Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - SURGING: St. Louis Cardinals FLEX Depth In Victory Over Milwaukee

Starting point is 00:00:00 The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brewers at their own game to take game one of the series against Milwaukee. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford and on today's show, we break down the win from Monday night. We've got the demotion of Thomas C.C., which coincides with the promotion of Cesar Prieto. The team's new MLB Power ranking is also a bit of an eye opener, but in a good way. But first things first.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Cardinals win their first game against Milwaukee this season. It's the first game they played them. So I don't want to make it sound like they've lost a bunch of them. But they do it in a very, very impressive manner. Now you see the final, which was six to three. And you would think things were a little bit tighter than they really were. But this game won nothing, then four to nothing, four to one, five to one, then six to one.

Starting point is 00:01:00 finally six to three. The majority of this game was spent with the Cardinals holding a pretty comfortable lead. And as has been the case for most games this season, it was a full team effort, a full team effort to get the job done. And it's one of the things that I think fans are starting to gravitate towards about this squad. They aren't relying on just one or two guys to get a win each night. It's not like it was a couple of years ago where it was Goldie and Orinado and a bunch of dudes. If those guys had bad nights, the team was sunk offensively because there just wasn't enough around them. Now you're getting contributions from a whole group of guys that are doing things with the stick to beat their opponent. Now, don't get me wrong, all nine guys are contributing

Starting point is 00:01:49 whether it's defensively or base running, but usually it's a combination of six to seven guys instead of two or three that are wreaking havoc on their opponent and the results speak for themselves, 21 and 14 record after the win on Monday. And when thinking about the offense, the image that continues to come to mind at least what I think from an opponent's point of view is, do you remember the game whackamole that you would play at the arcade? How many people have been to showbiz pizza or chucky cheese, something like that, right? And, And you have that game where the moles would pop out of the holes and you got to hit him with a little hammer, right?

Starting point is 00:02:33 You don't know which guy. That's what it reminds me of with the Cardinals, because you don't know at this point of the season, which guy in the lineup is going to pop off each night. Now, you got a good idea who the most dangerous guys are. Don't get me wrong. But the key to a good lineup is the ability to get consistent production up and down throughout the lineup, right?

Starting point is 00:02:55 one through nine easier said than done for sure i mean everybody wishes they had a a balanced lineup like that but for the last few years you know the brewers have done a really good job with doing that it's part of the reason why they've been so successful it's why they've won three and l central division championships in a row last year the brewers did it most wins in baseball we also saw some other teams that i pointed out last year where you're just like dude there is just no break. It's exhausting to play against the Blue Jays. And the Detroit Tigers were that way for much of the 2025 season. And all three of those guys went to the playoffs. And the Blue Jays came close to upsetting the Dodgers to win the championship. And after coming up short on Sunday against

Starting point is 00:03:42 the Dodgers, despite smacking the hell out of the ball, which was pointed out by many of our astute cardinal fans in the comment section, like, yeah, I know. we hammered the ball. It just didn't go our way. The Cardinals regroup, which is what they do. They got back at it on Monday against the division rival Brewers. And it's the first time that these guys faced each other. But the Brewers, you know, they were getting healthier. They got two of their big horses back. Jackson Churrio, who I'm already sick of. And Andrew Vaughn, Bryce to Ring, also returned to the lineup after dealing with an illness on Sunday. So they weren't nearly as short-handed as they'd been playing for most of the years. So we got kind of the best that the brewers have.

Starting point is 00:04:30 The only guy really missing was Christian Yellich, who I know is a big Vap. But, you know, getting Chorio back is huge for them. It's a big piece of their puzzle. And he proved it going four for four with a walk. We had no answers for Churio. So whatever the game plan was there, yeah, start over. That one didn't work. But the rest of the lineup, give the car.

