MLB Preview: St. Louis Cardinals (60-78) at Atlanta Braves (90-47)

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:

RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals are playing a nine-game, three-city road trip through Atlanta (Sept. 5-7), Cincinnati (Sept. 8-10), and Baltimore (Sept. 11-13). Tonight, the Cardinals play the middle of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves holders of the best record in Major League Baseball at 90-47. The Cardinals slammed out four home runs last night in a 10-6 win.

FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter today in 5th place in the N.L. Central, 17.0 games out of first. St. Louis has spent 120 of 155 days in last place on the MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present). The Cardinals 60-78 record is their lowest at the 138-game mark since 1995 when they were also 60-78. St. Louis would need to go 21-3 (.875) over its remaining 24 games to avoid finishing under .500 for the first time since 2007 (78-84). Major League Baseball has the Cardinals elimination number from the N.L. Central at eight and postseason at 12.

IT’S BOMBS AWAY IN ATLANTA G.A.!: Last night, the Cardinals slammed four home runs, the most allowed by the Braves this season at Truist Park. The Cardinals have hit three or more home runs against the Braves 14 times since 2000 and are 13-1 in those games including 10-0 in Atlanta.

BIRDIE BOOMERS: Of the Cardinals 625 runs scored this season 48.8% have come via the home run (305 runs). By comparison, the Atlanta Braves have scored 53.3% of their runs via the longball (424 runs via HR/795 runs total).

STORMIN’ NOLAN GORMAN: Last night, Nolan Gorman connected for two home runs giving him five multi-home run games this season, he ranks behind only Matt Olson (ATL, 7) and Mookie Betts (LAD, 6) for the most in Major League Baseball. His six multi-home run games prior to turning age 24 are tied for the most in Cardinals history with Albert Pujols. Gorman’s 3rd inning home run snapped a career-long streak of 16 games without a home run and with the two home runs now has 26, tied for the team lead with Nolan Arenado.

GREEN LIGHT DELIGHT: Nolan Gorman’s 9th inning home run off Michael Tonkin came on a 3-0 count. It was Gorman’s first career MLB home run on 3-0 and his second career hit (2-for-2). Gorman joins another Nolan, Arenado, who has two home runs on 3-0 counts this season. The Cardinals as a team have hit three 3-0 home runs this season, T-2nd in MLB behind only the Atlanta Braves with five.

BIRDIE BOOMERS: Of the Cardinals 615 runs scored this season 48.6% have come via the home run (299 runs). By comparison, the Atlanta Braves have scored 53.2% of their runs via the longball (420 runs via HR/789 runs total).

BEAT THE STREAK: The Cardinals have hit a home run in seven straight games for the third time this season and are looking to match their season-high of eight games done through the All-Star Break (July 5-16).

HEIR JORDAN: Since August 28, Atlanta, Ga., native and Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker is batting a Major League-best 600 (15-25) and also leading the circuit with a .607 on-base percentage and 1.200 slugging. The 21-year-old Walker has 15 home runs this season before turning age 22, which passed Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby (14 HR from 1915-18) last night. Curt Flood is next on the list with 17. Albert Pujols holds the franchise record with 37 blasts during his 2001 National League Rookie of the Year campaign.

RARE AIR: Jordan Walker has recorded a multi-hit game including a home run in each of his last three games. He becomes the first Cardinals player to accomplish the feat prior to his 22nd birthday since Albert Pujols in 2001. No MLB player prior to age 22 has ever done it four straight games. The last player in each league to accomplish the feat was Gunnar Henderson (BAL) in the A.L. and Ronald Acuna, Jr. (ATL) in the N.L.

TWO-OUT TERROR: With two more two-out RBI on Sunday, Nolan Gorman has 34 two-out RBI this season of his 73 total RBI. He’s tied with Nolan Arenado for the team lead and has the most two-out RBI for a Cardinal prior to his 23rd birthday since Albert Pujols had 48 in 2002. Pujols’ 51 two-out RBI as a 21-year old is the 3rd-highest total in franchise history (Mark McGwire 60 in 1999 & 52 in 1998).

