Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - UNEXPECTED: St. Louis Cardinals’ Kyle Leahy Has Been DOMINATING! Starting Rotation SHOCKING MLB

Starting point is 00:00:00 In one of the most complete games of the season, the Cardinals take down Zach Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies and continue to stay alive in the NL Wild Cardinals. 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. It's Shady Haffron. And on today's show, a former Cardinal might be at the end of the line after he got DFS. made. The Field of Dreams game was back in Iowa. And we're going to take a look at the NL playoff picture because the Cardinals are still alive. And one of the reasons the playoff picture is still something we actually care about is because the Cardinals took two of three from the Phillies to win their third straight series. And although many believe that they slowly fade off into the distance, not going to lie, I'm one of those people who thought

Starting point is 00:00:57 that, hey, you know, it was a good season. But, you know, I accept our fate that this might not happen, especially after the trade deadline. Get rid of Dustin May. You get rid of Joe, Joe Romero, Lars Newpar. You would think that there might be a dip. And instead, the opposite has happened. And the Cardinals have now won six of nine since the trade deadline and seven of their last 10.

Starting point is 00:01:19 I do want to apologize for this coming out so late because I had normal work stuff at the radio station. And then I had preseason football stuff that I had to deal with. So I apologize for all of that. But here we are. Let's talk some baseball. And, you know, yesterday's game against the Phillies was, in my opinion, one of the best all-around games I've seen from this team this season.

Starting point is 00:01:42 And when you talk about the three phases of the game, pitching, hitting a defense, kind of hard to poke any holes into yesterday's performance by the entire team overall. And it all starts with starting pitching. And man, oh, man, is Kyle Leahy on a freaking heater right now? Or what? Gosh, he's pitching like one of the best pitchers. in all of baseball. He's been incredible. Strikes out, what, six yesterday and five innings, gives up just one run, picks up his ninth win of the season. M.LB Network tweeted out that in his

Starting point is 00:02:14 last nine games, including yesterday against Philly, he's got a 1.52 ERA over 47 and a third innings pitch, 46Ks, and a 0.99 whip. That is ace material. And I'll extend that even further. over his last 17 starts, the guy sported an ERA of 2.66, over 88 innings with 83 strikeouts and a fifth of just three, which is phenomenal. He's been one of the top 20 starters in the league over that time span, like recognize that and appreciate that because that is something that many of us did not think was going to happen at the beginning of the season when he came out the gate and struggle. Same can be said about Andre Palante. He ain't been no slouch either. His last five stars, he's got a 1.80 ERA, which is sixth best in all of baseball,

Starting point is 00:03:07 ERA-wise, over that span. Leahy at 2.25, which is 15. So two top 15 pitchers is what we're looking at right there. That's not something I'd expect, especially if you told me it was going to be Cal Leahy and Andre Belante, who in the season. started. I would not have believed you. And because of the emergence of Leahy and the resurgence of Andre Palante, plus what you've been able to get from Michael McCreevy, Hunter Dobbins as well, who has been chipping in quite nicely since becoming a regular member of the team. This starting staff coming into Thursday was sporting a top 10 ERA and all of baseball. That's despite the inconsistencies of Matthew Leverto.

Starting point is 00:03:53 or Dustin May's stats, a little bit bloated, ERA-wise, because of a couple of really bad games. We know I test that overall Dustin May has been pretty good. He's been damn good for the Milwaukee Brewer since the trade. But even his ERA, when he got shipped, was at 4.38. So you've got those three guys, and you've still got the numbers that you're getting from Libby and Dustin May. and still top 10 ERA.

Starting point is 00:04:26 Leahy leads the club with a 3.380 RA, Dobbins at 3.40, Palante at 3.46, and then McGreevy at 3.64. It's pretty good. It's pretty good. Take a bow. Dusty Blake, tip of the cap to you and to the rest of the staff, because it's not all just Dusty Blake, just not like when something bad happens,

Starting point is 00:04:49 it's all on Dusty Blake either. But that's some impressive work with a group of guys who most people don't find all that impressive on paper. You'd be hard pressed to find somebody outside of St. Louis who knows who the hell, Kyle Leahy, Andre Palante, Hunter Dobbins, and Michael McGreevy are. Most of them will not know. Maybe Boston knows Dobbins. But nobody else really gives a crap about the rest of these guys. There are no names to them. And here they are.

