The Cardinals announced their 2018 schedule on September 12, 2017. They opened on the road versus the
New York Mets on March 29, their earliest date ever. A day off and then the March 31 and April 1 games completed that series. It marked the first time the Cardinals have opened the season at
Citi Field, and the team's first opener in
New York since
1996, when the Mets still played at
Shea Stadium. They hosted the
Arizona D-backs in their home opener on April 5. First pitch at
Busch Stadium that day is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT. The Cardinals were also slated to finish the season at
Wrigley Field, marking the first time the Cardinals and Cubs would end the regular season against each other in Chicago since
1991. MLB pushed up the start of the 2018 season in order to accommodate the addition of four extra off-days during the six-month season.
Busch Stadium ranking Busch Stadium ranked third out of the 30 baseball stadiums by
Forbes magazine on March 19. The methodology includes: overall aesthetics of the ballpark design, including integration with additional structures, such as in
Baltimore and
San Diego; its setting; the visuals from within the seating bowl or surrounding views; the amenities offered at the facility; historic relevance; and external development that adds to the experience.
AT&T Park (
San Francisco Giants), and
Oriole Park (
Baltimore Orioles) were one and two, respectively. Maury Brown ranked Busch Stadium third, "thanks to the incredible views of the
Gateway Arch and downtown
St. Louis."
Rawlings sold St. Louis County-based
Rawlings Sporting Goods (est. 1887) is sold from
Newell Brands, announced on June 5, to a
Los Angeles private equity firm, Seidler Equity Partners (SEP) owning
LA Fitness, with MLB a co-investor in the $395 million deal. Rawlings employs 150 people in the St. Louis area, and 1,200 globally. The deal is expected to close by mid-July. Rawlings previously made some custom
baseball gloves at its plant in
Washington, Missouri, but no longer makes any baseball gloves in the United States, with the factory open.
Opening Day As expected,
Carlos Martinez was named on March 10 to start on Opening Day, March 29. Few aces are as undisputed as Martinez, who set career highs in starts, complete games, innings and strikeouts last season, when he made his second National League All-Star team. It will be his second consecutive Opening Day start. Opening Day did not go as planned with a disappointing loss to the
New York Mets, 4–9.
Carlos Martinez walked six, hit another batter, gave up five hits, and allowed five runs in innings. Rookie reliever
Jordan Hicks made his major-league debut, giving up an infield hit, but getting a double-play ball and then an inning-ending strikeout, his first.
March The Cardinals found a
closer in free agent
Greg Holland (RHP), 32, reaching agreement with him a few hours before the first pitch on Opening Day. Making it official is contingent on him passing a physical. Holland signed a one-year deal for a reported $14 million. He led the NL with 41 saves last season with the
Colorado Rockies, and had a 3.61 ERA in an MLB-best 58 games finished. He signed for less than the qualifying offer the Rockies offered this past winter, and the Cardinals lose a draft pick. Holland missed all of 2016, recovering from
Tommy John surgery. He recorded 166 saves in four seasons before the injury, including an NL-best 41 in
2017 with the Rockies. He won the NL's Comeback Player of the Year Award last season. He owns a 2.60 ERA over 377 career innings, and has struck out 11.9 per 9 IP over the course of his seven-year career. He went 3–6 with a 3.61 ERA for Colorado last season, when he struck out 70 batters in 57 1/3 innings. His numbers took a dive after the 2017 All-Star break. He saved 28 games with a 1.62 ERA in the first half, but saved only 13 with a 6.38 ERA in 26 games after it. In another last-minute change, the Cardinals decided on March 31 to make room for the now-finalized Holland purchase by delaying
Alex Reyes return in changing his 10-day DL to the 60-day DL, which makes him ineligible to return until May 28. Holland was optioned to the
High-A Palm Beach team for a required minimum of 10 days.
Brett Cecil (LH reliever) was placed on the DL. In another move on March 31, the team traded
Josh Lucas (RH) to the
Oakland A's for pitching prospect
Casey Meinser (RH), 22, presently at the AA level. Lucas was
DFA'd prior. For MARCH, the team played two games, with a 0–2 record, scoring 6 runs, giving up 15.
April On April 1, the Cardinals traded previously-DFA'd INF
Breyvic Valera to the
Los Angeles Dodgers for
Johan Mieses (OF), 22. Mieses led the
California League (High-A) with 28 home runs in 2016. He excelled at
Class A Advanced (High-A) again last season, but struggled after a promotion to
AA-Tulsa (
Texas League), where he hit .160/.246/.347 over 90 games. He has been assigned to
High-A Palm Beach.
Jack Flaherty, 22, was optioned to AAA-Memphis on April 4, after pitching a masterful game at
Milwaukee the night before. He struck out nine, and allowed one run over five innings against them.
Adam Wainwright, 36, will return from the DL to make his first start, the home opener on (Thu.) April 5. He is a three-time All-Star over 12 seasons for the Birds. He missed six games and one start while on the disabled list.
Ryan Sherriff, suffered a right great toe fracture from a hit ball on April 5, landing on the DL on April 8.
John Brebbia was recalled from AAA-Memphis. A bench-clearing incident that started with a vulgarity to
Yadier Molina from
Arizona Diamondbacks' manager
Torey Lovullo in the second inning of the April 8 game, led to the ejection of only the manager. He was suspended for arguing balls and strikes on
A.J. Pollock, with Molina suspended for making contact with home plate umpire
Tim Timmons. Molina is appealing and will play until his appeal is heard; managers cannot appeal. On April 10, MLB gave one-game suspensions to both, and the manager was fined. Umpire Timmons said the contact from Molina was incidental in going after the manager, and that is why he was not ejected. Crew chief
Mike Winters said all details will be on his report, including the specific expletive used. Molina dropped his suspension appeal on the morning of April 11 for that afternoon game, and sat out the rubber game of the Brewers' series. Manager Matheny had planned to rest Molina, his first off-day after 11 consecutive games played from the start of the season, as it was a day game after a night game.