Starting point is 00:04:50 Cardinals credit. They kept them in check for most of the night. Seven of the Brewers 11 hits were by Churrio and Terrang and three came in that ninth inning. Meanwhile, the Cardinals got hits from seven of their nine starters, 11 hits total. J.J. Yvonne, Gorman, and Victor all had multiple hits. They were four for 10 with runners in scoring positions. Six different players scored. And again, it's whackamol. It's whackable. Your focus on one guy or another, you can try to do that. but then another one jumps up and attacks you. And if you guess wrong, in a certain spot, you're really screwed. And that's kind of what happened in that fourth inning, biggest hit of the game,

Starting point is 00:05:30 Yvonne Herrera at the plate. This is how it all broke down. It's one nothing at the time. Lead off double by my guy Nathan Church. Pedro Pahas works a walk. Cardinals go small ball to get Victor to lay down the sack bump, move them over. And that forces the Brewers manager, Pat Murphy, to make a decision. He's got the righty Chad Patrick on the mound.

Starting point is 00:05:50 Do they pitch to the lefty, J.J. Weatherholt, with the righty Yvonne Herrera waiting on deck. Now, if you asked that question in the spring, you'd say, no frigging way. Are you pitching around a rookie to get to Yvonne Herrera, who is arguably the Cardinals' best all-round hitter? But now JJ's reputation is garnering thoughtful attention. and Murphy decided to intentionally walk the rookie and pitch to the guy who hit 284 with 19 bombs and 66 RBIs in less than 400 of bats last year.

Starting point is 00:06:28 I get the idea of it. I understand it. You want to get a chance at a double play to get the hell out of the inning. I get it all. But that decision became a massive mistake when Patrick fell behind two nothing after a successful ABS challenge. So Yvonne's got to be one of the best in the league. I don't know what the stats are, but he seems like he wins nine out of every 10 of them he does, whether he's hitting or catching.

Starting point is 00:06:53 And then on the third pitch, Yvonne smokes it into the left center gap to clear the bases, makes it four to nothing. And that's the thing with what the Cardinals are doing right now. JJ is doing special things at the top of the lineup. Yvonne behind him is an on-base machine. He's now top seven in all of baseball. He's got a 4-16 on-based percentage. Burley's coming off.

Starting point is 00:07:15 NL Player of the Week honors where he went bonkers against Pittsburgh as well as doing really, really well against the Dodgers. So he's finally getting some love. Jordan Walker is putting up MVP numbers. Gorman's got 21 RBIs. People aren't really talking about that all that much, but he's got 21 ribbies. Mason Winn is now hitting 274, fourth best among all qualified short stops in baseball. He was in like 180, not that long ago.

Starting point is 00:07:42 Nathan Church, fourth on the team in slugging. He's got five dingers. There's just not a lot of holes in the lineup right now. And it's making life miserable for everyone they play. And it's making life amazing for all of us who are rocking Cardinal Red and singing freebird after the games are done. So just an awesome job all around by this lineup against Milwaukee. and again, the blueprint, they took it from Milwaukee.

Starting point is 00:08:14 They're taking it from Detroit. They're taking it from Toronto teams that, you know, yeah, they got one or two guys that are really, really good. But then it's the whole lineup is becoming really, really rough to pitch against. And it's fantastic. And it's great baseball right now. When the Cardinals are enjoying it, they're playing with a youthful energy. They're winning.

Starting point is 00:08:36 Crowds are starting to creep back into Bush Stadium. It's a good time right now, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. We're going to discuss the three stars from this game next, which will certainly include the starter from Monday night, Cardinals, Kyle Leahy. That's coming up next on the Lockdown Cardinals. MLB season is back and you can feel it. We've got the start to the season that has been outstanding for the Cardinals. You got JJ doing his stuff, Jordan Walker doing his stuff,

Starting point is 00:09:06 Alec Berluson, you got the pitching staff. I know the bullpen makes things tense, but hey, that's a fun time to be in the ballpark when they pull. them off, right? So you got to get down there to be a part of it. The only problem is getting tickets sometimes. Yeah, that can feel like a grind, long queues, price fees, prices jumping up at checkout. Who needs it? That's where you get the Game Time app. You use that because it gives fancy advantage with constant innovation. And it's how you unlock amazing tickets and experiences and you do it in just a few taps. Very simple to use. You get the game time guarantee, which means

