ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
The second game of a three-game series tonight at Nationals Park as the Redbirds continue their 11-day, eight-game international road trip through New York (2-1), the Nation’s Capital (1-0), and across the pond in London, England to face the division-rival Chicago Cubs this weekend … . The Cardinals have won three straight, their longest win streak since a season-best four in a row from May 12-15 at Boston (3) and vs. Milwaukee (1).
FLIGHT PATTERN: St. Louis enters today in last place in the NL Central, 8.5 games behind 1st place Cincinnati and 4.5 games behind 4th place Chicago … The Cardinals have spent 55 of 82 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19 and May 29-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since beginning 30-43 (.411) in 1990.
NATIONAL NEWS: Since relocating from Montreal to the Nation’s Capital in 2005, the Cardinals .586 win pct. (65-46) over the Washington is the 2nd-best of any Nationals annual opponent behind the Dodgers (.642, 68-38) … St. Louis has won nine of its last 14 regular season games in D.C. since 2018.
CARDINALS & GIANTS TO PLAY AT RICKWOOD IN 2024: MLB today announced that Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in the United States and former home of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, will be the site of a regular reason contest between the Cardinals and Giants one year from today June 20, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. CT … The showcase game will include a variety of activities as a tribute to the Negro Leagues and its greatest living player – Hall of Famer, Birmingham native, and former Birmingham Black Barons player Willie Mays … The Cardinals will be the home team, and both clubs will wear period uniforms highlighting the Negro Leagues histories of St. Louis and San Francisco.
BANGERS & MASH: St. Louis has hit 102 home runs in its first 73 games (6th in MLB), with only the 2000 Cardinals (125 HR) with more in their first 73 games in franchise history … Yesterday was the 4th time in franchise history for the top two spots in the Cardinals lineup to go back-to-back, as Brendan Donovan & Paul Goldschmidt joined Ray Blades & Jack Smith (June 18, 1925 vs. Boston Braves), Tony Womack & Reggie Sanders (April 16, 2004 vs. Rockies), and Tommy Edman & Tyler O’Neill (Sept. 3, 2022 vs. Cubs) – Orf
HEIR JORDAN: Jordan Walker has hit in 12 straight (.405/.479/.762, 17-42) since June 6, MLB’s 2nd-longest active hitting streak behind only Shohei Ohtani (15) … Walker also opened the season by hitting in his first 12 career games, establishing a Cardinals rookie record to begin a career and tying Eddie Murphy (1912 Philadelphia Athletics) for the MLB record for longest by a player age 20 or younger.
- Red Sox Masataka Yoshida (16) and Rangers Josh Jung (14) are the only MLB rookies this season with longer hit streaks than Walker.
- Walker joins Albert Pujols (three in 2001) and Rogers Hornsby (two in 1916) as the third Cardinal age 21 or younger with multiple double-digit game hitting streaks in the same season.
- MLB Pipeline’s top overall prospect in baseball has hit safely in 30-of-35 games with a PA this season, with his 39 career hits coming off 37 different pitchers from all 12 opponents he’s played against.
REPLAY CHALLENGES: The Cardinals are a perfect 3-0 in replay challenges on the road trip and 13-7 overall this season (.650).
THREE’S COMPANY: Jordan Hicks yesterday became the 21st Cardinal convert a save in three or more consecutive games (not days), which also were his first three of the season … Before Hicks, the previous MLB pitchers to save their first three games in a season on three consecutive days (or 3 times within a 2-day span) were Yankees LHP Aroldis Chapman (April 12-14, 2017), Orioles RHP Brad Brach, (April 19-21, 2017), and Tigers RHP Shane Greene (Aug. 1-3, 2017). – Elias & Orf
- The last Cardinal with three saves in as many days was 2017 RHP Seung-Hwan Oh (April 21-23 at Milwaukee)
- The last Cardinal to earn four saves in four days in a row was 2013 RHP Edward Mujica (May 26-29 at/vs. Kansas City).
- The only pitcher in franchise history to earn five saves in five consecutive days was 1964 RHP Barney Schultz (Sept. 25-29 at PIT/vs. PHI), while 1993 RHP Lee Smith earned five saves over a six-day period (June 23-28 at FLA/at NYM/vs. PHI).
TIME TO FLY: With the introduction of MLB’s new balanced schedule this season, the Cardinals are scheduled to travel 8,752 more miles (including trip to London) than they did in 2022, 2nd-biggest increase in miles behind San Francisco (+11,094) … The Cardinals are flying approximately 8,813 miles over 11 days during their eight-game international road trip through New York, Washington, D.C., and London before returning to St. Louis – Baseball Savant. June 15: STL → JFK (695 mi.) • June 18: NYC → IAD (228 mi.) • June 21: IAD → STN (3,687 mi.) • June 25: STN → STL (4,203 mi.)