STEALING THE SHOW: Sunday afternoon, Tommy Edman stole a pair of bases, his 10th career multi-stolen base game. Edman surpassed 100 career stolen bases becoming the 21st Cardinal player to reach that mark and most recent since Edgar Renteria in 2003. He also became the 9th Cardinals player with 50 HR & 100 SB in his career and first since Renteria. Edman has 22 stolen bases on the season including five bags in his last four games with a single-game high three vs. SD (8/30). He is one of four players in MLB over the past three seasons with 20 or more stolen bases in each (Randy Arozarena, Trea Turner & Jose Ramirez) and the first Cardinal since Ray Lankford (1995-97)

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP DAKOTA HUDSON (5-1, 4.02)
TONIGHT’S GAME

• Makes his 8th start of the season and 14th appearance since his promotion from Memphis (AAA) at the beginning of July. It’s his 1st meeting of the year against the Braves. Compiled a career-best six game win streak from Sept. 17, 2022-Aug. 20, 2023), which including five-straight this season (July 15-Aug. 20). Went 4-1 in August, one of six MLB pitchers with four wins during the month. St. Louis has won 5 of Hudson’s 7 starts this season. The Cardinals were 13-7 in Jack Flaherty’s starts, the only other Cardinals starting pitcher this season that the team sported a winning record in his starts. The Cardinals are 45-29 (.608 win pct.) in his 74 career games started and 28-10 (.737) in his 38 career games started at Busch Stadium. Is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA (16.1 IP) and 12 strikeouts in six games as a reliever. Spent bulk of 2023 season at Memphis (AAA) where he was 5-4, 6.00 ERA in 11 starts. Since 2018 when Hudson made his MLB debut, leads active MLB pitchers in GIDP/9 (1.21) and 3rd MLB in groundball percentage (55.8%). Among active pitchers with 50 or more decisions, ranks 5th in career winning percentage (.673, 37-18) with Walker Buehler (.742, 46-16) ranking first.

LAST TIME OUT

• Came away with a no-decision in last Friday’s extra-inning 4-2 loss to the Pirates at Busch Stadium, allowing one run on three hits over 7.0 frames. Exited with the scored tied at 1-1 as the Pirates plated three in the 10th inning to win. DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S 9/1 PIT L 4-2 (10) — 7.0 3 1 1 2 0 0 90-52

BUSCH STADIUM III

• He’s 21-5 (.808 win pct.) in 55 career games (38 starts) at Busch Stadium, and ranks 2nd in ERA (2.69) all-time at Busch III among pitchers with a minimum 240.0 IP. Of pitchers with 25 or more home decisions, his .808 winning pct. (21-5), ranks 3rd among starting pitchers in MLB history trailing Jose Fernandez (29-2, .935) and Emil Yde (27-6, .818).