Starting point is 00:09:36 you get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price. And fees are included in the price you see. nothing that's going to switch when you get to check out. You don't go, wait, why is there like 30 extra bucks on here? No, what you see is what you pay, period, seat view, zone deals, two taps and it's done, no stress, no hidden fees, just great seats in minutes. That's what makes it so easy to decide last minute to go hit a Cardinals game. They'll see the Brewers game tonight if Rain lets us play baseball. Take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with GameTime, download the GameTime app,

Starting point is 00:10:08 create an account. Use code locked on for 20 bucks off your first purchase, terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today. Thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals' first listen of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown on the number one sports podcast network. If you're an everydayer, then you should be in the Everydayer Club. Unlocking every episode ad-free, gives you access to our private listener group chat.

Starting point is 00:10:39 Tap the link in the show notes or go to Lockdownsstel supercast.com to get more information. Your three stars from Monday's game, we're not going to not give the first. first started, Yvonne Herrera, who had the big bases clearing double, which really gave the Cardinals a breathing room early on, finished two for five in the game with the three RBIs. When asked about the choice of walking JJ in front of them, he said he was a little bit surprised considering JJ is a rookie and all, but he said that, hey, people say it's personal, but it's not personal. But like I want to have success in that situation because they just walk somebody just to pitch to me. Maybe I'm the liability on the team, you know? So that was for me,

Starting point is 00:11:19 kind of like the thought I had. You want this? I got you. You got to love that attitude. And I'm glad they made that choice because it really shifted things way into the Cardinals favor. I mean, it was a one-nothing ballgame at that point. And the way Leahy was throwing, you had to feel really good about having a four-run lead as opposed to a one-run lead. So shout out to Kyle Leahy. He's our number two star of the game. Best start of the season. Best start of the season for Kyle. Five and third innings, he allows one run six since five K's, just one walk. And despite that and despite picking up his fourth win of the season, this is something I love about him, is that he was more focused when they were talking to him after the game in the clubhouse,

Starting point is 00:12:01 but he was more focused on what happened later in the game in the start that didn't go as well, saying that the, you know, the line was a little better talking about his stat line. But obviously, still the sixth inning is what's a little bit of a hurdle I need to get over. I think I made some good adjustments of how I'm planning, game planning ahead of time, and between innings and the dugout. But yeah, it still comes down to execution. And then the physical piece of everything and just getting over that hurdle. And I love that.

Starting point is 00:12:32 I love that answer so much. I mean, he could have talked highly about himself and what he accomplished, but he chose to focus on an area that he needs improvement in. And that's a great mindset for, for, for, Leahy and all of these young guys in that clubhouse. And it seems to be one of the real driving forces of this team right now. They're all working really, really hard to be the best players they can be for this team right now. Ali even mentioned how nice it was to see Victor Scott come through with a couple of hits in this game

Starting point is 00:13:03 because he's been working so hard. You know, and these are things that we don't see. We don't see the time and the effort they put in behind the scenes. We don't know. We don't know what time they're getting to the ballpark and how many. hours they're spending in the cages or in the wait room or, you know, getting physical therapy to stay healthy. You know, he, but Ali brought up Victor and he was like, you know, this guy, you know, he's been one of those dudes who's late night in the cages. When everyone else has gone home,

Starting point is 00:13:29 he's like, I'm locking up and he said around like 11 o'clock. I'm getting out of there. And I hear somebody's still hitting. And I go and look and it's Victor Scott is still in the cages, trying to figure things out, trying to get his back going to help the team win more. and you'd love to hear about these young guys doing that, that they have this work ethic that's been instilled in them by, whether it's coaches, whether it's their families, whoever it may be,

Starting point is 00:13:54 that they want to keep grinding and they want to keep doing whatever they can to become the best they can be. And that's great. That's a great team attitude. And I don't know how many years that it's been like that for the Cardinals. You know, when you have a group of veterans, normally they kind of have their own thing that they do and that's just what they stick with.

