Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - The Cardinals Have A Problem!
Episode Date: June 27, 2025- Cardinals Split With The Chicago Cubs - Left Handed Pitching - Benches Clear - Willson Contreras - Daniel Palencia - Cleveland Guardians Preview - Jose Ramirez Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast plat...forms… 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/ Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/ Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIO Follow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_Cardinals Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rugiet Rugiet Ready is a next-gen prescription treatment designed to amplify arousal in the brain and boost blood flow. Head to Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONMLB and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get 15% off today. Wonderful Pistachios Get snackin' and get crackin' with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more! Supply House Join the TradeMaster program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code S-H-5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com! Monarch Money Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) #ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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The St. Louis Cardinals hit the snooze button offensively for the final two games against the Cubs,
and one glaring weakness was at the forefront. This is Locked on Cardinals.
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And I wish I had happier things to say about the final two games of this series
between the Cubs and Cardinals.
but after getting blasted 8 to nothing on a Wednesday and then shut out 3 to nothing on Thursday,
the happy thoughts, they're kind of at a minimum.
Great defensive plays by Alec Berlinson in these final two games.
You know, you got to see him really showing off the glove.
I don't know what John Jay's been doing with him, but it's working.
Keep it up, man.
But there just wasn't a whole lot to be that excited about in the last two games.
a wide disparity between the vibes that we felt after the first two games
and how most of Cardle Nation is feeling right now after the last two games.
Before we dive into things,
let me please say that the Cardinals didn't lose this series, all right?
And I know that sounds pretty weak.
You know, you expect to win every series and I get that.
I'm not trying to say like, oh, 500's okay, because it's not.
It's not.
They did come away with a series split.
which before it all began, I actually did say that that would feel kind of like a win for the Cardinals,
considering the struggles that they'd had recently leading up to that series against the Chicago White Sox and then the Cincinnati Reds.
You know, I remember the birds before they went to Chicago to face the White Sox were spiraling.
Things were really, really, really bad.
The losses were mounting.
Momentum was shifting into a bad way.
And things were just going in the wrong direction altogether.
But they sweep the socks.
Then they take two or three from the Cincinnati Reds.
and you start to feel genuinely a little bit better about yourself, right?
You start to build that confidence back up heading into the series against the Cubs.
And it didn't appear that.
They didn't come out flat against Chicago in those first two games.
But getting a split before it started seemed like a good thing.
Now I feel a little bit different after taking the first two games.
You're like, all right, now you've got a chance to win this series, right?
you can take three or four from them.
You get those two big wins in games one and two.
You outmash the Cubs in both of those games coming from behind an exciting fashion in that game too.
You get the plays by Burley and Nato in that game.
And now you're like standing on top of the world.
You're like, we can do this.
We can overtake them.
This is not so difficult, right?
But then the Cubs pitching staff locked down and pushed us off this pedestal that we had jumped on top of
with the shutout wins in the next two games.
And honestly, things really started to take a turn in the game two victory.
Although the Cardinals won that game,
the Cardinals had put up a four spot in the fourth inning of game two.
And since that point, nobody has touched home plate to score a run.
Nobody.
22 straight innings.
The Cardinals have not scored a run.
That's bad.
22 innings, two and a half games.
The Cardinals have done nothing offensively,
which is a little bit shocking.
You know, how does a team that boasts the offensive numbers
that the Cardinals have for most of this year get blanked like this?
And the answer is left-handed pitching.
After James and Tyon got ravaged by the Cardinals,
great counsel turned to left-hand over Leibber, Caleb Thielbar,
who calm things down through a shutout inning.
Then they went to the righty Chris Flexen for an inning.
Then back to a lefty and Drew Pomerantz for another inning.
And then they went to Ryan Presley at the end.
Now, I didn't realize how good Pomeran's and Chris Flex at it did.
I was doing the research for this.
I'm like, hold on a second.
So Drew Pomerant's 36 years old.
Has it given up an earned run yet this year?
He's only giving up one run altogether.
in 24 appearances. Where did that come from? And then you got Chris Flex in age 30,
only giving up two runs in 14 appearances. So talk about finding a couple of hidden gems
for that Cubs bullpen right now. The fountain of youth must be in Chicago right now because
those two are drinking from it. But then in Wednesdays game, the Cubs roll with Matthew Boyd,
left-hander, who again is having an outstanding season already. I don't just want to blame the Cardinals for
not doing good things because the other team, as I try to remind people, they're trying to win
as well. They're not just laying it up there and trying to make things easy for the Cardinals.