Greg Holland was recalled on April 9, with
Mike Mayers optioned to AAA, with Holland making his Cardinals' debut that evening.
Sam Tuivailala was placed on the DL on April 12, with a left knee sprain,
Mike Mayers was recalled. On April 13, at the end of the fifth inning against
Cincinnati in
Cincinnati,
Yadier Molina passed the Reds' catching icon
Johnny Bench for 13th place in MLB history, having caught 14,489.1 innings in his 15-year career. With the remaining four innings, Molina has 14,493.1 innings as catcher. Former Cardinals' catcher
Ted Simmons is next on the list in 12th place, with 15,692.1 innings. The top catcher for innings is
Iván Rodríguez, with 20,347.1 innings.
Greg Garcia had his first career multi-homer day with two, plus a double, giving him 10 total bases, another career high. He had two home runs in 133 at-bats in
2017.
Jedd Gyorko and
Luke Gregerson were activated from the DL on April 16, before the night's postponed game at
Wrigley Field, that was to be nationally televised on
ESPN.
Mike Mayers and
Yairo Munoz were optioned to AAA-Memphis. RH-hitting OF
Tyler O'Neill, 22, the #4 prospect for the Cardinals, was promoted to the majors before the April 19 game.
John Brebbia was optioned to AAA. O'Neill enjoyed a torrid start at
Memphis, which owns one of the best records in the
Pacific Coast League. He hit .246/.321/.499 with 31 home runs in his first season at Triple-A in 2017. O'Neill is tied for the Minor League league in home runs with six, and presently hitting .388/.385/.837 with 18 RBIs across 12 games. Oblique and hamstring injuries limited O'Neill to just 12 at bats in Grapefruit League play this spring. He might be the strongest man in baseball, squatting . He is the sixth Canadian-born (
Burnaby, British Columbia) player currently on a big league roster, joining
Nick Pivetta,
Russell Martin,
Joey Votto,
James Paxton and
John Axford. He made his major league debut later that day, striking out in his one at-bat as a pinch-hitter. Reliever
Jordan Hicks got his first career win, pitching 2.1 innings, with a game-ending double play with the bases jammed on April 21, the team's sixth win in six games against
Cincinnati this season, and the 10th consecutive win against the NL Central's last-place team, MLBs worst team, now 3–17 (.150). The last two losses by the Reds came after their previous manager,
Bryan Price was dismissed after their April 18 loss in a dismal 3–15 () start, in favor of interim manager
Jim Riggleman. Price was 279–387 () with the Reds in his five years as manager.
Adam Wainwright, 36, goes on the DL for the second time this season on April 22 (retroactive to April 20), with a right elbow inflammation. He has a history of elbow issues. He is 1–2, with a 3.45 ERA. He was scheduled to start on April 24, but with the team enjoying off-days on April 23 and April 30, reliever
John Brebbia was recalled, team can get by with four starters.
Jedd Gyorko hit his 100th career home run, and reliever
John Brebbia got his first save in the 9–1 win against the
New York Mets on April 25. For the month of APRIL, the club was 15–10 (.600), scoring 120 runs, giving up 86 in the 25 games, but ending the month on a three-game losing streak (at
Pittsburgh) that dropped them out of first place in the NL Central, now in fourth place. For the season they are 15–12 (.556) games out of first, with
Chicago in first, followed by Pittsburgh ( game behind), and
Milwaukee (1.0 game behind) ahead of them'. For 2018, scored 126 runs, giving up 101 in their 27 games.
May Manager
Mike Matheny managed his 1,000th game on May 1, joining
Tony La Russa,
Red Schoendienst, and
Whitey Herzog as managers of the Cardinals. Matheny's .560 winning percentage is the best of the four through 1,000 games, and the fifth-best in MLB since
1976.
Matt Carpenter helped Matheny celebrate with his 100th career home run in the ninth, tying the game, leading to a win later that inning. Carpenter was hitting .155/.305/.274 going into the game. The game after Matheny's 1,000th,
Yadier Molina on May 2, passed
Johnny Bench with his 1,743rd game catching, 16th all-time on the MLB catcher's list. Molina got the walk-off hit to win the May 1 game. He passed Bench on the career innings-caught list in April. In that May 2 game, starter
Carlos Martinez hit his first career home run in the sixth inning, giving the team a 1–0 lead. It was only his seventh extra-base hit (six doubles) in a previous 227 plate appearances. He had not hit a batter for the first time this season, and for the first time in eight starts dating back to last year. The seven-game streak with at least one hit batsman tied for the third longest in baseball history. He earned his third win against one loss in seven starts, with a 1.40 ERA. In the next inning,
Dexter Fowler hit a two-run home run, giving them a 3–0 lead that held up for a 3–2 win. It was his career 100th home run. He was hitting .161 before that at-bat. Relievers
Sam Tuivailala (R) and
Ryan Sherriff (L) were both activated from the DL before the May 4 game.