Starting point is 00:14:16 And when you're young, you know, you're still trying to figure out what makes you the best and brings out the most of your abilities. And it's all working right now. Third star of the game, speaking of youthful guys who are having good season, JJ Weatherholt. Come on now. Come on now. J.J. Weatherholt, who put the fear of God into two, defending NL manager of the year, Pat Murphy in the fourth inning. I'm kidding. I'm kidding a little bit.

Starting point is 00:14:45 But at the same time, you know, JJ had a quiet series against the Dodgers. Cardinals take two of three without JJ doing all the incredible things that he was doing with the bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates. And he responds in the first game against Milwaukee, two hit night. He drives into very important runs. First one came in that second inning, first run of the game, following a lead off walk to Mason. And we know that you got to punish people for lead off walks. It seems to happen to the Cardinals all the time. So you got to make sure you're doing it against the other guys. Victor gets the two-out single, and then JJ drives went in with a rip to center to make it one-nothing. Then in the eighth inning, after Victor doubled, JJ smoked another one to center to make it six to one at the time.

Starting point is 00:15:26 And you feel like the Cardinals are starting to run away with it. And you need those runs later on in the game because the Brewers don't quit. They never quit. And they put up a strong fight until the very last out. JJ's 18 RBIs now tied for sixth among rookies. He leads all rookies with 28 runs scored. He's third in home runs with seven. He's playing outstanding gold glove caliber defense.

Starting point is 00:15:51 Like he looks so smooth at second base. Like you would never know that that is a rookie over there who was making a switch from shortstop and playing second base. He looks like he's been doing it for 15 years at the big leagues. It's beautiful. You know, imagine him and Mason up the middle together for the next five, ten years. That would be nice. Can we lock that in?

Starting point is 00:16:19 That would be nice. Shout out to the bullpen. After Leahy was taken out in the sixth inning, George Soriano comes in, Joe Joe Romero, Ryan, Stanick, they all throw up zeros. Stanick's inning was super impressive. The best I've seen him, the best I've seen him, the best I've seen him so far. this year. Seven pitches, gets a ground out, strikeout, and I just filthy splitter, like just fell off the table. Freak and nasty. Then gets to fly out. Seven pitches. Bing, bang, boom. In,

Starting point is 00:16:52 out. Mike drop. Ryan Stanik, like, if we can get that guy more often, and I know it's not, you know, it's not always going to be that way, but if we can just get him to be more consistent in the zone, Like that's really the problem with Stannick. And it's what drives, you know, we were later on in the game, the walks that were happening. You know, you're just like, gosh, like it's just mind-numbing watching the walks. And if they can somehow figure it out, look out, man, you know, give us more of that big rind. If you can do that, like, that was, that was impressive. That was impressive.

Starting point is 00:17:29 But of course, it wouldn't be a cardinal game without a little bit of drama. at least one hiccup. That's just how it works. Gordon Gricep, who's been one of the better relievers for the team this season, got the first guy he faced. But then three consecutive, very hard hit balls, including a two-run shot by Bryce Tereng, cuts the lead to six to three in the ninth inning.

Starting point is 00:17:48 And unfortunately, you had to get Riley O'Brien up and you had to bring him into this game to finish it off. But he does it. Gets the next two guys, 10th save of the year. Had that scary moment on the play at first base where Tyler Black ran into his arm because Riley doesn't have out of stretch at first place. And for whatever reason, at first base, he's got his arm hanging out like that, his pitching arm and the black ran into it.

Starting point is 00:18:13 Like, it's not his fault. You know, he's running through the base. Nothing malicious there. But, you know, it's like, put your arm down. Just stick a glove out, man. But anyway, he seemed to be fine, gets the final out. And 10th save of the season, which second best in major leagues behind Mason Miller. So an impressive win.

