Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Unleash The Power!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The St. Louis Cardinals continue to find different ways to win ball games. And on Monday, it was with good old fashion power. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals. I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Locktown podcast network covering your team every day. You can follow me on X at JD Sports Radio as well as the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:00:34 to make sure you like, subscribe, and comment and hit that notification button so you know when new episodes are posted. Find us on TikTok and Instagram. This is a show that serves Cardinal Nation and gives the best fans of baseball all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode being brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account. Use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. So after taking down the Mets in their double header on Sunday, the Cardinals, understandably, we're probably feeling pretty good about themselves. And why shouldn't they? I mean, why can't we enjoy some victories? All right? Why has everything got to be so gloom? You know, the overall record is not where you wanted to be, but you just took

Starting point is 00:01:15 two out of four on the road in Cincinnati. You beat the Mets two out of three on Sunday. And now you have the Pirates in town. Well, I should say, beat the Mets two out of three, two of those ones coming on Sunday in a double header. And now you've got the pirates in town who aren't playing great baseball. They've lost four in a row coming into this series. While you've been, dare I say, maybe turning a corner a little bit. I don't want to get ahead of myself and jinx things, but I like winning. I think you like winning too. Cardinals have done more winning recently.

Starting point is 00:01:47 And no, this team is not great by any means. I'm not trying to blow sunshine up your butt here. Plenty of flaws in the roster, specifically with the bullpen. It's always, it's always nail-biting time when we get into the bowl. We don't know when or if they're going to be able to pull it off. It's still a work in progress. But that's why you get 162 games to figure these things out. And Monday night, the Cardinal's offense was the one that was on display,

Starting point is 00:02:14 specifically with their power, something that we haven't seen a ton of early on this season. It's not that it hasn't, you know, that it's been non-existed by any means. You know, they're not like the pirates, you know, as far as being feeble in the power. area of the stats. But this isn't a team that's really built around power. It's not. There's really not a guy in this lineup and on this roster that you can just count on and go, 30 home runs right there, no problem.

Starting point is 00:02:46 It's going to happen. There's guys with 30 home run potential. Yvonne Herrera, obviously, was well on his way before his injury. Gorman has the potential. Jordan Walker in my eyes, humongous man. has the potential, but it hasn't manifested yet for either of those two guys in Gorman and Walker so far in 2025. But Monday night, it was the long ball that got the Cardinals back into this game, got them the lead for good. And it was one of the newest Cardinals, Jose Barrero, who got things going early on.

Starting point is 00:03:20 The Cardinals offense was having a tough time figuring out Pirate starter Carmen Magensky again. This is the same guy who gave them fits. their last time they faced him back on April 7th in Pittsburgh. He went five innings in that one, allowed just one run on five pits and he struck out six. I was hoping that they had figured him out a little bit better. Not really. They, you know, they were better in this one, but through the couple of endings, they only had one hit.

Starting point is 00:03:46 But in the bottom of the third inning, Jose Barrero leads off that inning with his first home run as a cardinal, working a seven pitch at bat and then turning on a fastball on the inner half, drove that one into the Pirates bullpen and left field. made it one to nothing. One batter later, you got Alec Berlinson smashing his second home run of the season. This one was an absolute bomb. That was a tank job to right center field estimated 435 feet. That one was no joke. That ties the game up to two. Berlison hadn't hit a home run yet this season until Sunday when he clobbered one in the second inning of game two. This home run was also significant because it was the first home run hit by a Cardinals designated hitter this year,

Starting point is 00:04:26 which is mind-blowing that it took to the 5th of May before a DH on this team would finally hit a home run. And you've got guys like Contreras and Herrera and Luke and Baker and Alec Berlison and Nolan Gore. But you've got a bunch of guys that are going to be moving around as the DH this year and to not have a home run until May the 5th was a little bit shocking. But that is over now. Don't have to worry about it. The DH has been an ugly spot in the offense no matter who filled that role, but Burley breaks that homerless drought with his second of the year. And then we got a brand new ball game, right?

