Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - The Cardinals Are Getting Praised Nationally, Michael McGreevy Dazzles In Major League Debut!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Trade deadline grades continue to be released. How did the Cardinals fare? Plus, the boys put a whoopin on the defending champions to take the series at Bush that featured a very impressive Major League debut. 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.

Starting point is 00:00:29 I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm a national radio sports anchor, born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan. and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. Give me a follow on Twitter, Axe, Jaddy Sports Radio, as well as the podcast itself at L.O. underscore Cardinals. I do want to thank those of you who make Locktown Cardinals your first list in every day. We're free and available wherever you get your podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:49 We're also on YouTube. Make sure you stop by, like, subscribe, comment, and hit that notification button so you know when the new episodes post it. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving the best fans in baseball. All of the info about the birds on the bat. today's episode brought to you by prize picks. The easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Go to priesfix.com slash locked on MLB and use code all lowercase, locked on MLB for your first

Starting point is 00:01:13 deposit match up to $100. So by now, you know that the Cardinals got the pitchers they wanted. They got the hitter they wanted. And you know what they gave up at the trade deadline. So quick synopsis to catch everybody up before we get into the trade grades. And of course, we're going to talk about what happened at Bush, on Wednesday afternoon, which was freaking awesome to watch. Love seeing the boys having a good time.

Starting point is 00:01:41 But the Cardinals traded away. Tommy Edmund, Dylan Carlson, and a low-level prospect in exchange for Eric Fetty, Tommy Fam, Sean Armstrong, plus you get some cash considerations. Now I've gone on record saying that I believe that this is a win for the Cardinals and John Moseilock. I like and respect the type of pitcher that Eric Fetty is. Was he the best available arm on the market? No, he wasn't. But when it came to what the Cardinals were willing to part with and what other teams were asking for,

Starting point is 00:02:13 that he was probably the best pitcher that the Cardinals were going to be able to acquire. Tommy Fam was not the best hitter available. But again, he fits what the Cardinals wanted on and off the field. Clubhouse obviously is a big piece of what the Cardinals are trying to accomplish here in 2020. They were making sure that they've got the right personalities, the right people, the right work ethic type of guys in that locker room. And Tommy Fam fits the bell, somebody that other players were requesting to be in this clubhouse. Again, was he the best hitter available? No, but he fit exactly what the Cardinals wanted.

Starting point is 00:02:56 And it was going to cost them things that they weren't willing to give up. Sean Armstrong, not the top available relief pitcher either, not by a long shot. But when trying to get something, and I want you to keep this in mind, when trying to get something in return for, and please remove the name Dylan Carlson from your mind, okay? Just remove that. Remove everything you've heard about him. What kind of prospect he was supposed to be. Eliminate all of that from your mind and just think about what he is right now in 2024. You were trying to get a return on essentially an injury prone outfielder that had slipped to the fifth or sixth spot on your depth chart and was hitting 198 with zero home runs and 11 RBIs so far this season. You were trying to get a return on that. Most people, again, if you take away the name and the age, because 25 years old, still young, right?

Starting point is 00:03:56 But if you take away the name, if you saw 198 zero home runs and 11 RBIs through the first half of the season, you're cutting that guy normally, right? That's Brandon Crawford type of stuff. And how many of you want Brandon Crawford to be DFAed? That is what Dylan Carlson has been this year, like strictly thinking about this year. So that's what you were trying to get a return on. and what you ended up getting was a guy that, you know, had an amazing year last year,

Starting point is 00:04:28 but has had difficulty recreating those numbers so far this season. This was probably the best they could do. Like, why would they, if the nationals were like, yes, we will, we want Dylan Carlson and we'll give you Florio, who Dylan Floreo, who was the relief pitcher they traded, if they were going to do that and Dylan Florio's had a better year, I think the Cardinals probably would have jumped at that. But again, you've got to think, too, you're talking about Hein Bloom,

Starting point is 00:04:57 who spent time in the Tampa Bay Raise organization, right? He's pretty familiar with some of these guys. Sean Armstrong, probably a guy he's familiar with, probably had a little insight on this. Same way he did with trying to acquire Andrew Kittrich. Probably had a little insight there saying, yeah, you might want to go after this guy. So, I mean, we hadn't really even heard about Tampa Bay as someone who was linked to Dylan Carlson for the most part at the deadline.