Starting point is 00:05:20 doing what they're doing. And we all remember what it was like when, you know, Dave Duncan was here under Tony LaRusa and how he could somehow cast spells and conjure up some sort of pitching magic to get the most out of guys when they would come to St. Louis. And, you know, it was people that, not stars, you know, the Jeff Supines. I just say his name, right, Sue Pines. That's not how he say.

Starting point is 00:05:45 Jeff Supan. Jeff Weaver. Kyle O'Shee. of the world. Do you remember these guys, right? Talented guys, for sure. But Dunk would somehow elevate these dudes to different levels when they would get to Bush Stadium. Not saying the Dusty Blake is on the level of Dave Duncan. Don't miscon. Don't misconstrue that. I'm just saying that that's what it reminds me of. Doing more with less is what they've been able to pull off so far this year. And, you know, that's what these guys are paid to do. I mean, are you more impressed

Starting point is 00:06:20 with what Dusty has been able to do with what the Cardinals have as a starting rotation, or are you impressed with what, say, like a Mark Pryor is doing with the Dodgers? You know, not to throw shade at Mark Pryor, but how difficult is that job when you've got Otani, Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Terrick Scoobel, Tyler Glassnow, those are your top five guys. How many sleepless nights does Mark Pryor really have? And as much as I've complained about the bullpen this year, and for good reason, because they've had their warts, but most bullpins do. I've pointed that out as well. We got to send some love to the bullpen. We do. It's not an easy job. And again, you've got names that most people have never heard of.

Starting point is 00:07:03 George Soriano, Justin Brule, Ryan Stanick, Riley O'Brien, they're the guys anchoring this thing. They're not household names. these weren't at the top of anyone's list as must have guys when the Cardinals acquired them. But over the last 29 appearances, because I was called out about this, and rightfully so, Justin Brule has an ERA of 1.95 and a FIP of 3.05 over his last 29 appearances. He's been better than, I guess, my eyeball test tells me. And the stats prove it. So apologies, thanks for calling me out. Ryan Stanick, rough game in New York, right?

Starting point is 00:07:42 But over his last 22 appearances, 2.840, ERA with that bad game in New York included. Riley O'Brien, we know he was lights out early on in the season, hit a speed bump in the middle where things weren't going so well. His last 17 appearances had that one tough game against the Angels, but he's got 12 saves and an ERA of 1.10. These guys aren't robots. They're not. And there's going to be moments where things don't work out. but since that game against the Angels, Riley O'Brien has made eight appearances and hasn't allowed to run

Starting point is 00:08:16 and has only surrendered one hit. The walks? Yeah. Those are really the only bluish. But his ball moves a lot. So it's kind of, you got to kind of take the good with the bad when it comes to him. But that's been impressive stuff by the entire pitching staff overall. And sure, you're going to have guys like Luis Gastilum.

Starting point is 00:08:39 He's struggling a little bit right now, although he looked good the other night. But, you know, you've got those guys. The Gordon Grecophos and stuff like, you can't just have a bullpen full of superstars. It's not going to work that way. But hopefully you work them in in spots where they can be productive. And that's what you're looking for. More from Wednesday's game, including that fifth inning, which sparked or was sparked, I should say, by one player's first hit of the season.

Starting point is 00:09:05 We have to give him props as well. That's coming up all locked on Cardinals. A big thank you to our friends at Amazon for this limited break. This back to school season, spend less on your kids with Amazon. Now, we all know how crazy the back to school shopping experience can be. It starts with a few items on the list. Then suddenly you're shopping for supplies and then clothes and then lunch gear in tech and about 10 other things that you didn't see coming.

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Starting point is 00:10:03 So remember with Amazon's low back to school prices, just spend less on your kids. Because every dollar you don't spend on them is a dollar you haven't spent on them. Shop back to school at Amazon and spend less on your kids. Thanks for making a lockdown. Carlos first list of the day. Thank you for making it locked on the number one sports podcast network. I just realized I don't have the ugly shirt on. I've got the Trevor Condon hoodie on,

Starting point is 00:10:33 but I do not have the ugly shirt on. I hope that doesn't screw up any mojo for the Cardinals moving forward. Although I saw a guy at the game on Wednesday. He was rocking it. He was on camera. He looked good. So maybe we'll just let him count for wearing the ugly shirt after that series went. Hey, Cesar Prieto.