Starting point is 00:05:03 We're all tied up at two. The pirates would reclaim the lead in the top of the fourth inning when, you know, lead off walk comes around to score. Oh, is that frustrating when you walk the leadoff guy in an inning? And it just more times than not comes back to kick you in the butt. And it did for Michaelis there. although Michaelis didn't have a horrible night. It only ends up giving up those three runs.

Starting point is 00:05:26 So another steady job, I guess, I can say for Miles Michaelis. But the Cardinals bats would end up going silent again until the bottom of the sixth inning. And Michaelis has gone from this game by this point with one out. The Pirates go to reliever Chase Sugar, who hadn't given up a run in his last five outings and had only given up two-hurt runs all season. He's been really, really good for Pittsburgh. But Nolan Aronado ends up working a walk. to bring him the Cardinals' hottest hitter to the plate, Wilson Contreras,

Starting point is 00:05:55 and Willie would catch a sweeper low and in, and he smokes this one. Into the Pirates bullpen, 11.4 off the bat, an absolute seed. Like, it did not, I mean, it barely got over the long left field. It was just a line shot off of Willie's back. It gives the Carls a 4-3 lead. It's Willie's fifth home run of the season. You saw the excitement and emotion in him when he circled the bases. And from there on, it was really all Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:06:21 Three straight singles, Gorman, Pahez, Victor Scott, they all get singles, load things up for Jose Berrero, who rips the first pitch he sees down the line and left for a ground roll double, scoring two to make it six to three. Pirates are lucky that it actually bounced and went over the wall because that was Victor Scott the second on first base, probably going to score from first base on that one if that didn't go over the wall. But that smash by Barrero gave the Cardinals some breathing room. They would go on to win this one by the score of six to three. Things got a little dicey in the ninth inning with Healsley, but he hangs on to get the save. Jose Barrero is your offensive player of this game. He is the star filling in for the injured Mason win,

Starting point is 00:07:03 who will probably be back in the lineup on Tuesday. They said before the game that he probably could have come into the game as a defensive replacement if needed, but they're just going to give him a day after turning his ankle when he was on third base on Sunday. But Barrero fills it nicely, for four, gets the home run, gets the double three RBIs. And apparently he owes Wilson Contreras a little bit as far as the hand in success here

Starting point is 00:07:29 because John Denton at MLB.com spoke with Willie after the game, who said he actually noticed Barrero's back kind of lagging through the strike zone and spoke with him about just loading earlier, just loading earlier, getting started earlier when the pitch is coming in and the results spoke for themselves. Willie had glowing things to say about Barrero telling Denton that Barrero's got all the tools that are required to be in the big leagues. He's got the talent and he has everything that we need. He also has the energy. And I'm glad that we have him here because we feed off his energy and he's a good guy to have around.

Starting point is 00:08:04 He was a big time prospect with the Reds and things just did not pan out for him. And, you know, looking at him, you're just like, wow, what a like stunning athlete, 6-4, like 2-15. Like he looks like he should be one of the best athletes in the world. That's the first thing that you notice about him is just his stature and how big this man is. And luckily for the Cardinals, you know, it's paying off. He's going to be somebody that's going to be a great tool for Ali Marmal coming off the bench for the Cardinals, being able to play center field, being able to play shortstop.

Starting point is 00:08:39 So I'm glad that I'm glad he's on the roster finally. I was hoping he was going to make it on the roster out of spring training. They went with Siani. things have shifted, things have changed. Jordan Walker's been better defensively in right field, so they don't need to sub him out late in games like they thought they might need to. So Barrero is a piece that hopefully will stick around for a while.

Starting point is 00:09:00 Contreras himself, two for four in this game, fifth home run of the season, two Rebys. On April 17th, Willie was hitting 139 with one home run and seven RBIs. Horrible start to the year. Since then, Willie is hitting 381 with four home runs and 12 RBI. He's got an OPS over 1,000. OBP of 466. He's slugging 603.

Starting point is 00:09:22 He's been a monster. Alec Burleson, home runs in back-to-back games. Great sight to see after his long drought that went back to August of last year. Every cardinal hitter had a hit in this game except for Lars Newpar, who still had one walk, but the Cardinals were all over the base paths, and it was a fun game to watch. You know, the Cardinals, in fact, they should have had at least one more run of this game. They should have had a seventh run in this one, but for some reason, it was not allowed.