Starting point is 00:05:24 It was the nationals and angels who kept popping up. But lo and behold, Mo got something done. And from what I've read from fans, I think most of you like what they did. Obviously winning the first two games since the trades happened, that doesn't hurt. But most people get it. They understood what the Cardinals were trying to accomplish,

Starting point is 00:05:44 what their restraints were when trying to accomplish those goals. And so they get why. that these were the names that ended up coming to St. Louis. The cartels just weren't going to give up what it took to go get Tanner Scott from the Marlins or any of the other big names that might have been available. I mean, you never saw the White Sox unload with Garrett Crochet, Luis Robert Jr. You didn't see Brent Roker get moved. These were big names that we had talked about. You did see Jack Flaherty go to the Dodgers, which I thought was kind of an underwhelming return there. I was a little surprised they didn't get more for him, but it is what it is.

Starting point is 00:06:24 You heard about John Moselock being kind of under constraints when trying to make deals, although he came out and said his hands were not tied by ownership. But you could see what the goal was, right? It was to get the starter, get the reliever, get the bat without taking on any major payroll. And he accomplished that goal. But don't take my word for it. How are other people judging what Mo and the Cardinals did? Let's go to some national experts.

Starting point is 00:06:53 Let's start with Jim Bowden from the athletic, gave them a B plus. The Cardinals' goal entering the trade deadline was to add a controllable veteran starting pitcher, and they accomplished it when they acquired Eric Fetty in the three-team trade. They also wanted another veteran right-handed bat and got Tommy Fam thrown in the same deal. The trade cost was Tommy Edmund, who hasn't played all season due to injuries, and a teenage pitcher who was currently in the Dominican Summer League. Fetty gives the Cardinals another solid mid-rotation starter who can keep them in games for five to six innings per start, and he's under team control through next season. They also added an important bullpen arm in righty, Sean Armstrong, but I'd be afraid that the outfielder they gave up in that trade, Dylan Carlson, will flourish in Tampa Bay like ex-Cardinal Raniaa did several years ago.

Starting point is 00:07:41 And I know that's the ongoing joke is don't trade with the Tampa Bay race. they're going to fleece you. They'll end up taking your garbage and turning them into stars. And obviously with the Cardinals, they have made a lot of mistakes in giving up the wrong outfielders. When they were going to, when they were deciding to trade people away from their outfield depth, it seems like they always hit the wrong button, right?

Starting point is 00:08:05 They end up trading away guys who go on to do big things with other clubs, like a Rosarena, like Adolice Garcia with Texas. Tyler O'Neill having a hell of a year with the ball. Austin Red Sox, Lane Thomas, who ends up going to Toronto. Doesn't do much there, but ends up finding some legs in Washington. He just got traded as well. Marcelo Zuna. Marcelo Zuna is on fire with the Atlanta Braves.

Starting point is 00:08:30 We never saw that bat in St. Louis. He was good, but he wasn't like what he's doing for the Atlanta Braves now. But something I want to point out is that Randy, Adolese, and Lane, they never got the chances that Dylan Carlson got in St. Louis, which was the very, was like the infuriating part about those deals, was that they cut ties with these guys without ever really giving them a shot at the major league level. It was very small chances, you know, it was a very small sample size at the major league level in St. Louis. And they moved on from these guys who then blossom in other places. Dylan Carlson has had every opportunity you can give him.