Austin Gomber (P) and
Luke Voit (1B) were optioned to AAA. A few minutes after the end of the May 4 game, former Cardinals' superstar
Albert Pujols, 38, playing
1B, became the 32nd major leaguer to get to the coveted
3,000 hit level with his
Los Angeles Angels, against the home
Seattle Mariners. He lined out in the first, walked and scored in the fourth, and got his 3,000th on a line drive single to right field in the fifth inning off former Cardinals' starter
Mike Leake. He later added another hit for 3,001 surpassing the late
Roberto Clemente (who was also 38 in his 3,000th and last hit of his career in
1972), for 31st place with his 33rd hit (129 AB) of
2018 in his 31st game. Pujols got 2,073 hits with the Cardinals (2001–2011), and 928 hits over the past seasons. His 620 home runs rank seventh all-time. He is now hitting .256/.284/.450 (.733 OPS), with 6 HR, 19 RBI in 2018. Catcher
Yadier Molina had an injury to the
groin from a foul tip in the ninth inning of the wild afternoon game on May 5, with the Cardinals winning 8–6 in 10 innings after trailing early 0–4, and then 4–6 in the ninth, for the biggest comeback of the season. He underwent surgery that evening, and is expected to miss a month. He was hitting .272/.292/.456 (.748 OPS), with six home runs and 17 RBIs. It was revealed the following day that Molina had a traumatic
hematoma that needed immediate medical help. He was placed on the DL and
Carson Kelly, 23, was recalled from Memphis.
Dominic Leone (RH) reliever injured his right bicep and was also placed on the DL, with
Mike Mayers recalled. The first-place Cardinals, up by just in the NL Central at 19–12, and over the third-place
Cubs had won the first two of the three-game series at Busch against their arch-rivals. Going for the sweep in the nationally televised
ESPN game on May 6, they did it with their second consecutive extra-inning win after trailing in their half of the inning, with a two-run home run. This night in a 14-inning 4–3 victory that featured a 30-minute rain delay in the first inning, and a 29-minute rain delay with the team batting in the third inning of the official 4:46 contest.
Kolten Wong hit the first
triple in the season after 31 games for the team without one, that tied the game at 2-all in the sixth inning. They were the last team in the majors to have a triple. After the Cubs went ahead in the 14th 3–2 with a home run, the Cardinals stormed back in the bottom half after two outs, with an infield single by
Harrison Bader, followed by a two-strike game-winning home run by the .156 hitting former Cub
Dexter Fowler, who was 0-for-5 before the hit, to complete the sweep and their fifth consecutive win; still unbeaten in May. The win pushed them to a season-high eight games over .500 at 20–12 (.625), and a game lead over second-place
Milwaukee (20–15), over surprising third-place
Pittsburgh (19–16), and over the 16–15 Cubs with 14 games remaining against them head-to-head. Former Cardinals' outfielder
Stephen Piscotty received condolences from MLB, his former team, and his current team (
Oakland A's) after his mother Gretchen died of
ALS on Sunday, May 6, at 55. The Cardinals traded Piscotty this past off-season in part so he could be closer to his family and help care for his mother, who was diagnosed with ALS in May 2017. The trade meant Piscotty would play home games just a short drive from his hometown of
Pleasanton, California. Ace starter
Carlos Martinez was placed on the DL with a right
lat strain, on May 10. Martinez was leading the NL with a 1.62 ERA, and led the Cardinals with 50 innings and 47 strikeouts.
Mike Mayers was recalled. On May 11, the Cardinals activated
Brett Cecil (LH) reliever from the DL, and placed
Tyler Lyons (LH) reliever on the DL (retroactive to May 9) with a mid back strain. Lyons co-leads the team with 18 relief appearances, having a 1–0 record and 6.17 ERA. A season-high five home runs (13 hits) against
San Diego (now 14–26, .350 last in NL West) on May 11, in a 9–5 win, was the most for the Cardinals since June 16, 2017 against
Baltimore. The three home runs in one inning (3rd) was the first time since April 6, 2012, with
Carlos Beltran,
Matt Holliday, and
David Freese. The five home runs were by, in order:
Paul DeJong (3-run HR, 2nd inn.),
Harrison Bader (3rd inn.),
Marcell Ozuna (3rd inn.),
Jedd Gyorko (3rd inn., and his 8th in 12 games against S.D.), and
Tommy Pham (2-run HR, 6th inn.). Gyorko was a former Padre, and is now batting .525 (21-for-40), prior to this game at .500, against his former team. Gyorko has 19 RBIs against his former team, and is being paid $2.5 million by the Padres.
Petco Park had a very low HR index of 81, Batting Average of 92, and Runs at 83, in 2017, compared to the average NL park of 100.
Busch Stadium's index numbers in 2017 were: 86 (HR), 99 (BA), and 89 (R).
Adam Wainwright was activated from the DL on May 13 after missing 17 games (4 starts) with elbow inflammation.
John Brebbia was optioned. For the third time in less than two months,
Adam Wainwright, 36, was placed on the DL, the second time with right elbow inflammation, on May 15. He pitched IP with a career-high six walks, and three hits on May 13.
Jack Flaherty, 22, was recalled to start on May 15. RH-reliever
Luke Gregerson has a right
shoulder impingement, placing him on the DL before the May 16 afternoon game. He pitched IP the night before, giving up two runs.