Starting point is 00:09:51 We're going to talk about that. I'm going to give you some visual proof about this seventh run that was not coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go between dining out, online shopping and entertainment? It's pretty easy to lose track of where the money is going at all times, and that's where Monarch money comes in. They are your personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. And Monarch Money is not just a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts. You can track your investments and you're spending and you get to do it all in one place.

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Starting point is 00:11:44 After the Cardinals got their 6 to 3 lead, there was still one out at the time, and Lars Neupar was at the plate. It's a fly ball to center fielder O'Neill Cruz, who, as we know, has an absolute canon for an arm. Shortstop for the first couple of years of his career. You've seen it. They talk about it. Oh, stat cast, you know, like Mason Wend, it's a type of arm. Like they're very similar.

Starting point is 00:12:09 They just got thunderbolts attached to their torsos. And this ball wasn't hit all that deep to center field. I would say almost shallow, really. And Victor Scott, the second, is on third base, one of the fastest guys in the league. He's going to try it. They're up three runs at this point, willing to try and tag up and score on the play.

Starting point is 00:12:32 Cruz throws a frozen rope to home plate, and the ball clearly beats Victor Scott. It does, no doubt. Catch Joey Bart, applies the tag. Watching it live, I thought he was out as well. When it first happened, bang, bang, I was like, wow, what a throw. Man, got Victor Scott, he's out. But then they go to the replay.

Starting point is 00:12:56 And genuinely no hometown bias here at all. Like, not at all. Just being honest, Victor Scott clearly is touching home plate with his hand before Bart ever even tags him. So if you're watching on YouTube, I'm going to put this picture up. There it is. There is the proof. Like he's not even touching him yet. Ball is in Bart's glove.

Starting point is 00:13:25 He's got his throwing hand over the ball. Victor's hand is right where Bart's knee is. Bart's knee is on the plate. We saw it from different angles. We know that's where it was. And if that's the case, unless Victor Scott's oven, met in hand are somehow floating above the plate, which it does not appear to be doing in this photo.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Victor Scott is safe of the plate. And when they showed the replay, I was like, oh my gosh, he is in there. He got in there that he never tags him until he gets up to like Victor's elbow. The Cardinals, rightfully so, challenged the play. They have them check if the tag was there before he touched the plate. they also say, hey, was Bart blocking the plate before he had the ball impeding Victor's chances of touching the plate, which is also a no-no. Can't do that.

Starting point is 00:14:32 This is a whole part of the thing of avoiding collisions at home play, keeping people healthy. So they go to the replay. They're showing it up on the screen at Bush Stadium. Victor Scott standing there on the infield with, you know, signaling safe. the players all think he's safe the fans think he's safe i think he's safe i think the pirates who had already ran into the dugout were like oh crap we got to go back out there and the mlb replay officials upheld the call on the field that victor was out unbelievable unbelievable like the cardinal's players were at a loss for words they were looking around like what i couldn't

Starting point is 00:15:17 believe it. I'm sure plenty of you couldn't believe it. I know the Twitter X world couldn't believe it because they were losing their minds. I don't know how that call wasn't overturned. I have no idea how that call was upheld. I have not seen an explanation as to why it was that way. You know, replay is there to get stuff like this right. The home plate umpire had a crappy view because he was actually behind the catcher for whatever reason. I don't know why he was out of position there. I I feel like Chip on the telecast was saying, well, he was trying to get here, but then Bart move, I don't know. It looked like he was in a bad spot. But that's what replay is there for.

Starting point is 00:15:55 It's the helpful. It's to help the guy's out. That's the whole point. If the ump gets stuck in a bad view, if something happens and gets in the way and blocks his view and he makes the wrong call, you can help him out and get it right. And for whatever reason, it didn't work here. And I also find it amusing that if you go to the top stories on MLB.com, this particular throw from O'Neill Cruz is something they're promoting. They're like, whoa, what a great throw.