Starting point is 00:09:16 He's had four years to win an everyday spot. And the combination of the injuries, which was a huge part of his problem, and the lack of production cost them its place in the pecking order. I think a B plus is still pretty darn good. Last time I checked, you can graduate with a B plus. That's usually on a roll type of stuff. So B plus, I'll take that. Jordan Shusterman or Schusterman at Yahoo Sports calls the Cardinals deal with the Rogers,

Starting point is 00:09:44 or with the Dodgers and White Sox as the big one. He says this is the top deal that was made at the trade deadline, gave the White Sox a C minus, gave the Dodgers a B and gave the Cardinals an A for their parts in that deal. Here's what he had to say that this was the Dodgers co-headlining move alongside Flaherty is a pretty big deal, considering how much that organization has. has invested in the season, but it's also seemingly a vote of confidence that Los Angeles's roster is good enough to win it all once it's back fully healthy. Many move the Dodgers make or don't make will remain top of mind moving forward, though,

Starting point is 00:10:21 and this one will be no different. As for the Cardinals, they crushed this one. These are his words, not mine. They crushed this one, improving their rotation and lineup in one fell swoop without giving up any top prospects or players who were already contributing. That fete cost seemingly so little relative to what some others start. Pitchers fetched is still a total mystery to me, but credit to St. Louis for making it happen. So we got a B plus. We got an A so far. We're going to go through a couple of more of these grades.

Starting point is 00:10:51 And plus we've got some bad news on Lance Lynn's knee. And yeah, the boys had a ballgame on Wednesday. They went about as well as you can hope for. And a rookie making his major league debut was at the center of it all. We'll get into all of this coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Price Picks is America's number one fantasy sports app with more than 5 million members. Price Pix is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Unlike other apps on Price Picks, it's just you against the numbers, guys. You don't have to fear whoever's on the other side of the computer because it's not a person. It's just numbers.

Starting point is 00:11:28 It's just numbers. All you do is pick more or less on two to six player staff projections and you can watch your winnings roll in. Get in on the daily action with your friends. Become a part of the prize fix community. You can get in on the excitement and went up to 100 times your cash with the summer games on prize picks. With price picks, you could turn $10 into 1,000 while watching Team USA rack up the gold medals this summer. You can make a prize picks lineup of players across basketball, soccer, tennis, golf. I don't know if you got in on the rugby when the girls were doing that, but that was super cool to watch.

Starting point is 00:12:00 And you can do it all in as little as 60 seconds. Just pick more or less on two to six player stat projections and you're locked in. So download the Price Picks app today. Use the code locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to $100. That's code Locked on MLB on Price Picks for a deposit match up to $100. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy with Price Picks. Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day and have to turn down the volume because they keep shouting at each other and a you? Then make the switch to Lockdown Sports Today. It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all of the screaming.

Starting point is 00:12:43 You get cat mess analysis, opinions, news, and it's all streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. More trade grades for the Cardinals moves. Let's go to Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report's great on the three-team trade. They give the Dodgers a B. They give the White Sox a D, as in dog, D. And then the Cardinals, all right, all right, all right.

Starting point is 00:13:10 You get another A. Here's what they have to say about the trade there, the big one between the three teams. Tommy Pham landing back in St. Louis is an interesting development to say the least. They have a link there, by the way, and it goes to the story back from what was that, 2017, 2018 when Tommy Pham was talking about how upset he was and how the Cardinals weren't calling him up, even though his numbers were better than guys like Stephen Piscotti, Randall Gritchieck and he unleashed. And I think it was Sports Illustrated that he actually did that interview when.

Starting point is 00:13:44 But there's a link to that. And it talks about how he felt slighted by the organization and how he felt like they weren't giving him his due and how he should have been called up. And in hindsight, you look at it and you're like, yeah, they should have because he was really good with the Cardinals, went on to have a great career with a number of different teams. But to continue with what they had to say, the Cardinals needed a right hand and hitting outfielder. and he's a good one, talking about them, who'll give them a little power and speed. Fetty, meanwhile, is having a fine year by way of a 3.11 ERA and 21 starts, and he sorely needed in a rotation that ranks 27th in war.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Now, if you remember, I gave you the war, the pitching wars, and Eric Fetty is second in the league behind the Detroit Tigers, Terrick Scuba in war. 4.6 is what Eric Fetty is at the moment, and Scoble was at 5.3. Those are your top two in all of Major League Baseball. So something they sorely wanted, sorely needed, and now they got it. In all, the Cardinals shipped out a player. They had been able to live without to get two players who should help them live in an even better life. Fox Sports also chimed in on the deal, giving the Dodgers a B, the White Sox of C plus, the Cardinals, you guessed it. High Five, they get another A. The Cardinals acquired Fetty, who reinvented himself after pitch