Starting point is 00:10:51 The dude's had a rough year, right? His career with the Cardinals has been mostly spent in the minor leagues, came over in the trade with the Baltimore Orioles for Jack Flaherty a couple of seasons ago. But a solid hitter in the few seasons he's been in the organization. But again, most of it's been at the minor league level. Hit 300 for Memphis in 2025 was at 307 this year. Baseball gods, for whatever reason, have not been kind to him when he comes up to the major league level. last year one for six with five strikeouts in the short time he was up.

Starting point is 00:11:21 Then this year, Martin in an 0 for 27 slump before leading off in the fifth inning on Wednesday and getting a base hit against Zach Wheeler. Score was tied one to one at the time. Cardinals needed some sort of spark to kind of get things going. And it's been one of those slums for Prieto where no matter where he hit the ball, it was getting caught. Line drive, rocket into the gap. Somebody's coming up with it.

Starting point is 00:11:44 It was, you know, you play the game long enough. and it's going to happen and it becomes very frustrating. And you know, you see it in the comment section every time he was in the lineup. They're like, dude, sky doesn't even have a hit this year. What are we doing? How is he starting over Blaze Jordan? Well, it's a righty, lefty thing that Ali likes to do. And you want to get Pareto going.

Starting point is 00:12:01 Like he's been a good hitter in the Myers. So you know he would think at least that eventually he'll break out and be a productive hitter here at the major league level. You know, I'm not saying he's going to be a 300 hitter or anything, but serve a purpose and help. the team out. But eventually, like I said, you know that Ofer streak, it's going to end. And I even tweeted about it before the game on Wednesday, where I was like, is this the day? He's in the lineup again. Is this the day? And lobehold, it happened. His prayers were answered.

Starting point is 00:12:31 Prieto got his first hit in the majors this season. Gave thanks to the baseball gods as he ran to first base and kept the ball, which was a nice touch. He's earned it. But more importantly, it led to the four run fifth inning for the Cardinals, which featured the two out singles by your star players like J.J. Weatherhall, he got the hit. Then Yvonne Herrera got the, the two out hit, which gave them a two to one lead. And those guys were followed up by your superstars of the team, the super, superstars, an Alec Berlinson with two run double, then an RBI double by Jordan Walker. And again, all of this was happening with two outs, which was what was very impressive because it's so deflating. We've been on the other side of it as Cardinals

Starting point is 00:13:10 fans before, where like with two outs and all of a sudden crap happens and it all goes sideways. Well, that's what happened for the Cardinals this time around. You got a five to one lead against one of the best righties in baseball and Zach Wheeler. And this was after Wheeler was cruising too. Like it didn't look like they were going to do much against him. So props to Prieto for getting things going. But I'll emphasize this again. And I continue to bring it up that it all really starts. You see the numbers for Burley and for Walker and Herrera from time to time. But it really all starts with J.J. Weatherholt. When he is going, this offense really has a chance. You know, He's the table setter.

Starting point is 00:13:47 He was on base three times on Wednesday, one for three with two walks, two runs scored. And in games, the Cardinals win, J.J. Weatherholt's part of the action. He's hitting 282 with a 411 OBP and losses, and that drops to 212, and the OBP drops under 300 to 293. That's how big of a difference he is. And he only had one hit in the series. So they need this dude primed and ready to rock for Chicago, who he has done very well against hitting 410 so far.

Starting point is 00:14:16 I think they've put him 10 times so far this year, and he's hitting a 4-10 against him. Alec Burleson drives in three in this game. The dude's been a rock. Jordan Walker reaches on the air. Steele's second base, the 16th of the season scores on a double by Nathan Church in the second inning to go along with the RBI double in that fifth inning.