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP JORDAN MONTGOMERY (3-7, 3.91)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Leaders: Losses (7, T-3rd); Hits (84, T-7th)
- Makes his 15th start of the season and his 123rd career (26th as a member of the Cardinals).
- The Cardinals have lost 9 of the 14 games started by one-run and/or shutout.
Held a 5-2 lead when he departed his last start vs. SF (6/14) appearing to be en route to a 2nd straight win. A Mike Yastrzemski two-run home run with two outs and two strikes in the 9th inning tied the game and three runs in the 10th sealed an 8-5 win and no decision. - Posted a 6.04 ERA in the month of May, his highest of any month in his career with more than one start and highest since a 5.90 ERA in five starts with the Yankees in September 2020.
- Currently has an 2.00 ERA in the month of June, ranking 9th among National League pitchers. Career marks of 8-2 with a 3.11 ERA in June, his most total wins in any calendar month.
- Went seven consecutive starts (4/13-5/16) with three runs of support or fewer and three with zero (4/13, 4/24, 4/29).
- Is 9-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 25 starts as a member of the Cardinals. St. Louis won 10-ofhis-first-13 starts, but have gone 1-11 since.
- Leads all Cardinals pitchers with 134 strikeouts since being acquired at the 2022 Trade Deadline (8/2/22); Miles Mikolas ranks 2nd with 116.
- Has not walked a left-handed batter since being acquired by the Cardinals (83 total batters faced). Is the only pitcher in MLB who has faced 80+ left-handed batters without a walk to a LHB since 8/1/22.
- Has held his opposition to three earned runs or fewer in 79% (96-of-122) of his career starts.
LAST TIME OUT
- Came away with a no-decision in the Cardinals come-from-behind 8-5 loss to the Giants in 10 innings at Busch Stadium last Wednesday. Twirled his second consecutive quality start (7th overall) as the St. Louis lost for the 11th time in his 14 starts this season.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
6/14 SF L 8-5 (10) — 6.1 7 3 3 2 7 0 98-67
2023
- Threw 6.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball on 6/9 vs. CIN for his first win since April 9 at MIL. Snapped a stretch of 10 straight starts without a winning decision. Received more than four runs of support for the 3rd time this season and first since 4/9 at MIL. Retired his last 11 batters in a row.
- Surpassed 600 strikeouts vs. CIN (6/9), fanning Elly De La Cruz in the first inning.
- Snapped a career-long seven game losing streak vs. CIN (6/9) and 10 straight starts without a Cardinals win dating back to April 13 vs. Pittsburgh. Had never gone 10 consecutive starts without a winning decision in his MLB career (9 starts without a win to begin 2022 season w/NYY).
- Allowed a pair of runs in a no-decision on 5/28 at Progressive Field as Cleveland scored two in the bottom of the 9th, handing the Cardinals a 4-3 walk-off loss.
- Allowed just two home runs in his first seven starts and back-to-back games with two home runs each at CHI (5/10) and vs. MIL (5/16). His streak of four straight starts with a home run (5/5-22) was the 3rd-longest of his career.
- Prior to his 5/10 start at Wrigley, he’d allowed just one earned run in three road games this season, fanning 22 in 19.2 IP. In nine career road starts with St. Louis, he’s allowed one or fewer earned runs in five of those games.
WASHINGTON NATIONAL NOTES:
ON TO THE NEXT: The Washington Nationals continue a seven-game homestand with the second of three games against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight… Washington will wrap up the homestand on Thursday afternoon with a makeup game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- The Nationals suffered an 8-6 loss in the first game of the series yesterday.
- Lane Thomas went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored…It was the fifth time this season he recorded two extra-base hits in a game…Luis García knocked in a season-high four runs and went 1-for-3.
- Jordan Weems pitched a hitless sixth inning and struck out two…Weems has not allowed a hit in his last five relief appearances.
WE WANT CANDY: Jeimer Candelario leads National League third basemen (2nd in MLB) in wins above replacement (2.2) and is tied for third with four defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs.com.
- His 21 doubles are the most among National League third basemen and are tied for third in the National League overall.
- He is 8-for-16 (.500) with four doubles, a walk, a run and a stolen base over his last four games and is riding a streak of three consecutive multi-hit games…With a multi-hit game today, he will match his career-high for consecutive multi-hit games, set earlier this season (four, May 15-18).
- Candelario matched a Nationals record (2005-pres.) with three doubles on Friday night vs. Miami.