Starting point is 00:15:04 last year in Korea to become one of the most sought after pitchers on the trade block and fam who last year was a vital cog in Arizona's run to the World Series without trading away a single top prospect or anyone who has played an inning in St. Louis this season. That feels like a win. Fetty suppresses hard contact and possesses the arsenal to handle both righties with a 615 OPS and lefties 685. He does not have the swing and miss stuff to project as an October ace, but he provides a boost to a St. Lewis rotation that needed it and could be the Cardinals number two or three guy in the postseason should they get there. FAM has been a league average hitter this year but tends to take his game to another level in October. Meanwhile, considering the dearth of arms available, what other

Starting point is 00:15:50 pitchers are going for and the fact that that he has another affordable year under contract set to make $7.5 million next year, it feels like a rather light return for the White Sox. Now going through all of these different places to try to find different trade grades. And this is the ones, these are the big ones that kept popping up. There wasn't a lot on the Sharnar Armstrong Dylan Carlson deal. Most considered it just kind of a small deal. So they didn't do like full write-ups. They didn't do full grades for it.

Starting point is 00:16:24 The athletic did rate it, giving the raise a B-minus and the cardals of C-plus. They said, it's rare that you feel bad, that you feel bad? For both sides. Let me get you a picture of Armstrong there. Feel bad for both sides. But this one just seems like the Raisin Cardinals each wanted to move a player and took what they could get. Armstrong is the more productive player of the two, but even he hasn't been very good this season.

Starting point is 00:16:51 He was excellent last year, though, and surely that's what appeals to the Cardinals. Get fresh eyes on him and see if Armstrong can regain some of those underlying characteristics that made him so effective in 2023. Carlson is the younger of the two, but he's turning heavily in the wrong direction. Once touted among the top prospects in the game, his offensive numbers have cratered since 2021, and he had a shockingly low 47 OPS plus this season. He's a switch hitter who can play all outfield positions, and he's still just 25,

Starting point is 00:17:20 with two more years of team control, which is surely what the race like about him. Maybe they can get him to unlock some of his old potential, but this feels like a trade in either team will think about much in the future. Now, we've had plenty of people voice their displeasure with the Cardinals about the trades that were made and the return that they got. There are always fans who are going to think they should have gotten more. People loved Tommy Edmund, right? It sucks losing a guy like Tommy Edmund. But again, he wasn't doing you any good this year.

Starting point is 00:17:58 And we still don't know what he's going to be able to do for the Dodgers yet this year. Some fans keep pointing out that they think Eric Fetty is a flash in the pan kind of guy, a guy who's gotten lucky, so to speak, so far here in 2024 in the major leagues. To that I say, this has been quite a lucky streak then if what he did in Korea all last year. And again, I understand it's the KBO. It's not Major League Baseball, but still, it's not like they're just scrubs over in Korea, right? And to do what he did there, had this amazing season to win their Cy Young,

Starting point is 00:18:34 to win their MVP, to come over to the States and do what he's done over the first half of the season, that's quite a long lucky streak. Like when does it go from being lucky to being like, okay, this guy's figured some things out and has become a better pitcher? At what point do you say that?

Starting point is 00:18:52 Because looking at the results that he's had on a very bad white socks. The White Sox have lost. 17 games in a row, you guys. That's how bad this team is. And Eric Fetty was seven and four with them, with an ERA just above three and a war of 4.6. Like, all of that is luck. Is that what we're going to go with? So, I know, wait until we see him do it in a Cardinals uniform. And if he sucks and it gets hammered by the Cubs on Friday, then, oh, it's going to be rough. But I find it hard to believe that he's been lucky over a year and a half,

Starting point is 00:19:33 that it's all been luck and it has nothing to do with things that he picked up on, things that he learned about himself and about pitching in general over the last year and a half. The Sean Armstrong portion of the deal is just how they describe it. You know, both sides are hoping they get lucky with the other guy's unwanted asset. McCartle's didn't have a use for Dylan Carlson anymore. It was time to move on. We wish him the best of luck. I hope he can stay healthy and do things with Tampa Bay that makes his career better than what it's been so far.