Starting point is 00:18:30 Cardinals are starting to get some recognition for their record. now. And, you know, now that we're 35 games into the season, people are starting to notice new MLB power rankings came out. They've cracked the top 10. We'll discuss that and the Thomas JC Demotion coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Baseball season is here and now you can trade every game on Calci. On Cal She, you can trade every single game for Tuesday's game against the Brewers. The Brewers are trading at 53% to beat the Cardinals, meaning a $100 trade pays out $186. $26 if they win. If you go with the Cardinals on a $100, $100 trade, that pays out $213.

Starting point is 00:19:15 So you make the decision on Cal She. You're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house. And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position for a limited time, download the Cal She app and use code locked on to get $10 when you trade 10. K-A-L-S-H-I, Cal Sheet. Trade on anything. 18 plus restrictions and eligibility requirements apply event contract. Trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors.

Starting point is 00:19:44 Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calci.com slash regulatory. Once again, thanks for making lockdown Cardinals. Your first listen of the day. Thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. Cardinals made a move prior to the game on Monday sent Thomas and Jacey down to Memphis and recalled infielder Cesar Prieto. So Ali's reasoning behind the move.

Starting point is 00:20:12 And it makes a lot of sense, you guys. And I know we like C.C. And we think that he can be a useful player on this team. But here's what Ali said. I couldn't envision him playing more than twice a week on any given week. And when you look at what C.C. is trying to work on when it comes to pitch recognition, controlling the strike zone, the hardest thing to do is do that off the bench or playing three days down, one day on. So Jacey going down, being able to play five to six times a week, hone that in.

Starting point is 00:20:44 And then when we need a move, him being ready for it made a lot more sense, especially for his age, skill set, ceiling, all of it. For him to be here playing twice a week didn't make a whole lot of sense. And I fully support exactly what Ali is talking about. You know, you got a young guy who you think can help you. Like we don't know if he's ever going to be a starter at the major league level. and, you know, with the team rounding into shape the way it has with J.J. Mason, Gorman, not a lot of room there on the infield.

Starting point is 00:21:16 So they started to use them in left field and give them some reps in center field. Well, Nathan Church has locked things down. Lars Newbar is going to be back at some point. Victor Scott is your center fielder. Where? Where are you going to play much? You know, it's only against left-handers. There's just not enough left-handed starters out there to make that something that would give him

Starting point is 00:21:38 enough playing time and enough of bats to improve on the things that like Ali's talking about. You know, he hit 170 with a 436 on base plus slugging percentage and 57 plate appearances. So 19 strikeouts, more walks, the chase and whiff rates were up 34.7 and 34.1. No, that's not going to get it done. And you give these guys opportunities. And I know because people, the argument will be like, well, you don't let him play. three or four days in a row. How's he supposed to get going? Exactly. But this team's winning and playing good with the guys they're using. So why would I switch

Starting point is 00:22:16 things up and go with Cacey? You wouldn't. So you send him somewhere where he can get those reps in and improve his game. And meanwhile, it's not like Prieto, some slouch that's just been doing nothing down at Memphis. No, the guy has been creaming the ball. 311, batting average, 929 OPS, slugging 566, six dingers and just 28 games at Memphis. he's kind of earned an opportunity to play at the big league level. And him being, you know, age-wise, a couple of years older than Cajisi, using him off the bench probably doesn't feel like such a disservice as it is to C.J.C. at this point.

Starting point is 00:22:56 So I get the move. And I hope Thomas gets down there. And I hope he gets right and starts raking. I hope he becomes the guy that we thought he was going to be when he wanted. on the AA MVP award in the Texas League. So last week, MLB Power Rankings had the Cardinals at number 17. Now we know as Cardinal fans for this season, we can't get butt hurt over low rankings,

Starting point is 00:23:23 people not giving us proper credit for what we're doing. Who cares? We don't care, really. Like, we just want our boys to play well, be entertaining, win more than you lose. That's what we're looking for here in 2026. Nobody has crazy aspirations of, hey, we're going to make this playoff run. We're winning a championship.