So Matthew Boyd's been very good for Chicago. And he comes out and baffles the Cardinals for six
shutout innings. Counsel uses three right handers to end it. But the game was in the bag already
at that point after they beat the hell out of Eric Fetty, who was awful. Then on Thursday,
it's left-hander Shota Imanaga returning from the injured list.
And he ends up puzzling the Cardinals for another five innings.
Then they go to Fieldbar again, left-hander.
Then they switch it to the right-e Keller.
You got to remember they're doing matchups as well.
Counsel's matching up with the right-handers, right-handers in the Cardinals lineup.
But then he goes back to Pomerans for another inning.
And that's before, and then they bring in Daniel Palencia to close it out.
So the Cardinals didn't score a single run off of a left.
left-handed pitcher in this series. None. Fifteen shutout innings by Cubs left-handers. So I went back
further. I'm like, okay, how long has it been since the Cardinals have scored off a lefty? Let's
keep going back. So we go to the loss to the Reds on Sunday. Again, I want to give credit to
Andrew Abbott, who is having an incredible year for the Cincinnati Reds, kind of out of nowhere,
dominating number. So it's not just the Cardinals that he's doing well against, but he's another
a lefty. And guess what? He blinked the Cardinals for seven innings. Taylor Rogers, another left-handed
from the bullpen came in that game through two-thirds of an inning. No runs. So then I have to go to
the next game. And the journey finally ended there. Saturday, when they beat the Reds,
they scored two runs off of the Red starter and what was a bullpen game for the Red. So it wasn't
like the real starter, but it was still left-handed pitcher, Brent Souter. They scored two runs
off of him in the first inning. And then it was all righties for the rest of the game for
Cincinnati. But 22 and two-thirds of shutout baseball thrown just by left-handers against the
Cardinals. And right now we're at 22 just in general shutout innings against the Cardinals.
On the year, the team is batting 261 against right-handed pitchers, which is the third best
batting average in the league. That's awesome, right? Against lefties.
they're hitting 236, which is 16th in the league.
Quite a drop, though, right?
Mathematically there, we're looking at what,
four, five, 25 points in your batting average?
It's pretty bad.
That's pretty bad.
Against the lefties, they're hitting 236.
Now, I will say this.
Missing Ivan Herrera obviously didn't help the cause.
It hasn't helped the cost since he went down.
and got hurt because he's been their best hitter against left-handed pitching.
333, five home runs and 13 RBIs against them.
So that bad is certainly missed when the left-handers come into games.
I understand that.
And you have to acknowledge that, that the injury to him is going to be a big problem for this.
Victor Scott hitting just 182 against lefties this year.
With that and not having Jordan Walker, who was out right now.
And Lars Newpar, who wasn't available, meant that you had to go to Garrett Hampson
in center field.
And I don't want to rip the dude as much as he can help you out,
clearly on the mound because he pitched well in his three pitches in that game.
But defensively, base running speed, that's his game.
Again, he's the right-handed Michael Siani.
But not going to help you offensively, right?
That's the reason why the guy is on his third team so far this year because he's not much of a hitter.
You were hoping having Thomas and Jacey up could help things out.
Usually hits pretty good against lefties.
He goes 0 for 7.
Gorman has always had a tough time with lefties.
So you weren't looking for all that much out of him there.
Although he looked, he's looked better against lefties.
But even as good as Brennan Donovan, you know, let's not give Donnie a pass here.
He's had this fantastic year.
should be an all-star, hopefully as an alternate, hitting 220 against lefties.
It's a real problem for this team, especially with Herrera out, just like it was last year.
Remember when the Cardinals had to make that blockbuster deal and get Tommy Fam just to have someone who could hit lefties in the lineup?
That was part of the Feddy deal, as they had to get, they brought, they wanted Tommy fan.
That was a big part of it.
But we want fam.
Like, that's how desperate they got.
no offense against Tommy fam, but, you know, it's something they're going to need to address
eventually because there's not a lot of right-handed pop down in the minor leagues either.
A lot of lefty guys that are doing well, but it's not a lot of righties who can hit left-handers well.
So something they're going to have to look into and figure it out.
But if I'm a team and I got the Cardinals coming up on my schedule, I'm getting all my lefties ready to rock because that appears to be the
kryptonite, if you will, for the St. Louis Cardinals' offense.