Starting point is 00:14:32 So he had a solid game. Yvonne Herrera hit 407 during the homestand. Nathan Church has come to life offensively. He's hitting 333 over his last 42 at bass with eight ribbies, a couple of stolen bases. Cardinals go four or five for 12 with runners in scoring position in the game on Wednesday. Like I said, a very complete game. And, you know, the guy that's been the anchor through all of this has been Alec Berluson,

Starting point is 00:14:55 very few dips, you know, it's been a lot of elite level hitting for Alec. And sometimes, you know, Burley, everybody goes through sloughs. But he doesn't stay in on very long, you know, they're not extended. This stat was sent over from Rob Ray and sent the 26th game since the All-Star break. Burley has posted a 340 batting average with 17 RBIs. Now, at the break, Jordan Walker had 74 runs batted in. Burleson was at 67. Now they're both tied at 84 RBIs apiece, which is fourth in all of Major League Baseball.

Starting point is 00:15:26 That's crazy. For a team that we always harp on about offense, they got two dudes who were tied for fourth place in RBIs in Major League Baseball. It's kind of nuts, right? And then defensively, I mentioned a very complete game on Wednesday. Defensively, you get that great catch by Jordan Walker in right field. seventh inning lead off batter, I believe. I think it was Marsh.

Starting point is 00:15:49 Full sprint, full blast, fully extended, six foot six, and whatever his wingspan is, makes that diving catch to prevent extra bases to start the inning and probably snuffs out a rally right there because if that happens, things start moving for Philly. And it was a thing of beauty. So Air Jordan was the captioned by the Cardinals, which is perfect. And then, of course, how about the double play ball in this series?

Starting point is 00:16:12 That was something the Cardinals continued to pull off over and over again against Philly. Kudos to the pitching staff first for inducing the ground balls. And then, of course, props to the end field for executing them time and time again. Nine double plays turn in three games. That's something. And I know Philly on that side of thinking bad luck. We're hitting them right at people.

Starting point is 00:16:32 But at the same time, you got to do your side of it too as the Cardinals. And they were great at it. Seven runs, eight hits, five for 12 with runners in the scoring position, two stolen bases, two double plays turned one run and five innings by your starter, four shutout innings by your bullpen, one of the most complete games I've seen this team play all season long. It was beautiful. And if you could somehow bottle that up and replicate it more consistently,

Starting point is 00:16:59 you'd have a team that really could be a pain in the ass for the rest of this league down the stretch. But that's the hard part, right? That's the hard part, is to be consistently this good, you know, peaks and valleys, as I've mentioned. And as much as a day off probably felt good for the boys on Thursday, you'd hate to lose that momentum that you got after winning this series against Philly. You've won three series in a row.

Starting point is 00:17:23 You've beaten the Yankees who are a playoff team. The Phillies who should be a playoff team. Rockies, no, they're not. But you still had to go out there and take care of business and take two of three. And that's what they did. So we'll see if it affects them because they are off to Chicago. We'll talk about the schedule. We'll talk about the latest update on the standings.

Starting point is 00:17:42 Plus, is this the end of the road for our Lizard King, Miles Michaelis? We'll get into it all next on Locked on Cardinals. Locked on Cardinals is brought to you by Fanduel. Baseball fans, if you think you know who's hitting a home or today, Fanduel is giving you a free chance to call your shout with Daily Dingers. Easy to play, just make a free pick for who you think will hit a home run in their game. That's it. And if you're right, you'll receive a profit boost to use on your next bet for a chance at extra winnings.

Starting point is 00:18:13 Best of all, you can make a free pick every day throughout the MLB season. Daily Dinger's is another fun way to stay engaged, really, with everyday's games. It doesn't have to be the Cardinals. Cardinals had an off day on Thursday. So you have to go watch different game. Big Whop gives another reason to go check it out, like the Field of Dreams game. So whether you're following your favorite team like the Cardinals or keeping an eye on matchups across the league, every game's got somebody capable of going deep.

Starting point is 00:18:40 And now you get the chance to make your prediction before first pitch. Sometimes it's a hitter who's on a hot streak, a favorable matchup, maybe even a ballpark that tends to give up home runs. Those are things that you've got to take into consideration before making your daily dingers pick like this weekend with Wrigley. Cubs and Cardinals, you never know what the weather's going to be like, but Alex Bregman's been on a bit of a heater for Chicago, which started when they were in St. Louis to face the Cardinals at a three-homer game the other night.