Starting point is 00:23:42 Here we go. Let's go all in. That's not where we are. But the team sure is playing like we're all in, aren't they? You know, 21 to 14 again. So eventually you knew that things would start to catch on. And there was going to be people that notice, you know, a lot of the national pundits believe the Cardinals would be trash this year.

Starting point is 00:24:02 I don't know how many locked on hosts that I've talked to thought we would be 70 wins, maybe less. I myself said around 500 because I didn't think they were as bad as people thought, but we get to see these guys every day and those other people don't. But no household names, no, no, no superstars, no high-priced talent. You sold off all those kind of people. Can't possibly believe that this team would be any good, right? Well, they're starting to change their minds now.

Starting point is 00:24:31 The newest MLB Power rankings said the cardals jump from number 17 into the top 10. at number nine. A full eight-slap jump is very impressive. I suppose winning two of three against the Dodgers probably got the attention of some people. And then they're like, well, wait a man. They swept Pittsburgh, too. They've beaten the rays this year who were doing really well in the American League. Okay. All right. Well, let's re-evaluate this stuff. Pirates drop from seven to ten. Brewers move up from nine to eight. Reds dropped from six to seven and the Cubs remain at number four. All five and all central teams. Is this crazy?

Starting point is 00:25:06 all five NL Central teams are in the top 10 right now. Who had that at the beginning of the season, that the NL Central would be the dominant division in Major League Baseball? And we just had like a squad show where it was all of the NL Central hosts coming in. And they were like, well, three teams from the NL Central be in the playoffs this year. And I went the latter because I knew everybody else was going to say, yeah. But really, yeah, it feels like there's going to be at least three of them. And are the Cardinals going to be involved in that?

Starting point is 00:25:38 I don't know. You know, the way that these teams are built, you would think that those other teams would probably make bigger moves at the trade deadline than the Cardinals to solidify a spot, which might bum some fans out. But at the same time, the Cardinals just keep winning. They keep winning. They keep playing like this.

Starting point is 00:25:56 They don't need to make a whole lot of changes. You know, it only needs, like, subtle things that would, you know, need to be added to the team to push them further. So right now the Cubs, lead the way after coming back as far as the division goes, standings-wise. They come back and get the walk-off win over the Reds, five to four. They've now won six in a row. Cardinals are now alone in second place, remained two games back. Reds dropped a third. They've lost four in a row and are just one in six against the division. Pirates were off and are in fourth place

Starting point is 00:26:25 followed by the Brewers at 18 and 16. So it's been good. It's a bloodbath in the NL Central. Like everybody's playing pretty darn good. Nobody stinks. Nobody's just, everybody's doing well. And Cardinals are going to go for another series win tonight. It would be their third in a row if they can get the victory. Andre Palante in the mound at 3 and 2 with the 3.73 ERA against Brandon Sproat, who is 0 and 2 with a 6.75 ERA. I like that matchup.

Starting point is 00:26:54 A lot of rain in the forecast today in St. Louis. We'll see if they get it in first pitch scheduled for 645. But I would love to put on the ugly shirt yet again. Maybe I'll throw it in the wash just ain't. Nope, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that. Don't blow it. Don't blow it. Stay dirty, my friends. Thanks for making Lockedong Cardinals for first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L0 underscore Cardinals, TikTok, Instagram, and Lockdown Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:27:18 like, subscribe on YouTube. If you never miss an episode, check out the everyday or club. Get Lockedon Cardinals to add free. Members only Discord access and more. Head to Lockdowns.cars.com to join the club. For those of you on video, we send you to the first ever 24-7, National Locktown Podcast Network, YouTube channel on audio. make sure your second listen is locked on MLB. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. It's good to see you guys coming back to the ballpark. We'll see you next time on Locked on Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:27:46 Play Freebird.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - SURGING: St. Louis Cardinals FLEX Depth In Victory Over Milwaukee

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