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

Back-to-Back
Austin Riley and Matt Olson hit back-toback home runs for Atlanta last night, the seventh time this season the two have hit consecutive homers. The drives extended
their own such franchise record. The pair is now one set shy of tying the single-season major league record for consecutive homers by teammates in the expansion era (since 1961), trailing just Andres Galarraga and Larry Walker, who hit eight pairs in 1997 for Colorado. Riley and Olson have gone back-to-back in April, May, June, July, August and now September, the only teammates in baseball history with consecutive homers in six straight months. Research courtesy the Elias Sports Bureau and StatsPerform.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Cardinals tonight continue a three-game set with the fifth of six scheduled meetings between the two teams this season…The teams first met during Atlanta’s first road trip of the season, April 3-5, at Busch Stadium. The Braves swept the Cardinals in three games in St. Louis, and need a win this week to secure the season set…Atlanta went 4-3 against St. Louis last season, winning three-of-four games here at Truist Park and dropping two-of-three at Busch Stadium. Atlanta has won four consecutive season series against the Cardinals dating to 2018…The Braves went 4-3 last season, 6-1 against the Cardinals in 2021, 4-2 in 2019 and 4-2 in 2018. Atlanta is an even 9-9 (.529) here at Truist Park against St. Louis since the stadium opened in 2017, including three straight series wins…The Braves have won eight of the last 11 between the teams here. Overall, Atlanta has won 14 of their last 19 games and 17 of 23 vs. St. Louis…Over that 23-game stretch that dates to May 15, 2019, Atlanta has compiled a 2.70 ERA (61 ER/203.1 IP) against the Cardinals…In 11 of the 23 games, the Braves have allowed no more than one earned run. RH Spencer Strider is set for his third career start against St. Louis after pitching against them twice last year…In his two such starts, the 6-foot-0, 195- pound right-hander allowed just one run over 12.0 innings (0.75 ERA) and fanned 19…In 27 total starts this season, Strider has a majors-most 245 Strikeouts and a 16-4 record with a 3.56 ERA. RH Dakota Hudson has never beaten Atlanta, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA (9 ER/12.0 IP) in three total games, including two starts…The 6-foot-5, 215-pound native of Dunlap, TN, took the loss in his most recent start versus the Braves, July 4 of last season, allowing nine hits and six runs over 4.0 innings…Hudson has made seven starts and pitched in 13 games for St. Louis this season, compiling a 5-1 record and a 4.02 ERA (25 ER/56.0 IP).

LOSS: The Braves lost to the Cardinals, 10-6, last night to drop their second straight game…Atlanta allowed nine unanswered runs after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Braves allowed double-digit runs for the seventh time this season and fell to 1-6 in these games…Atlanta’s only victory came in a 13-10 win over the Mets on June 8. Atlanta pitchers surrendered four home runs, the most they have yielded in a game at Truist Park since August 17, 2022 vs. New York (NL). The Braves have dropped the series opener in each of their last two sets at Truist Park (Aug. 21 vs. NYM) and have gone 4-5 (.444) in the first game of a home series since the All-Star break…The club went 11-3 (.786) in series openers at Truist Park before the break.

FIRST INNING: Ozzie Albies drove the only pitch he saw in last night’s first inning out to right field for a solo home run, Atlanta’s 126th first-inning run of the season…That total is easily most in the majors, 22 more than any other club (Dodgers, 104). With their next first-inning run, the Braves will match the single-season franchise mark for runs in the inning…The 1999 club scored 127 runs in the first. Albies’ homer was Atlanta’s 37th in the first inning this season, extending the club’s single-season record. Atlanta’s 126 runs and 185 hits in the first are the most by any team in any inning this season… Texas ranks second in both, scoring 116 runs and collecting 172 hits in the fourth. Atlanta is on pace for 149 runs in the first inning this season…The modern-era record for such runs
is 160 set by the Red Sox in 1950, while the N.L. record is 147 by the Cardinals in 2000. Atlanta is batting .325/.385/.589 with a .974 OPS in the first inning, all of which are tops in the majors

STRIDER STRIKEOUTS: Spencer Strider enters tonight’s start with 245 strikeouts on the season, most in the majors…No Atlanta pitcher has led the majors in strikeouts since John Smoltz in 1996 (276). Smoltz’s 276 strikeouts in 1996 stand as the modern-era franchise record…Strider is on pace to fan 290 batters this year. Strider has induced 564 swings-and-misses this season, easily the most in baseball and 122 more than any other pitcher…SEA’s Luis Castillo ranks second with 442…Strider generates a swing-and-miss on 21.3% of his offerings. In the Statcast era, which dates to 2015, Strider’s 564 swings-and-misses are seventh most by a pitcher in a single season…Gerrit Cole has the most in a single year, getting 624 misses in 2019 (18.6% of pitches).