Starting point is 00:20:05 Carlson is younger. So naturally, he's got more upside, hence the grade, where the Cardinals had a lower one, according to the athletic, than the Tampa Bay race. But, you know, Sean Armstrong, again, if they can figure out what the heck's going on with them this year, why his Velos down, figure out why he's throwing more forcing fastballs than Cutters. Why is Cutter isn't getting people out as much as it was last year. Because I went back and watched some 2023 highlights of Sean Armstrong, and dude, that dude was humming last year. He looked good. So hopefully they can figure things out,

Starting point is 00:20:38 and he becomes a big part of what this bullpen is going to be doing, moving on. The final piece, obviously, in all these trades is Tommy Fam. And boy, has that paid dividends so far. The Cardinals already have won two games with Tommy Fan back on the roster. They take the final two games against the Rangers in the season. series and take the series, which is why you get this flashy, beautiful shirt that I'm wearing today. So we're going to talk about Wednesday's blowout win and, of course, the outstanding

Starting point is 00:21:08 start by rookie pitcher Michael McGruevy. That's next on Lockdown Cardinals. Order supplies from the website that's made for the skilled trades by thousands of parts from hundreds of brands and just a couple of clicks at supplyhouse.com. Supplyhouse.com gives you 24-7 access to a huge selection of plumbing, HVAC and electrical supplies with fast delivery anywhere in the United States. And if you have a problem, you need help with an order. You can get industry leading after-sales service from their friendly and knowledgeable customer support team and talk to a real person every single time. And there's great news for plumbers, for technicians, and contractors because being a pro,

Starting point is 00:21:51 it's got its perks. Trade Industry professionals can join their free trade master program for free shipping and serious discounts on every single order. Over 100,000 pros already trust the Trade Master program for them to deliver results. Apply for your membership today and go ahead and get yourself that competitive edge on every order at supplyhouse.com slash TM. Save money, save time when you order online. Order plumbing, HVAC and electrical supplies from supplyhouse.com. Real people. Real service.

Starting point is 00:22:28 Thank you for making Locktown Cardinals your first listen today for your second list. And enjoy the Lockdown MLB podcast. host Paul Sullivan, aka Sully. Please don't call him Paul. He hates that, by the way. It's here to give you the daily national expertise that he provides with, of course, his trademark humor to help you get ready for the MLB playoffs here in the dog days of summer. Prepare for the fall classic with Sully, who has it all covered every single day on Lockdown MLB,

Starting point is 00:22:53 available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. So when it was announced that former first round pick, Michael McGreevy, he was going to get the spot start on Wednesday. My initial thoughts were, I'm kind of excited. And I really was. I was kind of excited because I like seeing the new young arms.

Starting point is 00:23:14 You know, guys that we've heard about that maybe haven't had the results in the minor leagues yet, but I want to see them for myself at the major league level. I know his numbers that meant this weren't great, but I haven't hardly seen anything from them outside of like some, you know, online footage or spring training stuff. So I was certainly curious about what he was going to be like on a major league mound at Bush Stadium with all those those feelings and juices going when

Starting point is 00:23:38 you're making your major league debut the same way I felt about seeing Gordon Grecepo for the first time at the major league level you know he had found success in the minors not quite as good as we thought he was going to be when he got bumped up to uh triple a Memphis but what was he going to be like at the major league level sometimes things just click both of them had kind of numbers at AAA, not bad pitchers by any means. It's not like these guys were getting blasted down in the minors, but hadn't done much to separate themselves or stand out to warn a call-up, but the cartels needed arms.

Starting point is 00:24:14 They brought Gersepho up. There's a little bit of success from him. So now it was McGreevy's turn, but, you know, it was something new, something fresh, which I enjoy because I hate it when we just go through the motions with the same guys over and over. I mean, do you really need to see? see Matthew Libertor, Zach Thompson, make a spot start at the major league level again. Do we need to see that? Not this year. We don't need that. And so I was excited to see McGreevy.

