St. Louis

Cardinals

Wetherholt had an excellent day at the plate, starting with a solo homer off Shota Imanaga on the first pitch of the game. After drawing a walk in the third, he doubled in the fifth and knocked a base hit in the seventh before he was retired for the first time in the ninth. The 23-year-old second baseman is up to 13 homers, 52 runs scored, 36 RBI, and nine steals while hitting .266/.363/.415 across 375 plate appearances.

O’Brien was called on to close out Saturday’s contest against the Cubs with a three-run lead. He struck out the first batter, then worked around a walk, inducing a ground ball double-play to end the game. The 31-year-old right-hander is up to 22 saves with a 3.72 ERA across 36 1/3 innings.

Leahy was excellent against the Cubs on Saturday, holding them scoreless over five innings. He scattered three hits and two walks, throwing 45-of-77 pitches for strikes and collecting six strikeouts. He’s now allowed just one run total over his last three starts. The 29-year-old right-hander will look to keep it going when he takes a 3.86 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a 73/33 K/BB ratio across 86 1/3 innings into a start against the Brewers in St. Louis on Thursday.

Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast. The Cardinals scored multiple runs in every inning from the second to the sixth and Herrera was in the middle of most of those rallies. This was the second time this season he’s reached base four times in a single game and fourth time he’s scored three runs. It’s been a bit of a cold month power-wise for him with just three homers and a .349 slugging percentage over his past 30 days, but he remains one of the most productive catchers in the league.

It’s very easy to pitch when your team puts up 17 runs like the Cardinals did here against David Peterson and the Cubs. Yet, Pallante still let his pitch count get a bit too high and Oli Marmol wouldn’t let him work through a two-out double in the sixth despite them having a 16-run lead. Nevertheless, Pallante was rarely squared up here and was able to be effective despite forcing just four swings-and-misses. Also, he became the fourth pitcher to join the 10-win club so far this season, joining Jacob Misiorowski, Chase Burns, and Justin Wrobleski. Now that’s a crew. Pallante will take a 3.60 ERA and 70 to 27 strikeout to walk ratio through 95 innings into his next scheduled start against the Brewers.

Seems like an odd send down as Graceffo had a 3.35 ERA in 35 games (40 1/3 innings pitched) for the Cardinals so far this year, even if the 18:19 K/BB ratio isn’t ideal. He’ll probably be back in a few days, but the Cardinals needed the roster spot with Ryne Stanek off the paternity list.

Stanek returns to a 5.12 ERA in 31 2/3 innings pitched. He’s not really part of the Cardinals late-game plans at this point. Congrats to him on the new child.

Walker opened the scoring in the contest with a 396-foot (104.4-mph EV) three-run blast off of Hurston Waldrep in the top half of the first. That would be it for the Cardinals’ offense until a seven-run rally in the seventh where Walker contributed an RBI single and scored on a fielder’s choice. He has had an extremely impressive first half of the season, slashing .291/.346/.519 with 19 homers, 63 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Church did his damage as part of a seven-run seventh inning, with his 392-foot (97.5-mph EV) two-run shot off of Tyler Kinley pulling the Cardinals even at five runs apiece. That would be his only hit on the night, but it played a critical role in the comeback victory. For the season, the 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .254/.295/.410 with seven homers, 25 RBI and five stolen bases.

Burleson reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a double by Lars Nootbaar during the Cardinals’ seven-run uprising in the seventh inning. He then put the cherry on top of the comeback victory with a 395-foot (107.4-mph EV) solo blast off of James Karinchak to lead off the ninth inning. With his 1-for-5 night, the 27-year-old is now slashing .274/.341/.474 with 14 long balls and 58 RBI on the season.