Now, things did get a little heated after the game on Thursday between Wilson
Catreras and Daniel Palencia, with the benches clearing at the end of it all.
So we'll hear what they had to say about that situation.
And more coming up next on Locked on Carpins.
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Nobody likes Villan Willie more than I do.
I enjoy having a bad guy on our team.
It is something that I feel like we had for a long time with Daddy or Melina.
You know, other fans, other teams, they just didn't like him, which was fine.
They all respected him.
They didn't really like him.
And anytime I see another team getting worked up about something that Wilson Contreras does,
I get a big smile on my face.
I kind of dig it a little bit because normally it works out well for the Cardinals.
And on Thursday, there he was again in the ninth inning as the Cardinals attempted to mount a comeback in what was a very dull day for the home team.
Were they three hits on in that game?
Like it was boring.
And the Cubs let them hang around.
They were giving them ample chances to get back in it and they just couldn't do it.
It just was that.
But in that ninth inning, another opportunity popped up,
when Wilson Contreras gets hit by a pitch, you get the lead off double, you get the hit by pitch.
And that did not sit well with Wilson Contreras at all.
You saw Willie kind of chirp at Palencia as he strolled the first base.
And then when the game was over, you saw Palencia celebrating,
appeared to direct a bit of his newfound joy, specifically towards Wilson Contreras over at first base,
which did not sit well with the former Cub and current Cardinals first baseman.
nothing physical came out of this, but both benches did end up clearing and jump on the field just in case.
Now the Cubs, they were coming out anyway because they were celebrating the shutout win and, you know, being able to pull off the, you know, series split after dropping the first two games.
So they were going to be out there anyway.
Cardinals were just kind of, they came over just to kind of make sure things didn't get out of hand, which they did.
Like it never really got all that close.
although the Wilson Contreras death stare towards Palencia and the celebrating Cubs.
Oh, buddy.
That, he would, he read.
He was seeing red right there, but didn't do anything about it.
But it's fun, right?
It adds another layer to what is a fun rivalry already.
The connection between Willie and the city of Chicago will always be entertaining.
He loves going back there.
and he thrives on the booze.
You saw how he thrived against the Chicago White Sox.
Like he enjoys it.
He likes it.
You know, he likes the theater of it all.
So he likes being the bad guy.
While Chicago seems to the city, I'm saying, the fans,
they seem to have some fun with, with him after seeing him switch from Cubby Blue to Cardinal Red.
I thought it was funny that White Sox fans were booing him.
What do you care?
They were playing for you, but they were booing him anyway because it's Chicago.
And I liked it.
I thought it was great.
So it was kind of similar to how the fans treated Jason Hayward when he came back to Bush Stadium after jumping ship and going to the Cubs.
The difference is Willie was there much longer won a championship with the Cubs while Hayward simply, he resurrected his career with the Cardinals.
And they offered him a contract and he chose the Cubs over the Cardinals wisely when you go back and look at it.
Because he was like, I think the Cubs have a chance to win a championship.
And he was right.
They got one right away when he got over there.
I almost sometimes forget he was a Cardinal because of just one year.
It was so quick, but it was an important year because helped Hayward get that massive deal with Chicago.
And, you know, he's made a lot of money and had a long career after that where things were going the wrong way for him after the Cardinals acquired before the Cardinals acquired him.
So anyway, after the two games, all the media members go into the clubhouses and they start interviewing both of these guys and asked him about the altercation and what went down.
You know, Willie wasn't bashful about it. He said last year, I got two broken bones.
And I know he's not trying to hit anybody there. I know I react the way I react.
Again, I know he's not trying to. I just said to him, throw strikes. My reaction was bad.
I take that back. I apologize to the Chicago Cubs, but I'm not trying to get another broken bone.
Fair enough, right? Fair enough. No batter likes to get hit by a pitch, especially when it's up and in near the hands and the face and the head area.
you know, everybody's going to be a little pissed about that when it happens.
You know, these guys at this level are supposed to have enough control about where they're throwing the ball that they wouldn't have to worry about that.
But sometimes the ball slips.
And again, I don't think Palencia was trying to hit Wilson anyway.
You know, you're not trying to bring the tying run to the plate.
You know, I mean, there's better times to hit people if that's what you want to do.
That was not one of them.
So I don't think he was trying to do it either.