Starting point is 00:24:40 And I was just hoping, and I pointed this out that I was hoping that he could get through the lineup, the Rangers lineup twice without any serious damage. Get through it twice and give the guys a chance to win. And my guy blew those expectations out of the water. McGreevy in his major League debut, go seven innings against the defending champs. This is not some bum team that just traded off all their pieces. This is not the White Sox or the Marlins. The defending champs, the Texas Rangers, who despite not having a great year still had in their lineup superstar names like Marcus Simmy and Corey Seeger and Adolese Garcia.

Starting point is 00:25:23 And McGreevy was outstanding, just kept pumping strikes over and over and over. something that he's known for. He doesn't walk a ton of guys. Ends up going seven, allows one run, five hits, picks up his first career major league win as the Cardinals smash the Rangers 10 to 1. Rob Raines over at SDL Sportspage.com pointed out that the only other Cardinals started to do all of those things

Starting point is 00:25:47 in their Major League debut since 1994 was Tyler Lyons. Remember the lefty back in 2013 in a start against the Padres? Since 1994, the only Cardinals to work seven or more innings in their MLB debut, than McGreevy and Lions were Daniel Ponce de Leon in 2018, seven no-hit innings and a no decision against the Reds. I was there that night. That was the night that all of a sudden, the fire alarms go off at Great American Ballpark and it broke up all the rhythm and it made the game stop for a while and was a little annoying. It felt like cheating. Michael Waka,

Starting point is 00:26:25 one run in seven innings and a no decision back in 2013. And how about this name? Jason Simon Tachi, two runs over seven innings in 2002. McGreevy throws 99 pitches in this game. He walks one, strikes out three, threw a first pitch strike to 17 of the 27 hitters he faced and induced 12 ground ball outs. After allowing that two out doubled to Marcus Simeon in the first inning, he rattled off 11 straight batters that he retired in a row before a one-out walk in the fifth inning. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

Starting point is 00:26:58 he was aggressive. He didn't nibble. He attacked the zone. He mixed up his pitch as well. I absolutely loved what I saw. I saw Tommy Pham in the clubhouse afterwards. They were asking him about his thoughts on McGreevy in his first major league start and told him, you know, they were like, hey, what did you think about that spot start? And Pham was like, that was a spot start, man. We got to do something to keep that guy here. He was very much impressed. and remember the first game on Monday. Well, actually, let me take you back here before we get to that. Offensively for the Cardinals, they pound out 14 hits.

Starting point is 00:27:39 Every starter had at least one head except Pedro Paul Hatz, whose 13-game hitting streak, unfortunately, came to an end. He did have an RBI, though, in this game, but he was all smiles in the clubhouse afterwards based to the performance of Michael McGreevy and himself, you know, as the battery. They worked beautifully together. But if you remember the game on Monday, and I'm talking about the Rangers,

Starting point is 00:28:03 remember they were getting a lot of weak contact hits. They had a few infield hits, just tappers in front of the plate that they kept getting on base, and it was so annoying, right? Well, the Cardinals got some of the, that love on Wednesday. They got even with a few of their own, mixed in with a lot of clutch hits along the way. Tommy Fam, first start since the trade, leads the attack.

Starting point is 00:28:23 He goes three for four, two runs scored, and two Rannato had two hits. Goldie had two hits. Donovan had a big day going two for three with three knocked in. My man, Michael Ciani was two for three with two RBIs, barely knocked in two. There was just an energy that carried over from Tuesday night, and it was evident on Wednesday. Like there was something there. Tommy Fam has brought something already into that dugout. And you can see it on the youngsters' faces.

Starting point is 00:28:53 You can see it on Pahez and Nupar and Siani and the way they're reacting to things. And you saw the energy that Paul Goldsmith had on Wednesday night. And, you know, I think Tommy Pham and Wilson Contreras are going to be a pain of the butt for people because of the way they go about their games and their attitude out there on the field. I'm so excited about it. Tommy Pham is now four for six with six RBIs and three runs scored in his first two games back with the club. And I'm not trying to pour cold water on what Dylan Carlson has done for this franchise. But Dylan Carlson had 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 59 games this year. Tommy Fam has six RBIs and three runs scored in two games.