Starting point is 00:16:28 Yeah, it was. He went real fast. And the guy was safe, though. And you guys blew the call. And I'm going to die on that hill along with thousands of other Cardinals fans because I don't know how it was upheld. It was so bizarre. Luckily, for the Cardinals, this play didn't come back to haunt them.

Starting point is 00:16:50 It almost did because in the ninth inning, Ryan Helsley, who is so shaky right now, like he makes me nervous every time he comes in. I don't know when the last time he got the first out in any, he was. But he's having issues in the ninth inning. And the tying run comes to the play, Brian Reynolds, who homered off Michaelis earlier in the game, which, by the way, first home run, Michaelis had given up this year. I had not realized that. I thought he gave them nine of them against Boston,

Starting point is 00:17:16 but yeah, first home runny gave up this year, which is saying something for Michaelis, who led the team in home runs giving up last year. But Brian Reynolds barely misses tying this game up. He hits one, a home run worthy distance, but he pulls it just a little bit foul down the right field line. And had he tied that game,

Starting point is 00:17:38 I might have kicked my TV in. I might have snapped, lost my mind after seeing what happened to the blues of the previous night and giving up that goal so late. And then for something like that to have happened, it might have been the end of it. Like I might have just snapped. It might have said bye to the TV and things were going through that screen. But thank God it didn't matter in the end. But I would love to hear the explanation on that one.

Starting point is 00:18:03 I haven't seen one yet and probably won't. But I just feel like MLB's got to do better than that. That was rough. Speaking of photos and speaking of rough, I had another screen grab last night that caused fans to start talking about the lack of attendance at last night's game. I'm going to show you that picture.

Starting point is 00:18:22 We'll discuss it and preview tonight's game. Coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. There's nothing better than catching an MLB game live, the crack of the bat. You get the roar of the crowd and the smell of the ballpark food. And if you're looking to go last minute to a particular ballgame, game time is going to make. tickets more available. They're going to make getting your tickets even easier. That's what they're

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Starting point is 00:20:04 L-O-C-E-D-O-N-M-L-B for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Thanks for making Lockton Cardinals for first listen today for your second list and check out the all new Lockedon MLB Game Night every game every night all season long at local analysis on a national scale by an MLB game night on Locked on MLB on YouTube as well or wherever you listen to podcasts was a late one last night as we were hosting that one. I was hosting it with John from Lockdown Angels and we had the extra innings game between

Starting point is 00:20:41 the A's and the Mariners, which was crazy. But things went well for what happened as far as timing for the Cardinals game. They wrapped up in reasonable time. Attendance at Bush Stadium, though, that was something that kind of stood out last night. You know, attendance at Bush, it's down this year. You know this. It's something that was expected considering the trajectory of the attendance since that ugly 2023 campaign. It's been going in the wrong direction.

Starting point is 00:21:08 It got worse last year when they didn't hit 3 million fans. And this year, they are expected to be even less than last year's numbers. So this is the photo. If you're on YouTube, you can see it. If you're not, you can go to X and see what I posted from last night. But this is the photo just before first pitch. This is Miles Michaelis, taking the mound, getting things situated, and there is nobody there. Like, it is very empty.

Starting point is 00:21:40 Plenty of good seats available, as we say, when we're joking around. Thousands of them, to be exact. Now, the report I paid attendance on Monday was 22,000. 369. You do not have to be a genius to realize that there were not 22,000 plus people in the stadium. And in my post, I put the words, oh my gosh, there's nobody at the stadium. And I use the word sad. I go, this is sad, which when I was describing the scene, and maybe I shouldn't have used that word. You know, maybe I should have just pointed out how empty it was and just let it be. but it does make me sad to see the lack of fans at the game because I know fans care.

Starting point is 00:22:24 I know you give a crap, but there's different reasons why people weren't there last night. I had a lot of people hitting me up and nobody was really being, it was being rude about it. They were just stating their opinion and they were saying that, you know, I had a lot of people saying weather was part of the reason that it was too cold for some people. It was a Monday, obviously, you know. Mondays are the start of the work week and people are like, I know, I'm tired. I'm not going out, which is a factor.