But it probably didn't help that it was the Cubs that had hit him.
And this was the 13th time Wilson Contreras has been hit by a pitch this year,
tied for second most in the league with former Cardinal, Rania Rosa Rana,
is now with the Seattle Mariners and trailing only Thai France from the twins.
Why is Thai France getting hit so much from Minnesota?
I don't know.
I don't know.
But he's got 14 hit by pitch already this year.
Contreras continued in the scrum, in the media scrum in the club.
I'm not trying to fight them either.
I just react to the heat of the moment.
I'm not trying to fight anybody.
He did his job.
The only thing that I didn't appreciate was the way he turned around.
But once again, that's just the heat of the game.
He came out with a good staff to put another zero on the board, and they won today.
And yeah, you know, when Palencia, you know, he first started celebrating.
He's looking at his catcher.
And then he purposely turns to Wilson and his area just is like,
But again, hear the game.
Like, you don't want people celebrating on you.
Don't want to beat you.
As far as Palencia's side of things, he said,
I was just excited.
It's part of the game.
I don't want to hit that guy.
I've been watching that guy since I was a kid.
I'm proud of what he's doing for the game.
Like I said, the moment was intense.
Close game.
Totally understandable.
Cardinal killer Ian Hap even chimed in.
Played with Contreras when they were in Chicago together.
He had no ill thoughts about anything that went on there either about Wilson saying that's Wilson.
You know, he loves his teammates.
He loves to play hard.
He's going to be a guy that is in at every pitch.
Anytime you get hit up and in in a spot like that, it's scary.
Guys are frustrated.
I totally get it.
Just the heat of the moment and competition.
I love this stuff.
I love this stuff.
I don't want anyone getting hurt on either side,
but I do like it when there is some edge to things between teams and players and fans.
it makes everything feel that much more important.
You know, this is the end of June.
This is not even remotely close to getting down to the home stretch of the season
where everybody's pushing for a playoff spot.
But it made it feel that much more important.
You know, and it was important games.
Don't get me wrong, but just the atmosphere and the vibes about it,
it just gets everybody on edge.
And I enjoy that.
I think it's good.
When everybody's relaxed and the games is boring as it was on Thursday,
It's three to nothing and nothing's happening.
And it's just like, oh, boy, whatever.
I'm glad that there was something.
There was at least a little spark for some fireworks because guess what?
Cardinals and Cubs are going to play each other again here real soon.
The atmosphere in Wrigley, I'm sure it's going to be saucy when the Cardinals and Contrera show up for the 4th of July weekend.
Looking forward to that.
Cardinals are going to be in Cleveland this weekend.
Let's not jump too far ahead and start looking at other things because the Cleveland Guardians are in front of you this weekend.
We'll discuss that series and more coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals.
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They'll be game night, every game every night all season long.
get the local analysis you won on a national scale.
Thined MLP game night on Locked on MTV on YouTube or wherever you listen to your
podcast.
Cardinals begin a long road trip tonight in the land, Cleveland, against the Guardian's team
that has now fallen nine and a half games back of the Detroit Tigers in the American League
Central.
They're only one game over 500 at 40 and 39, but they're just a half game back in the wild card.
So they're in the thick of things like they usually are.
That's one of the impressive things that the guardians have been able to do over the years,
as they don't spend a whole lot on salary yet they maximize their roster and they're constantly
just right there.
They're always right there.
They got one of the best players in the game.
That doesn't hurt.
Superstar in Jose Ramirez at third base.
He continues to put up MVP-type numbers.
He's batting 317 with 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, which is a bit low for him, but it has to
do with the lineup that's around him.
but he's also got 21 stolen bases.
The batting average is tops among all third basement and baseball.
OBP, 378 is number one.
Slugging is third.
OPS is number one.
The guy is as good as it gets offensively at the position.
Switch hitter.
So there's no easy way to pitch to them.
Like, just don't.
Really?
Just don't.
Make somebody else beat you.
Don't let J. Ram be the guy.
Stephen Kwan is another excellent.
all around outfielder for them.
Not much for power, but he's hitting 306.
He's one of those pests that's constantly on base.
You've got veteran first baseman Carlos Santana,
switch hitter as well.
Gold Glove winner last year.
Not having a huge year offensively,
but he's one of those guys that, like when I see the Cardals play them,
I'm like, I feel like Santana's the guy that's going to do the damage.
I don't know why.