John Brebbia was recalled. Former Cardinals' starter
Lance Lynn, 31 on May 12 (wearing uniform #31), makes a start on May 16 against his former team, for the
Minnesota Twins (AL), at
Target Field. Lynn is 1–3, with a 7.34 ERA, in seven starts (164 batters faced), giving up 43 hits (6 HR), 25 walks, and 36 strikeouts in innings for a 1.98 WHIP. Batters are hitting .312/.415/.522 (.936 OPS) against him. He is 6' 5" and 280 pounds. The Cardinals beat their former teammate, 7–5, with Lynn only pitching three innings, giving up four hits and three runs. He walked four and struck out five. His ERA is now 7.47 with a 1–4 record. At the one-quarter mark for 2018, the team is 23–17 (.575), third place in the NL Central, one game behind Pittsburgh (25–17, .595) and Milwaukee (26–18, .591) tied for first, with the Cubs at 22–18 (.550), two games behind. Cincinnati is far behind in fifth place 15–29 (.341). Another player goes on the disabled list:
Carson Kelly (C) was the one on May 17, with a right hamstring strain. AAA-Memphis catcher
Steven Baron, 27, was recalled. To make room for Baron on the 40-man roster,
Adam Wainwright was moved to the 60-day DL, with more tests planned after a number of them failed to reveal the source of pain in his reconstructed right elbow,. Kelly, 23, is 2-for-18 (.111) with one RBI at the plate in eight games. He joins seven other Cardinals on the DL, four others and Kelly in the past week. Baron signed as a Minor League free agent in December 2017, and returns the Majors for the first time since he appeared in four games for the Mariners in 2015. In 2018 at Memphis, he was hitting .153/.167/.186 with two doubles and two RBIs in 17 games. May 18 saw two more Cardinals added to the long disabled list.
Matt Bowman (RHP) has blisters on his right index and middle fingers.
Paul DeJong (SS) has a fractured left hand after hit by a pitch in the eighth inning of the previous night's game.
Yairo Munoz (INF) and
Tyler O'Neill (OF) were recalled. The team now has 10 players on the disabled list. A season-high 15 hits, and second-highest 12 runs in a 1-hour 35-minute rain delayed game, led to a 12–4 win over the
Philadelphia Phillies, May 18. Rookie OF'er
Tyler O'Neill got his first major league hit. Starter
Michael Wacha got his fifth win, tying him with
Miles Mikolas for the team lead.
Jack Flaherty, 22, was dominant in a 13-strikeout performance in innings in a 5–1 win at
Busch Stadium on a May 20 afternoon game. He gave up only two hits, including a home run in the fourth inning, walking only one. He allowed only three baserunners in 26 batters faced, a personal high of 120 pitches; 80 for strikes. It was his first major league win, after a 0–1 start over three previous starts totaling innings and 14 strikeouts. His ERA dropped to 2.31 and his WHIP from 1.34 to 1.03 leading all Cardinals' starters along with his 10.4 K's per nine. OF'er
Tyler O'Neill hit his second home run in as many days, his first career home run in the May 19 game. Flaherty also got his first major league hit, a single in the third inning. His 13 strikeouts were the most since
Carlos Martinez struck out the same number on Aug. 29, 2016. The 13 K's also were the most ever by a Cardinals' pitcher in his first 10 games, and the most this year. Another highlight occurred in the ninth inning of that May 20 game, when reliever
Jordan Hicks, 21, fired off the five fastest pitches of any pitcher in
2018. His sinker was recorded as high as 105 mph, passing
Aroldis Chapman of the
New York Yankees. In the previous May 19 game, he hit 103 on the radar gun for his fastest recorded pitch. Hicks owns eight of the 10 fastest pitches, and 13 of the top 20 this year. He and Chapman are the only two pitchers to hit 105 mph since
Statcast began tracking pitches in
2008. Hicks twice hit 105 mph in that ninth inning against the one opposing hitter. The next game, against the cross-state
Kansas City Royals on May 21, brought the team its first complete game, shutout of the season.
Miles Mikolas went the full nine innings, giving up only four hits, walking one, striking out nine, in facing only 31 batters. He remains perfect at 6–0. It was his first major-league complete game and shutout. Playing in RF,
Tyler O'Neill continued his hot hitting, complementing Mikolas' strong pitching. O'Neill hit his third home run in as many games, a three-run blast, and later added a double, driving in his fourth run of the night. He was 2-for-4, hitting .368/.409/.895 (7-for-19, one double, one walk, one hit-by-pitch, five strikeouts, and a sacrifice fly, five runs scored), for a terrific 1.304 OPS, with seven RBIs in only his 10th major league game.
Matt Carpenter continued his breakout at-bats in the last six games from a season-long slump, going 3-for-4, including a double and his fourth home run. He is now hitting .210 with a .722 OPS after hitting a career low .140 after his first 39 games.
Marcell Ozuna had the other RBI in the game, in a 2-for-3 night; now hitting .241 with a .607 OPS. Carpenter has hit 13-for-24 (.542) in his last six games including seven doubles and his fourth home run. In a good news report for the Cardinals #1 prospect on May 21, it was decided that disabled pitcher
Alex Reyes will join the starting rotation instead of going to the bullpen, when he comes off the 60-day list on May 28. He has had three rehabilitation assignments, with his final fourth scheduled for May 24, at AAA-
Memphis. He will be prepped to possibly start the May 29 game against the
Milwaukee Brewers at their home park. He enjoyed great success in his previous assignment, going innings at AA-
Springfield, striking out 12. His final rehab start at AAA-
Memphis on May 24, resulted in 13 strikeouts, including nine consecutively, in the win after 7 innings and 90 pitches, giving up only one hit, no runs, and two baserunners. He threw 23 scoreless innings across four rehab starts at four different levels. He struck out 44 and walked seven (82 batters faced), going 3–0. Reyes' major league start will be his first since Sept. 29, 2016. He went 4–1 with a 1.57 ERA in 12 appearances (five starts) in 2016, before injuring his right elbow in the spring of 2017. When
Carlos Martinez returns from the DL, the team will have three high-powered arms: Reyes,
Jack Flaherty, and
Luke Weaver, fighting for two spots. Reyes, 23, will make his return start on Wednesday, May 30, the final series game against the
Milwaukee Brewers, another team fighting for first-place in the NL Central. That game is televised only to active
Facebook users, with no other networks allowed. The Cardinals are not planning any special restrictions on Reyes compared to any other of their pitchers. In delaying his return to the end of May by placing him on the 60-day DL, the club doesn't foresee having to shut him down for the post-season, if the Cardinals were to get there.