Starting point is 00:29:37 And I'm not trying to put down D.C. I'm just saying that is how bad the production was from that fourth outfield spot. And for FAM to come in and deliver the way he has, it's a major shot in the arm for the offense. Tommy was batten sixth on Wednesday. And from him down, the six through nine batters of the order, they combined for seven hits, eight RBIs, and four runs scored. And when you're getting a full lineup of guys to deliver like that, and you just got like a full lineup going,

Starting point is 00:30:13 you become a very scary offense. When you're not just relying on, you know, three to four guys where it's not always on the shoulders of Wilson, Goldianado, especially with Goldianado, not having great ears. Now that you bring in Tommy Fan and you get some of these other guys going, wouldn't it be great to see Nolan Gorman finally turn things around? He's been ice cold for a really, really, really long time. Just think about the possibilities of where this offense can go.

Starting point is 00:30:42 Now, are they going to do this all the time? Hellmo. Hell no. But it's nice to see the club score, what, 18 runs in two games and put it on the defense. fending champs heading into the 40 game series against the Cubs, which starts at Wrigley tonight. The Cardinals did put Lance Lynn on the IL, which was a bummer, knee issue that apparently was barking before the start on Tuesday, which kind of makes you appreciate the effort that he gave you on Tuesday night even more. Lance win, as my buddies are calling him, will be out at least

Starting point is 00:31:11 two starts, which allows Andre Palante to hang on his spot in the rotation for a little bit longer, which is good because everybody's been pretty happy with what they've seen out of Palante so far as a starter. Eric Fetty and Sean Armstrong, you're two new guys, are going to join the Cardinals in Chicago. Armstrong should be available out of the bullpen tonight. Fetty will get the start on Friday night. Tonight's starter, Sunny Gray has had his struggles recently, but you heard him in his post-game press conference. The last time he got the ball says he knows what needs to be done. He's just got to go out and do it.

Starting point is 00:31:43 So hopefully he gets right tonight. You know, everything gets ironed out and he's ready to roll and be that sunny gray that we saw for most of this season so far leading up to the month of July when things kind of went sideways for him. The Cardinals haven't scheduled this way. It'll be gray up against Shota and Managa tonight. Fetty will make his cardinal debut on Friday against Javier Assad. Kyle Gibson. We'll get the ball against Jameson on Saturday who, shockingly, the Cubs had not trade. We thought that was going to happen.

Starting point is 00:32:11 Then Sunday night baseball, you've got Miles Michaelis against Justin Steele. The Cardinals are currently five back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. They're a game and a half back of the wild card spot behind the Mets, the Diamondbacks, the Padres, and the Braves. The Mets, Diamondbacks and Padres are on fire right now. Three of the hottest teams in the league. Hopefully they're peaking at the wrong time and they'll slow down because they've been as a combined over their last 10 games, so 30 games total.

Starting point is 00:32:40 But there each individual 10 games are combined 23 and 7, man. San Diego has won nine of their last 10 and are now just four and a half back of the Dodgers. After putting it on L.A. in their recent series, Arizona is now five back. So things are really getting interesting out west. But keeping a focus on the NL Central, Card will still have a shot at first place. You know, again, five games with a little over two months, a little over a month and a half remaining, right? I think we're at like 56 games, 55 games, something like that. remaining in the regular season and a game and a halfback in the wild card.

Starting point is 00:33:18 So hopefully what these trades have done will continue to show the energy that you saw in the last two games against the Rangers on the field at Bush. Because that was some fun baseball. And it wasn't all home runs. Obviously, the grand slam by fan was huge on Tuesday night. But in Wednesday's game, there was no home runs. It was just clutch hitting, man. They were bunting. It was great base running, solid pitching, good work out of the bullpen.

Starting point is 00:33:43 defense was good. Like Cardinal baseball, that's what that is. And we've missed it. And I'm glad that it's been back the last couple of days. Let's keep it rolling at Wrigley Field, shall we? Thanks for making a lockdown cardinals. Your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter X at L.O underscore Cardinals and a JD Sports Radio. Please like and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already and help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. And I will see you next time on Locked on Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - The Cardinals Are Getting Praised Nationally, Michael McGreevy Dazzles In Major League Debut!

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