Starting point is 00:22:50 The pirates are in town. They're not a sexy team by any means. I get it. The Cardinals are a below 500 team this year. Even though they played really, really well at home overall, they're below 500. You've also got, you know, the fact that ownership and management are saying that this is a transition year. So they didn't put any money into the team, really, to improve it and are relying on guys already in the organization that they feel should be good enough to help them win more ball games.

Starting point is 00:23:18 They're going to now get the time and attention to become better players. No matter how tough the struggles are, how many losses pile up, they want to find out what they have with guys like Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. I understand all of that. I really do. And I will never tell someone how to spend their money or how to spend their time. That's not what I'm here for. I can make suggestions.

Starting point is 00:23:42 but it's ultimately up to you. It is your choice. It is your money, it's your time, at your life. Fans are clearly making a statement on how they feel about the direction of the team and how things have been handled the last few seasons since, you know, 22 when you had Poo-Holes in Molina and went to the playoffs and lost to the Phillies. Since then, things have been different. Right now, the Cardinals are a 17 and 19 team.

Starting point is 00:24:07 They're below 500. There are five games back of the Cubs in the division. They're only a game behind the Reds and Brewers for second place, but most people agree that this is not a team that is likely going to go to the playoffs, at least not right now. They've got one of the best home records in the league. They're 13 and 6 tying the home win totals of big teams, big markets, like the Mets and the Phillies and the Tigers.

Starting point is 00:24:35 They trail only the Padres and the Dodgers. Padres got 14 home wins. Dodgers got 15. Cardinals are right there with these guys. Winning normally brings fans back to the ballpark. Normally. We'll see if this team can continue to do that, win ballgames, especially at home.

Starting point is 00:24:57 We'll see if warmer weather helps. School getting out, maybe families will be more apt to go down to the ballpark. And maybe that'll help the look at Bush Stadium. It got pointed out to me plenty of times that Miles Michaelis is, pitching in your picture. Well, that's why we're not there. Okay, I get it. I understand. I just, when I saw it, it was shocking. It just, it makes me miss the good old days. As a fan of this team for so long since I was a baby. I'm not trying to offend anyone or trying to get people yelling at each other in the comments sections online about why the

Starting point is 00:25:38 ballpark is empty. That wasn't my purpose. I just, miss the atmosphere that I grew up with at Bush Stadium. And it makes me a little sad to see it this way, you know. But that's just me. All right. Again, not trying to start a fight with anybody. I was just stating I was just being very vulnerable and honest. Just saying, it makes me sad.

Starting point is 00:26:00 It makes me sad to see the seats like that, man. Tonight, maybe things will get better. Should be a really good pitching matchup. Paul Skeen's taking the mound for Pittsburgh against Matthew Libertor for the Redbird. So two young, up-and-coming superstars. You can say Skeens is a superstar already. Matthew Libertore has been excellent for the Cardinals so far this year since coming to the rotation, which has been a good move by the Cardinals management.

Starting point is 00:26:29 Got to give him credit on that one. Pirates were able to beat Libby early this season and his first start, but the Cardinals also beat Skeens in that series in Pittsburgh. And it found much more success against him. than other teams around the league. So they'll try to continue that trend tonight. I don't know. Was that Libby's first start?

Starting point is 00:26:49 I don't remember if that was Libby's first start. Either way, one of his first couple ones at the very least. So anyway, had like that one bad inning, and then things got easier for him. And they've been excellent ever since. So we'll see if Cardinals can continue that trend by taking down Paul Skeens and Company tonight and win another series.

Starting point is 00:27:09 That's the ultimate goal. Thanks for making a lot. on cardinals for first listen every day if you haven't already. Give us a follow on X at L0 underscore Cardinals and at JD Sports Radio. We're on TikTok and Instagram. Please like, subscribe on YouTube, help our channel and our love for the Cardinals grow. Still making that push for 12,000 subscribers getting closer and closer every day. If you haven't subscribed yet, please hook a brother up. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason, and I'll see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Unleash The Power!

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