Carson Kelly (C) and LH-reliever
Tyler Lyons are activated from the DL before the afternoon May 26 game at
Pittsburgh. Reliever
Greg Holland was placed on the DL with a right hip impingement.
Steven Baron (C) was optioned to AAA.
Alex Reyes, 23, returned to the active roster after missing all 52 games played while on the 60-day DL until his May 30 activation and starter against the NL Central Division leading
Milwaukee Brewers.
Dominic Leone (RH-reliever) was moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster, while
Mike Mayers was optioned to make room on the 25-man roster. The 12:10pm game is not on any television network, only viewed on the
Facebook platform, for the second time this season, on April 11, also against the Brewers. It is broadcast on
KMOX radio, the flagship station. His first game back from
Tommy John surgery did not go as expected. He was removed after only four innings, facing 15 batters in throwing only 73 pitches. He gave up no runs, but walked two and gave up three hits, striking out two. He was removed for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning, with the team suffering the second loss in three games to the NL Central Division leaders (36–21), now trailing them by five games; three on the loss side at 29–24. After pitching his four innings, Reyes was again placed on the DL (10-day) the next day, May 31, with a right
lat strain. LH-reliever
Austin Gomber, 24, was recalled. He was 4–3 with a 3.60 ERA in nine starts at AAA-Memphis. He was
Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week last week.
John Gant (P) and
Tyler O'Neill (OF) were optioned, with
Mike Mayers (P) recalled, as was !B
Luke Voit. Voit was batting .237 with one homer and 12 RBIs in 34 games. The Cardinals placed more players on the DL in May than any of the other 29 major league teams, with 11. The
New York Mets placed eight, and the
Detroit Tigers (AL) placed seven. For the month of MAY, the club was 15–12 (.556), scoring 111 runs, giving up 111 in the 27 games, but ending the month on a thrilling, rare, come-from-behind (5 runs) win in the ninth, 10–8 at home against Pittsburgh. Exactly after rd of the season, they are 30–24 (.556) games out of first, with Milwaukee in first (36–21), followed by Chicago 4 games behind (30–23), and then the Cardinals, with Pittsburgh games behind (29–27), and Cincinnati 16 games back (20–37). For 2018, scored 237 runs, giving up 212 in their 54 games.
June Austin Gomber (LH-reliever), 24, made his major league debut on June 2, pitching three scoreless innings (sixth-through-eighth) giving up no hits, walking one, striking out two and inducing a double play.
Kolten Wong hit his second walk-off HR of the year, to lead the team to a 3–2 win over the
Pirates, who hold a 5–4 advantage with the fourth game of the weekend (Th.-Sun.) on June 3, out of 19 head-to-head.
Marcell Ozuna hit his 100th career home run, fourth of the season, and first as a Cardinal at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals lead the majors in 2018 with seven walk-off wins, with five of them via the home run. The game also marked the 1,000th game at this
Busch Stadium III since its opening in
2006. The Cardinals are 590–410 at home in that span, with their .590 home winning percentage ranking third behind only the L.A. Dodgers and N.Y. Yankees since
2006.
Michael Wacha pitched eight scoreless no-hit innings at
Busch Stadium on June 3, against the Pirates in the finale of their four-game set, taking three of four. Wacha's bid for a no-hitter was broken up by a pinch-hit single in the ninth, the 27th batter Wacha faced. Wacha gave up two earlier walks, striking out eight, throwing 111 pitches (74 strikes), now 7–1, 2.41 ERA. He was relieved by
Jordan Hicks for the three outs to finish a team shutout, 5–0, with
Marcell Ozuna's first-inning
grand slam giving Wacha all the runs he would need. In
2013 (Sep. 24) as a 22-year-old rookie, he came within an out of no-hitting the
Washington Nationals. The last Cardinals' no-hitter was September 3,
2001, by
Bud Smith against the
San Diego Padres. June 5, gave the team its star pitcher
Carlos Martinez, and its star catcher
Yadier Molina from the disabled list. Other roster changes include optioning reliever
Mike Mayers, placing INF
Greg Garcia on the paternity list,
DFA backup catcher
Steven Baron, and purchasing the contract of RH-reliever
Preston Guilmet from AAA-Memphis.
Alex Reyes underwent season-ending surgery to reattach a tendon in his right lat on June 6. He pitched four innings and 73 pitches on May 30 before being removed. LH-reliever
Ryan Sherriff also underwent
Tommy John surgery on June 5, losing him for the remainder of the season. He made five appearances with the team in 2018, allowing four runs over innings of relief.
Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst, wore the Cardinals' uniform longer than anybody else in the franchise's long and storied history, 67 years, with a total of 76 years in professional baseball in 2018. He died at his home in
Town and Country, Missouri on June 6, 2018, at 95. The
Germantown, Illinois native was part of baseball as a player (1945–56, 1961–63), coach (1964, 1979–95), manager (1965–76) and interim manager (1980, 1990) had been in his current executive role with the team since 1996. He was the oldest living member of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame, inducted in
1989. LH-reliever
Tyler Lyons was placed on the DL with a left elbow strain, June 8, and recalled
Mike Mayers for the sixth time.
Daniel Poncedeleon (RH-starter) 26, is recalled, after a shocking fractured skull in May 2017 at AAA-Memphis from a line drive that hit him in the right temple. He was 5–2, 2.41 ERA with 49 hits, 2 HR, 35 walks, 71 strikeouts in 12 games (11 starts) for a 1.41 WHIP and .222 O-BA over IP. He will become the fifth player to make his MLB debut for the Cardinals this season and the 23rd pitcher summoned to St. Louis. In 2017, the team used 25 pitchers in the season.