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #99 Spencer Strider RHP
2023 Record: 16-4, 3.56 ERA • 2022 Record: 11-5, 2.67 ERA
vs. RHB: .204 (59-289), 11 HR • vs. LHB: .201 (60-for-298), 8 HR
Home: 6-2, 3.79 ERA (33/78.1) • Away: 10-2, 3.33 ERA (30/81.0)

Tonight’s Game

• Set to make his first start against St. Louis this season and 28th on the year.
• Strider’s 16 wins are tied for the most in the majors with Chicago’s Justin Steele.
• His four wins in consecutive games is the longest active streak in the majors.
• Leads the majors with 245 strikeouts (Kevin Gausman ranks second with 207).
• Among qualified starters, Ranks first in FIP (2.66) and K/9 (13.84) in MLB; first in the NL in WHIP (1.05).
• Went 5-1 with a 2.97 ERA in August…Became the first Braves pitcher since teammate Max Fried in 2020 to have as many wins in the month of August.
• Strider has 10 double-digit strikeout efforts this season; only Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz (12) has more in a single season in franchise history.
• His swing and miss rate of 40.0% is the highest in the majors (among QS).
• His 16 games with at least 10 strikeouts are the second most in MLB history (1901) through a player’s first 45 starts; trails only Dwight Gooden (20).
• His 392 strikeouts as a starter are tied with Gooden for the most in in baseball history through a player’s first 45 starts.

2023 Recap

• On August 18 Strider recorded his fourth career game with at least 10 strikeouts while holding the opponents to one hit or less; the most such games by a pitcher before turning 25 since the mound was set at its current distance (credit ESPN Stats).
• Strider truck out Shohei Ohtani (LAA) for his 200th strikeout of the season.
• Broke his own record – becoming the fastest pitcher, by innings pitched (123.1) to reach the 200 strikeout plateau within a single season since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893.
• Last year, he recorded 200 strikeouts in 130.0 innings…Prior to last season, Hall-of-Famer LHP Randy Johnson held the record, reaching 200 strikeouts in 130.2 innings in 2001.
• Strider is the fifth pitcher since 1893 to collect at least 200 strikeouts in his first two full major league seasons, joining: Cleveland’s Herb Score (1955-56),
  New York’s (NL) Dwight Gooden (1984-85), Los Angeles’ (NL) Hideo Nomo (1995-96) and Texas’ Yu Darvish (2012-13).
• He’s the fourth Braves pitcher, over the same span, with multiple 200-strikeout seasons, alongside teammate Charlie Morton (2021-22) and Hall-of-Famers John Smoltz, (5 times, 1992-93, ’96-97, ‘06) and Phil Niekro, (three times, 1977-79).
• Strider’s 354 strikeouts through his first 40 career starts are the most by any pitcher since the mound was set to it’s current distance in 1893, credit ESPN Stats.
• Became the first Braves pitcher to enter the All-Star break leading the National League in Strikeouts with 166 since Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz in 1996.
• Strider passed Smoltz (149) for the most strikeouts before the All-Star break.
• Strider joined Cy Young Award-winner Dwight Gooden as the only pitchers in the modern era to reach 300 strikeouts in their first 35 career starts.
• Through the 35 starts, Gooden recorded 302 strikeouts in 248.0 innings pitched while Strider logged 301 punchouts in 192.0 frames.
• Struck out Nick Castellanos in the fourth inning on May 28 to become the fastest starting pitcher, by innings pitched (61.0), to reach 100 strikeouts in a season, since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893…Strider bested his own franchise record, set last season in 64.2 innings. (Research courtesy of Elias)
• Struck out J.T. Realmuto to reach 300 on his career.
• Strider became the 13th player in major league history to record at least 300 strikeouts in 44 career appearances or less and first since Shane Bieber in 2018.
• Of the other 12 pitchers, Strider is the only one to have more than two relief appearances in his first 44 outings.
• Snapped a streak of 12 consecutive games with at least eight strikeouts on May 17.
• Tied Hall-of-Famers Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson for the seventh longest such streak in the live ball era (since 1920).
• Only Hall-of-Famers Ryan, Johnson, Pedro Martínez and active pitchers Corey Kluber and Shane Bieber have longer streaks.
• Recorded a streak of nine consecutive games with at least nine strikeouts between 9/1/22-5/1/23; it is tied for third-longest such streak in the modern era (1900).
• Passed Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz for the longest streak in franchise history