Just a vibe I get.
They also got a nice D.H.
And Kyle Manzardo, he's got 12 home runs in 32.
to RBI on the season.
The Cardinals have fallen to 11th overall on batting average,
thanks to their issues going up against left-handers.
Lucky for us, Cleveland is not throwing a bunch of left-handers,
at least not right now.
They're going to have two right-handers starting in the series
to have a lefty on Sunday.
But offensively, when you look at the Guardians,
you know, you see those numbers for J-Ram and Kwan,
and you're like, oh, they're probably pretty good.
No, they're way down to 25th.
They're hitting 229 as a team this year.
They've got less home runs than the Cardinals,
so that's not something that you're going to be all that afraid of.
Their 25th and runs scored, middle of the pack and strikeouts,
and then the lower half for walks.
They average only 3.8 runs per game.
Their pitching is also very similar to the Cardinals,
as far as ERA and batting average against goes,
their bullpen, which was so good last year.
Remember how insanely good the Cleveland bullpen once last year.
That has regressed tremendously this year.
numbers are similar to what the Cardinals are doing.
So their clothes are Emmanuel Class A is still very, very good.
Had a very rough start to the year.
The ERA in April was over seven, like, and he took it forever to get his ERA to come down.
It still looks bad, but his last couple of months, he's been as good as he normally is.
So you want to avoid seeing him at all costs because he's awesome.
So to me, it just feels like the Cardinals need to not let Jose Ramirez beat them.
Don't get into a situation where you got to throw to them and just do what you can do to manufacture four or more runs in a game.
And that should be sufficient against this Guardian's offense.
They are 20 and 29 against teams over 500 and 20 and 10 against the ones who are under 500.
That's very telling.
It means they take advantage of the bad teams and they're not all that competitive against the good teams.
It tells me that the Cardinals should be able to take two of three in the series.
Pitching matchups, you got Sunny Gray against Luis Ortiz, who is 4 and 8, VRA of 4.30.
Don't let those numbers fool you because there are moments where he looks brilliant.
He just threw six shutout innings against the A's in his last outing and struck out 10 guys.
So there's moments where he looks incredible.
He does tend to get a little wild.
He will walk some guys, so don't go chasing things.
And he's one of those guys that he's very inconsistent where he has these great games.
I know he shoved against the Yankees a couple of games ago, too.
And then the games before he faced the A's, Mariners and Reds, they hit him pretty easily.
They didn't have any problems against him.
So hopefully that's where he is as far as it consistent goes.
Just had a real good game.
So time to come back and let somebody pound you a little bit.
They got another righty going on Saturday in Slade Cicone against Miles Michaelis.
And then it's lefty Logan Wilson on Sunday against our lefty, Matthew Libertor.
Friday and Saturday seem like the best options for wins, all things considered,
because the Cardinals don't hit lefties very, very well.
So I just, you got to need, you got to show some offense tonight.
That's really the thing.
You're in this funk.
You can't let the last 22 innings continue the way they have.
I want to see the desperation again, you know.
I need the energy that you showed up with against the Chicago Cubs in the first two games.
I need that, but I need to see the desperation that we saw after that losing streak where
it was like, we'll do anything to get some runs across right now.
We'll bunt. We'll sacrifice. We'll do all the stuff. We'll do all the things.
Just to try to try to break the seal on the shutout streak right now.
That's what I want to see in the opening frames of this game against Cleveland on Friday.
You can outscore these guys. The offense for Cleveland is not good.
Just got to avoid those big names.
Do not let Jose Ramirez beat you.
do whatever you can to get around him and get to other pieces of the lineup.
Do not let guys in the 7, 8, 9 hole, you know, guys that should not be beating you.
Don't let them beat you.
You got to take advantage of the fact that they got a much less offensive lineup than you do.
So take advantage of that.
Newt should be back in the lineup after that two-game absence after getting a shot in the ribs.
All the lefties should be in there tonight.
Burley's still on fire.
We'll get Victor Scott back in that lineup tonight.
We don't see Garrett Hampson again.
Gorman, obviously, has been hitting quite well.
I thought he got a hold of one on Thursday's game,
that one that he lined out to center.
I thought he gets that up just a little bit.
That ball's gone.
So I'm liking what I'm seeing from Gorman right now.
Donnie hits the right.
He's better.
It's set up for you to win these first two games.
Do it.
Need a bounceback game for sure.
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