Luke Voit (1B) optioned.
Red Schoendienst, will have his public funeral mass on Friday, June 15, at
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, at 10am. It will be broadcast on
KPLR-TV11. The Cardinals most consistent hitter, #3 in the lineup
José Martínez will be on the paternity list, fly to his native
Venezuela, and will miss the three-game weekend series with the
Cubs (June 15–17) to attend the birth of his second child. He is hitting 322/.391/.522 with 10 HR and 42 RBIs.
Luke Voit will replace him at 1B. Red Schoendienst's life was celebrated at a two-hour Mass, with eulogies given by owner
Bill DeWitt Jr., broadcaster and player for Red,
Mike Shannon,
Hall of Fame president
Jeff Idelson, and Red's daughter Colleen.
Matt Bowman was activated before the critical three-game Cubs series on June 15, restoring the full 25-man active roster. He missed 25 games since May 18.
Daniel Poncedeleon was optioned, without getting into any games of the three while on the active roster.
Yadier Molina tied
Gabby Hartnett's record of 1,756 games caught for one team on June 17. Hartnett played 19 years, Molina is in his 15th year.
John Brebbia recorded his first major league win, salvaging the
ESPN-televised final game (5–0) of the three with the Cubs (40–28). The Cardinals (37–32) are games behind them for second, with Milwaukee game ahead (42–29) in the Central Division. He set the major league record of 1,757 games caught for one team in the next game, June 18, and will continue to add for each game caught for the Cardinals until his expected retirement after the 2020 season.
Marcell Ozuna, 27, was named
NL Player of the Week for the week of June 11–17. Ozuna hit .455/.478/1.000 (10-for-22, 1.478 OPS) with four home runs and eight RBIs in six games last week, raising his average from .282 to .294. He hit .260/.308/.337 (.645 OPS) with three home runs in the first two months of the season (50 games), and he is slashing .411/.450/.821 (1.271 OPS) with seven homers through 15 games in June. A franchise record 19 strikeouts for Cardinals' batters was one reason for a frustrating 5–6 loss in 10-inn. at
Philadelphia on June 18, after fighting back to a 5–4 lead in the top of the 10th until 2-outs in the bottom of that inning.
Miles Mikolas started the game, and after the first inning, trailed 0–4, with the Cardinals striking out during the game at a rate rarely seen in their 126-year NL history. The team trailed with 2-outs in the top of the 9th with a runner on third base, when a third strike on
Yairo Munoz eluded the Phillies' catcher, allowing
Yadier Molina to score and the Cardinals to tie it at 4–4. They went ahead in the 10th from a solo
Tommy Pham home run, happily setting up for a remarkable come-from-behind win in the bottom half. But reliever
Matt Bowman could not get the third out after issuing a hit, and then after an out moved him to second, manager Matheny ordered an intentional walk to their best hitter,
Carlos Santana. The next batter made the second out, but
Aaron Altherr delivered the crushing blow: a sinking, game-winning double to left that
Marcell Ozuna came within inches of catching in a dive for it that would have ended the game in a 5–4 win for the Birds. Ozuna later said he would have caught it if it hadn't sunk at the last moment.
Statcast said he had only a 4% chance of catching it, having to cover 47 feet toward the left-field line in only 3.1 seconds. It was the Cardinals' fifth loss in six games.
Matt Bowman was placed back on the DL with blisters on his middle finger June 19, only four days after re-activated from the DL due to blistering.
Greg Holland was activated from the DL to take his place. In the June 20 game,
Michael Wacha strained his left oblique in the fourth inning at Philadelphia. He is likely headed to the disabled list. He was off to the best start of his career as he entered the day 8–2 with a 3.24 ERA. He was added to the DL on June 21.
John Gant, 25, was recalled for the third time. He is 5–1, 1.65 ERA, with 42 strikeouts in 49 IP in eight starts at AAA-Memphis.
John Gant, replacing the injured
Michael Wacha in the rotation, threw a one-hit shutout for seven innings against the AL
Cleveland Indians on June 25, after a 1-hour 21-min rain delay. Gant gave up the strange infield hit when the ground ball in the second inning hit the third base bag, bouncing high in the air, making a throw to first impossible to retire the batter.
Bud Norris got his 15th save. The 4–0 win, the team's third consecutive, snapped the Indians' seven-game winning streak who outscored their opponents 54–9 in those games. Their 41st win (36 losses) also was significant as the 10,000th
NL win for the Cardinals in their 127 years in that league's play, becoming the sixth team to do so. Gant had only one win of the previous 9,999 until his brilliant second win. The franchise is credited with 10,780 total wins counting the 10 years 1882–1891 in the
American Association league, joining the NL in 1892. The other NL teams are the
Atlanta Braves,
Chicago Cubs,
San Francisco Giants,
Pittsburgh Pirates, and
Los Angeles Dodgers. Since joining the NL in 1892, only the Giants, Dodgers, and Yankees have won more games.
Matt Carpenter, had a career night in a five-for-five game with three RBIs on June 26. The team had to endure another rain delay: this delay was five minutes longer than last night's game, 1-hour 26-minutes, but buried the Indians in an 11–2 rout, with 13 hits, for the team's fourth straight win (42–36). Cleveland's ace
Corey Kluber suffered the shortest start of his career in 1.2 innings, giving up six runs, six hits including two home runs. He is now 11–4 in 2018.