- Over the last 29 games, Candelario his hitting .327/.419/.589 with 12 doubles, two triples, four homers, 16 RBI, 13 walks and 19 runs scored…The 12 doubles are tied for fourth-most in Major League Baseball since May 15 behind teammate Lane Thomas (15) and a pair of Texas Rangers, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien (13).
LEADOFF LANE: Lane Thomas is hitting .306/.349/.594 with 15 doubles, two triples, 11 homers, 25 RBI, 10 walks, five stolen bases and 36 runs scored since May 1.
- He ranks in Major League Baseball in extra-base hits (3rd, 28), hits (5th, 55), doubles (T4th, 15) and slugging percentage (10th, .594) since May 1.
- On the season, he ranks seventh in the National League in hits (80) and tied for eighth in runs scored (49).
- All of his team-leading 11 home runs have come since May 1.
- On defense, Thomas has recorded six outfield assists, tied for the second most among National League outfielders.
JOEY BATS: Joey Meneses has reached safely in 33 of his last 36 games, hitting .329/.378/.441 with 11 doubles, one triple, one homer, 25 RBI, 12 walks and 19 runs scored during the stretch.
- Meneses ranks in the National League in average with runners in scoring position (2nd, .441), hits (T5th, 82) and batting average (6th, .299).
- Meneses is hitting .522 (24-for-46) against right-handed pitchers with runners in scoring position, the best mark in Major League Baseball ahead of Miami’s Luis Arraez (.475).
CHECKIN’ IN ON THE ‘PEN: A few of Washington’s relievers find themselves among the best in baseball:
- Carl Edwards Jr. (T4th, 13) and Hunter Harvey (T12th, 11) each rank in the top 12 in the National League in holds.
- Kyle Finnegan is seventh in the National League with 11 saves.
- In his last seven games, Mason Thompson has posted a 0.00 ERA (7.0 IP) with six strikeouts, two walks and a .208 opponents’ average (5-for-24)…All five hits have been singles.
- Jordan Weems has not allowed a hit in his last five relief appearances (0-for-18)…He has eight strikeouts and just one walk in 6.0 innings across these outings.
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE: The Nationals are in the midst of an 11-game stretch (June 16-26) without playing two consecutive games with the same start time…Washington will play Seattle at 9:40 p.m. ET on June 26 and 27.
STARTING PITCHER – #1 MACKENZIE GORE
Left-handed starter was acquired by Washington at the 2022 Trade Deadline…Entered 2020 as the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball and 2021 as the No. 10 prospect, according to Baseball America …Was cited by Baseball America as having the “Best Fastball” in San Diego’s system entering the 2022 season and the “Best Slider” in 2021 and 2018…Was the 2017 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, just the second baseball player to win the award at the time (Dylan Bundy in 2011; Bobby Witt Jr. in 2019).
LAST START
Struck out four batters in 5.2 scoreless innings of work on June 15 at Houston…Allowed four hits, but did not factor into the decision in the Nationals’ 6-4 victory.
RANKS
Gore ranks third among all Major League left-handed pitchers and 11th in all of Major League Baseball (sixth in the NL) with 10.49 strikeouts per 9.0 innings…His 87 strikeouts are tied for 13th in the National League.
- He ranks fifth among NL lefties with a 3.74 ERA, fifth with a .253 opponents’ batting average and fifth with a .420 opponents’ slugging percentage.
LIMITING LEFTIES
Left-handed batters are just 7-for-30 (.233) with two extra base hits (2B, HR), 11 strikeouts and one walk against him in his last four starts…This comes after allowing a .472/.604/.694 slash line to lefties in his first 10 starts.
SWING AND A MISS
Gore ranks fourth among all MLB left-handed pitchers (11th among all pitchers) with 200 swings and misses this season, according to MLB Statcast…On May 28 at Kansas City, he induced a career-high 23 swings and misses in 7.0 innings pitched.
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE
Gore’s curveball boasts a 45.9% whiff rate (swing-&-miss/total swings), fourth among all MLB curveballs (min. 50 PA) and the second-highest among MLB lefties…His .186 opponents’ batting average with the curve (13-for-70) ranks 10th among all MLB curveballs.
EARNING THE CAPITAL K IN MacKenzie
Gore’s 87 strikeouts through 14 starts are the fourth-most in Nationals history (2005-pres.) by any pitcher in his first 14 starts with the club behind Max Scherzer (123; 2015), Gio Gonzalez (101; 2012) and Patrick Corbin (94; 2019).
- Gore’s 10.49 strikeouts per 9.0 innings would rank ninth in a season in Nationals history (2005-pres.).