Starting point is 00:19:07 On the Cardinals side, Erlinson has been Red Hop, but the Cubs are set to start two lefties in the series. Something to think about. So are you ready to play your game today? Join the action at fandul.com. That's fandole.com to play daily dingers to make a free pick on who's hitting Homer, play ball and swing for the fences on Fandall, an official partner of Major League Baseball.

Starting point is 00:19:33 Thanks again for making Lockdown Cardinals, your first list of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown, the number one sports podcast network. Is it the end for Miles of Michaelis? We kind of thought it was the end after the Cardinals were done with them, but Washington Nationals picked them up this offseason and they've gotten rid of him. The Cardinals, the former Cardal, I should say, DFA by Washington on Wednesday so that they would open up a spot for their prospect, Jackson Kent. Miles was three and nine with a 5.82 ERA and 25 games.

Starting point is 00:20:01 11 of those were starts as one of the games's lowest strikeout rates has given up 27 home runs, which is the third highest total in the major leagues. Not a shocker there. Would a pitching star of team dare take a chance on him over the final month and a half of the season? I don't know. We'll find out. with some of teams dealing with a bunch of injuries,

Starting point is 00:20:23 get a guy who can come in and just throw strikes and try to figure, I can't imagine a playoff team. It's somebody who's in contention picking them up, but maybe somebody will. The Field of Dreams game was on Thursday night. This year, Twins, Phillies, Philadelphia, putting it on Minnesota on this one,

Starting point is 00:20:42 seven to one, Cal Schwerber hits two dingers into the mystical corn. And that kind of dampens the mood for us because it affects the in a wild card standings in a negative way for our cardinals. Cubs end up losing on Thursday. You got shut out by the nationals but are still in the number one wild card spot. The Red Hot Padres have won five in a row. They're number two. Phillies are in the third spot, followed by Arizona, who's dropped two in a row.

Starting point is 00:21:05 Then the Marlins got curb stomped by Pittsburgh. And then you got the Cardinals who are sitting there at three games back at 61 and 60, as well as they've played, winning seven of their last 10. this is how difficult it is to make up ground because these other teams aren't losing much either. And the schedule sucks over the next 10 days for the Cardinals where they got to play 11 games in 10 days. Cubs at Wrigley for three. Matthew Two-Face Libertor is starting on Friday afternoon against New Cub Clay Holmes. Saturday afternoon, these are all afternoon games, by the way.

Starting point is 00:21:36 Saturday afternoon, Michael McGreevy against Matthew Boyd, lefty, eight and one on the season. then Sunday afternoon it's Hunter Dobbins against Shota and Managa. Then it's off to Cincinnati for five games in four days. You got a double header on Monday where it looks like Quinn Matthews might be able to make his second MLB start. Then it's off to Philadelphia for three more with the Phillies. Cubs and the Phillies, we know two of the top teams in the National League. The Reds have been playing very well since the All-Star break. I think they're 15 and 10 now since the All-Star break.

Starting point is 00:22:06 They just took two of three against the White Sox in Chicago, beat them on Popat, So they beat not only the White Sox, but they beat the spirit of the Pope at the same time. So that's not going to be easy, although they don't have Hunter Green, who it was announced, is going to go under the knife again for another Tommy John surgery. That dude cannot stay healthy, man. That sucks for that dude. But still, Reds are playing well. Could be a fun JJ versus South series talking about the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Starting point is 00:22:37 continues to be debate on who's going to win that thing. And what if they tie? Is that allowed to happen? Are they allowed to tie? Anyway, nothing's been easy for this team this year and things aren't going to lighten up over the next 10 days. It's going to be difficult. All hands on deck are needed if they want to stay in this thing. So Wrigley Field, here we come.

Starting point is 00:22:57 Thanks for making a lockdown cardinals. Your first list every day. Be having already. Give us a follow on X at L0 underscore Cardinals. TikTok and Instagram at Lockton Cardinals. Like to subscribe on YouTube. Second list and check out MLB Game 9. It's every game every night until the World Series champion is crowd.

Starting point is 00:23:10 Local analysis, but on a national scale, you can find MLB game night on locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. You're the best fans of baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - UNEXPECTED: St. Louis Cardinals’ Kyle Leahy Has Been DOMINATING! Starting Rotation SHOCKING MLB

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