Jose Martinez hit a three-run home run to end Kluber's night to highlight a five-run second inning, that boosted them to a 6–2 lead they would not relinquish. Carpenter's night included two singles, a double, and bookend home runs in the first and eighth innings. His leadoff home run was the 18th of his career, trailing only
Lou Brock's 21 in Cardinals' history. it was his second career five-for-five game, and he became the first Cardinals' player to have five hits, five runs, and two home runs in a game. For the month of June over the past 20 games, he has eight home runs, scored 22, with 15 RBIs, and jumped his average from .140 to .259. On June 29, the Cardinals claimed LH-reliever,
Tyler Webb, 27, off-waivers from the
San Diego Padres. Webb has been assigned to AAA-
Memphis. To make room for him on the 40-man roster,
Alex Reyes was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. For the month of JUNE, the team was 12–15 (.444), scoring 108 runs, giving up 126 in the 27 games. Exactly at the half-way mark of the season (HOME: 23–21, AWAY: 19–18), they are 42–39 (.519) games out of first, with Milwaukee in first (48–34), followed by Chicago games behind (46–35), and then the Cardinals, with Pittsburgh 9 games behind (39–43), and Cincinnati games back (35–48). For 2018, scored 345 runs, giving up 338 in their 81 games.
July Dexter Fowler was given a three-day paternity leave on July 2, for the impending birth of his second child.
Tyler O'Neill was recalled from Triple-A Memphis, where he was hitting .304 with 19 home runs and 48 RBI. With the Cardinals in 2018, he hit .237 with three home runs. The team acquired
Philadelphia Phillies Double-A-level
Elniery García, 23, a lefty starter, for a portion of their $5-million international spending purse on July 5. He is 0–6 with a 6.38 ERA in 10 games (nine starts). In innings, he's allowed 30 earned runs (and 11 unearned runs) to go with 21 walks against 29 strikeouts. The lefty has also been on and off the disabled list most of the season with foot and leg injuries, presently on the disabled list with turf toe.
Dexter Fowler was activated from his three-day paternity leave on July 5.
Matt Bowman was activated from the disabled list, and optioned to AAA-Memphis.
Tyler O'Neill was placed on the disabled list with a left groin sprain. SS
Paul DeJong was activated from the disabled list on July 6, after missing 45 games since May 18. RH-reliever
Austin Gomber was optioned to AAA-Memphis. RF
Harrison Bader and INF-SS
Yairo Munoz were kept. Munoz hit in 40 games (32 starts) batting .302/.341/.429. with four home runs, and 19 RBIs. Starting pitcher
Miles Mikolas (10–3, 2.65 ERA as of July 8) was picked to represent the Cardinals for the NL pitching staff in the
2018 All-Star Game on July 17 in
Washington, D.C.'s
Nationals Park. As he will be starting the Sunday (July 15) prior to the All-Star Game, so by the rules on starting pitchers who pitch that Sunday he will not pitch, taken off the official roster and replaced, but still be invited at Nationals Park for the festivities. This his first official All-Star Game. His wife suddenly went into
labor, with
twins, earlier than expected, prompting Mikolas to fly to his home in
Jupiter, Florida from
Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 16, and miss all the All-Star Game festivities. Catcher
Yadier Molina, 35 (36 on July 13) replaces
Buster Posey on the July 17 All-Star Game roster, due to Posey's ailing hip. It will be the ninth time Molina has made an All-Star roster. This ties
Bob Gibson and
Albert Pujols, each of whom earned nine such selections as Cardinals. Only
Joe Medwick (10),
Red Schoendienst (10),
Enos Slaughter (10),
Ken Boyer (11),
Ozzie Smith (14), and
Stan Musial (24) had more. Since his first All-Star selection in 2009, Molina has been left off the NL roster only once. Molina is in the midst of his best offensive season since
2012, when he finished fourth in the NL Most Valuable Player vote. His .500 slugging percentage ranks second-best among NL catchers, and he's tied for the league lead among catchers with 13 home runs. He ranks fourth at his position in both batting average (.279) and RBIs (38).
Luke Gregerson (R) and
Tyler Lyons (L) were activated from the DL on July 13. Gregerson missed 52 games, Lyons 31. Starter
Luke Weaver and reliever
John Brebbia were optioned. With off-days from the All-Star Game, the team won't need five starters until after the break.
John Gant shifted from starter to bullpen. After two consecutive lopsided home losses to the last-place in the Central Division
Cincinnati Reds (43–52 .453) dropping the team to 47–46 (.505) in third place, now seven games behind the division leading Cubs (53–38 .582) and second place Milwaukee Brewers (55–42 .567) by six games, with the Pirates right behind them in fourth place at 47–49 (.490), the Cardinals dismissed manager
Mike Matheny that July 14 (Saturday) night, the day before the final game before the All-Star break. Also dismissed were hitting coach
John Mabry and assistant hitting coach
Bill Mueller. Bench coach
Mike Shildt will take over as interim manager. Matheny since his hiring, managed from 2012. His record after 1,065 games was 591–474 (.555). His record after the first four years was 375–273 (.579), but these last 2.57 years his record was only 216–201 (.518). The team leads all of MLB with a lowest .978 fielding average, and 75 errors (92 games; now 77, with 2 more in game 93), with the NL team average making 53 errors. The Cardinals announced on its Twitter account an 11am press conference Sunday morning to discuss the firings and further staff changes. At the news conference, chairman
Bill DeWitt Jr. said, "it was time for a fresh voice and some new leadership" in dismissing Matheny, Mabry, and Mueller.
Mark Budaska, 65, was announced as the new batting coach. Budaska was their hitting coach at AAA-
Memphis for years.
