ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:

RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending NL Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals continue first roadtrip (MIL-3, COL-3) of the season tonight with the opening game of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field…the Cardinals dropped 2-of-3 this past weekend in Milwaukee and have lost 5 of their last 6 after winning their season-opening series against Toronto… the Cardinals need a win tonight to avoid their first 3-7 start since 2017…they are 0-3 in the opening game of series to this point…the Cardinals have not won consecutive games at Coors Field in the same calendar year since back-to-back wins here Sept. 19-20, 2016…this week marks the Cardinals lone series visit to Denver, their first games here in the month of April since 2003…the Rockies will visit St. Louis for a three-game series August 4-6.

TAP THE ROCKIES: St. Louis has won their season series vs. the Rockies in each of the 12 seasons (2010-2022) and 21 times in 27 seasons since Colorado joined MLB as an expansion team in 1993. WILD, WILD WEST: Since 2019, the Cardinals are 38-12 at home vs. the National League West, but just 19-29 on the road.

MILE HIGH HIKE: The Cardinals are one of just three NL teams that have never had a pitcher throw a complete game at Coors Field…the Cardinals (102 games played at Coors), Cubs (99) and Mets (98) make up that group…the Cardinals, who also had no route-going efforts in their 12 games played in 1993-94 at Denver’s Mile High Stadium, also lack a complete game effort in their 57 all-time games at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

300 FOR ARENADO: Nolan Arenado hit his 1st homer of the season and 300th of this career Sat. night, becoming the 7th player to hit home run #300 in a Cardinals uniform, joining Stan Musial (June 3, 1955 at Brooklyn), Gary Gaetti (June 23, 1996 at Montreal), Jim Edmonds (Sept. 4, 2004 vs. LA Dodgers), Albert Pujols (July 4, 2008 vs. Chicago Cubs), Troy Glaus (Sept. 3, 2008 at Arizona), and Paul Goldschmidt (July 16, 2022 vs. Cincinnati)…ranking 8th among all active Major Leaguers in homers, Arenado trails only Evan Longoria (333) among active third sackers and is 15th all-time in MLB history among primary third basemen… Areando has hit 30 or more homers in each or his seven full seasons played and had 40-homer seasons in 2015, 2016 & 2019…He’s ranked 4th all-time in Coors Field homers (138), one back of Carlos “Cargo” Gonzalez (139).

9-FOR-9: A pair of Cardinals have hit safely in the team’s first nine games, with Nolan Arenado and rookie Jordan Walker each doing so… Walker’s streak has matched the club record to begin a career – shared with outfielder Magneuris Sierra in 2017 (9 games)…Arenado has begun the season by hitting safely in 9-straight games, matching his career best start from 2021 with St. Louis…Arenado has reached base safely in 15-straight games dating to last season.

JORDAN & JUMPSTEADY: Jordan Walker’s 12 hits in his nine games to begin the season are the most by a Cardinals player age 20 or younger in any 9-game span since Garry “Jumpsteady” Templeton collected 12 hits in a 9-game span from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3 [1] in 1976.

SPLENDID: Jordan Walker’s 9-game hit streak to begin his career is the first by a player age 20 years or younger since Ted Williams (1939, age 20) did so by hitting in 9-straight to launch his Hall of Fame career…Philadelphia Athletics outfielder Eddie Murphy (1912, age 20) hit safely in each of his first 12 games…current Cardinals Bench Coach Joe McEwing holds the Cardinals franchise rookie record for longest hitting streak, doing so in 25 games (June 8-July 4, 1999), the 8th-longest hit streak in franchise history.

ROOKIE RANKINGS: Rookie outfielder Jordan Walker, the Cardinals 1st round draft selection in 2020, is the MLB rookie leader in hits (12) and in batting (.353) among rookies; he ranks 3rd in OPS (.994) behind the Dodgers’ James Outman (1.235) and Brewers’ Garrett Mitchell (1.048)…his 8 RBI rank 3rd behind the Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe (9) and the Dodgers’ Outman (9).

