23:28 So just a bad night for Sunny Gray. Like, it's going to happen from time to time. Even the best pitchers in baseball get torched. Eric Scoobel from the Tigers gave up five runs on Wednesday. So it happens. It happens. You just got to move on. Luckily, the Cardle's offense was exceptional, and their ballpen was up to the task after

Starting point is 00:23:49 Sunny had to exit in that fourth inning. You had the combination of John King, Chris Roycroft, Jojo Romero, Phil Maton, and Matt Svonson, all coming in. They take over. Final five in a third innings allowed no runs, two hits, two walks, they strike out seven, elite. Incredible job. Seeing these guys embrace their roles and thrive, it's been.

Starting point is 00:24:14 Awesome. It took some time to figure out who needed to be in what roles. But Ali's got his plan now. And it's working out wonderfully. I am super encouraged by what I'm seeing from Chris Roycroft. The lower arm angle stuff, we already know, huge dude, lots of extension on his release. And him dropping down is giving him more movement on that sinker. And that thing can be nasty. Like you saw in that, uh, and bat against Bryson Stott. 13 pitches. 13 pitches.

Starting point is 00:24:49 Bryson Stott ends up winning the at bat. Him in that stupid song. And he gets the walk out of this. But it was a fun at bat because Roycroft was all over. Like, Stott, the nasty movement that Roycroft had, Stott could not barrel it up. Like he just had foul ball, foul ball, file, ball. Give credit to Bryson Stott and his stupid song.

Starting point is 00:25:14 that they were able to foul all of those off. That's not normal. Eventually, the odds were that he was going to swing and miss, ends up finally getting the walk. But I'm loving what I'm seeing out of Chris Roycroft. If he had some sort of better off speed pitch that he trusted, he could really be something. Sinker cutter for Seamer is what he's working with right now.

Starting point is 00:25:37 And I think because of this arm angle, like they're just like, dude, just get used to this first. And before we start messing around, with any new pitches or whatnot. Get used to throwing strikes with this newer arm angle, but I'm very encouraged by it. I think he's going to be a handful for right-handed hitters. It just has that look to it that he could have some nasty stuff.

Starting point is 00:26:01 And I know that cutter, like, it's like five miles an hour slower than the four seam and sinker. I just, I can only imagine if he added something else, just one other pitch. it gets it down to say like 83 miles an hour. Like he could, I mean, that'd be nasty. Since the series versus Atlanta, Jojo Romero has now made six appearances. No runs, two hits, four Ks, has found his velocity again back up to around 95.

Starting point is 00:26:35 And apparently it's because he was hitting golf balls at top golf. Yeah. that's that's what derrick gould reports had the story at scl today.com and he was going to the driving range to to hit balls and was just there to smack the hell out of some and figured out how to get his back hip to snap again a little extra snap which is how we figured out how to get the snap back in his fastball you should read the whole story at scl today.com if you haven't already but that's how he got things right again.

Starting point is 00:27:13 And he's been really, really good. It looks more like the Jojo-Romero were used to from last year. Phil Mayton, obviously, has been solid, has had only two hiccups really all season. Matt Fonson comes in, 27th man for the double-hatter, comes in, strikes up the side at the end of the game. What's his role going to be moving forward? Probably going to go back to Memphis for now,

Starting point is 00:27:35 but nice to have that type of arm ready to rock, if something were to happen. Stephen Matts, he knows his role, has accepted it, has been very good in that role. Kyle Leahy, we've talked about, he's been awesome. Ryan Helsley's last outing was much better. A lot of good things happening for the St. Louis Cardinals as they had two Kansas City rivalry weekend is what it's called in MLB. So we got the I-70 series between the Royals and the Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:28:07 which will kick off on Friday night. So looking forward to that. and hopefully a good week in a baseball in Kansas City that'll fall the Cardinals way. Thank you for making Lockstone Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow. Ron X at Ella Wynorscore Cardinals and a JD Sports Radio, TikTok and Instagram and Lockedong Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:28:26 Like, subscribe on YouTube, and help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for our reason. Still one game out of first place in the NL Central behind the Cubbies. Chance to possibly get there this weekend. we'll see what happens. You're the best fans of baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Lockhart.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Blast The Phillies To Win The Series

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