OFF THE BAT: According to Baseball Savant, St. Louis ranks 2nd in MLB in hard hit balls of 95+mph (116) to the Dodgers (119) and 4th in average exit velocity (90.5 mph)…Jordan Walker (16), Paul Goldschmidt (15) & Nolan Arenado (15) are pacing the team in hard hit balls.

KID’S CLUB: The Cardinals own the majors top combined rookie totals for batting avg. (.339) and are 2nd in hits (19), 4th in RBI (10).

FINEST IN THE FIELD: The Cardinals are the only MLB team with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage this season…it’s the first time in franchise history (since 1901) that the Redbirds have begun a season without committing an error in their first nine games. The Cardinals have won back-to-back (2021-2022) Rawlings Team Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence.

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP STEVEN MATZ (0-1, 6.75)
TONIGHT’S GAME
• Makes his 158th career appearance (148th start) and 12th start as a Cardinal.

• Missed 102 games on the Injured List with a left shoulder impingement (5/23-7/16) and strained left knee (7/24-9/16). Was activated from his second stint in mid-September and was added to the bullpen where he made five appearances.

• Prior to the 7/23 start at Cincinnati, Matz had missed approx. two months with a left shoulder impingement.

• Ranks 3rd in MLB in Pitch Tempo with bases empty (11.5 sec/pitch) and 5th with runners on base (14.8 sec/pitch), leading all Cardinals.

• Limited opposing left-handed batters to go 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in his initial start of the season.

• His lifetime .650 winning percentage (13-7) in the month of April ranks 4th among active pitchers with 20 or more career April decisions. S
San Diego’s Michael Wacha leads the list at .808 (2-5).

• Ranks 13th among active MLB left-handed pitchers with 8.60 SO/9 IP (min. 700 IP).

• St. Louis is his third MLB organization, entering his second Cardinals season with a 50-52 record and 4.32 ERA in career 157 games (147 starts) while pitching for the New York Mets (2015-20), Toronto Blue Jays (2021) and St. Louis (2022-23).

• Went 2-0, 1.53 ERA in four Grapefruit League appearances (three starts).

LAST TIME OUT
• Gave up four runs over the first 3.0 innings while tying a career high 10 hits allowed in his season debut in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Braves at Busch Stadium. Finished with 2.1 scoreless before departing.

DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
4/4 ATL L 4-1 L-1 5.1 10 4 4 1 7 2 94-62

CAREER
• Joined the Cardinals on a four-year contract (2022-25) after previously pitching for the New York Mets (2015-20) and Toronto Blue Jays (2021) organizations.

• In 2021, tied for the American League lead with 14 wins among left-handed pitchers.

• Since 2021, his 19 total wins rank T-10th among MLB left-handers, with Julio Urias (37) leading the list.

• Has landed on the Injured List 11 times over his Major League career, missing time in every season except for 2021 in which he missed time for a positive COVID-19 test.

• Also missed the 2010 and 2011 minor league seasons after undergoing Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.

• His one career complete game shutout is also a “Maddux” where he threw 99 pitches on July 27, 2019 vs. Pittsburgh.

• Finished 6th in the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year voting, going 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP in 22 starts.

2022 SEASON
• Missed 102 games on the Injured List with a left shoulder impingement (5/23-7/16) and strained left knee (7/24-9/16). Was activated from his second stint in mid-September and was added to the bullpen.

• Ranked 8th in MLB in Pitch Tempo (14.4 sec/pitch) with bases empty; 21.6 sec/pitch with runners on, leading all Cardinals relievers.

• Recorded the best strikeout (26.1%) and lowest walk rates (4.8%) of his career.

• Led Cardinals starting pitchers in strikeouts/9 IP (10.72 K).

• Began the season as a starting pitcher and was 4-3 with a 5.70 ERA in 10 starts.

• Was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five relief appearances to end the year. Limited the opposition to a .150/.190/.250 slashline with a .440 OPS out of the bullpen.

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

No release available.