George Greer, 71, a hitting coordinator in the minors is the new hitting coach. The new manager,
Mike Shildt, 49 (50 on Aug. 9), won his first major league game, 6–4, on July 15 at home. The 45,808 attendance made the Cardinals the second major league team (
Los Angeles Dodgers, 2,382,991 in 51 home games) to pass the 2-million tickets sold. They have sold 2,030,250 tickets in 48 home games (24–24; 195 Runs, 206 Runs against), road record is 24–22, 218 Runs, 196 Runs against. Leading off in the game,
Matt Carpenter hit his fifth leadoff home run in 2018, second consecutive game hitting a leadoff homer (19th in 2018), with the five in 2018 tying his own Cardinals record from 2015, set by
Lou Brock (1967, 1970), and
Ray Lankford (1994). It was also Carpenter's 20th leadoff home run of his career, one behind the Cardinals' record of 21, set by Brock.
Miles Mikolas, was placed on the paternity list (Wed.) July 18, up to three days, to attend the birth of twins, with wife Lauren previously saying she was not expecting until September. Reliever
Matt Bowman will join the roster until Mikolas returns. Mikolas is scheduled to start the final game of the five-game series in
Chicago. Manager Shildt named
Ron "Pop" Warner, 49, as his new bench coach on July 19, replacing himself.
Matt Carpenter tied the Cardinals' franchise record held by
Lou Brock, with his 21st lead-off home run on, and 21st for the season on July 20, plus a new franchise record six lead-off HRs in a season. But, he wasn't finished setting records for the game. He hit two more HRs, his 22nd and 23rd, plus two doubles. He became the first Cardinals' player and only the second in MLB history (the Cubs'
Kris Bryant) to have three HRs and two doubles in a game, going 5–for–5 and doing it all by the first six innings, in an 18–5 thrashing of the Cubs at
Wrigley Field. He scored four runs with a career–high seven RBIs, and tied a franchise–record 16 total bases, surpassing
Albert Pujols' 15, set on this same date 14 years ago (
2004). The co–holder with 16 total bases is
Mark Whiten with his MLB–record 4 HRs on September 7,
1993. Carpenter set an MLB record with the five extra–base hits in the first six innings of a game. His averages jumped from .262/.371/.532 and .904 OPS to .274/.381/.576 and .958 OPS. The team hit a season–high with the 18 runs, and the same for the 18 hits. The 18 hits included five doubles and five HRs. He started his first 140 plate appearances hitting a weak .140/.286/.272 and .558 OPS. Since then, Carpenter has pulled his season OPS up to .958 by hitting .346/.435/.738. The 18 runs scored has not been done by the Cardinals since August 22,
2008. Box Score: Cardinals 18, Cubs 5 Before the third game against the Cubs on July 21, the Cardinals placed
Carlos Martinez on the 10-day DL from a right
oblique strain (backdated to July 20), from the last inning of his July 19 start. Recalled
John Brebbia, a long reliever. Optioned
Matt Bowman.
Miles Mikolas activated from the paternity list, and added
Luke Weaver as the 26th man for the doubleheader that day.
Matt Carpenter becomes the first Cardinal player, and 28th in MLB history to hit a HR in six consecutive games in the same season, with one in each of the July 21 doubleheader games at Wrigley Field. He also became the only player to hit six HRs in a series at that stadium. He has hit eight HRs in 12 games against the Cubs in 2018, and the first Cardinal to have 12 consecutive hits go for extra bases. He has slugged .761 and 1.202 OPS over his past 58 games, and credits his secret
salsa recipe for his resurgence. The record for consecutive HR games is eight, held by
Dale Long,
Don Mattingly, and
Ken Griffey Jr. The St. Louis market is #1 nationally among individual teams' local telecast ratings, and again had a strong performance in viewers for the
2018 All-Star Game and
Home Run Derby. St. Louis ranked second for
Fox's telecast of the game (
KTVI, Channel 2), and tied for 10th for the Derby (on
ESPN). It marked at least the 17th consecutive year that St. Louis has outperformed the national average—often by a significant amount. Ratings for the events are readily available dating to 2002. Nationally, the All-Star Game received a 5.2 rating, while in St. Louis it got double, a 10.3. The HR Derby got 3.2 nationally, but 4.9 in St. Louis.
Matt Carpenter became the second Cardinals' player in 2018 to be named the
NL Player of the Week on July 23, for the shortened week July 19–22 (All-Star Game break), hitting .529/.620/1.706 (2.325 OPS), with his 9–for–17 performance in 5 games, including 2 Doubles, 6 HRs, 3 Walks, 8 Runs, and 10 RBIs.
Daniel Poncedeleon (RHP), 26, made his major league debut after his recall on July 23. His start comes less than 15 months since having emergency brain surgery after being hit with a comebacker on the forehead at AAA–
Memphis. He became one of the best
PCL starters, at 9–3, 2.15 ERA in 18 games (17 starts).
Kolten Wong goes on the disabled list with a left knee inflammation. He pitched seven scoreless and hitless innings, before lifted after throwing 116 pitches (75 strikes), facing 24 batters with six groundouts and the same for flyouts. He walked three, with three strikeouts. He became the fifth pitcher to carry a no–hitter through seven innings in his MLB debut in the Expansion Era (
1962), coming all the way back from his near–fatal head injury in May 2017. Leaving with a 1–0 lead, the Cardinals got through the eighth inning, but closer
Bud Norris gave up a game–tying home run with two outs in the ninth, and lost the game 1–2 later that inning at
Cincinnati's
Great American Ball Park. Box Score After 100 games played with the loss on July 23, the Cardinals fell to 50–50 (.500), with 24–24 at home and 26–26 on the road. Now in fourth place in the NL Central, games behind the Cubs, and games behind the
Pittsburgh Pirates in third place. The day after starter
Daniel Poncedeleon made his dazzling MLB debut, he was optioned to AAA on July 24, so that lefty starter
Austin Gomber can be recalled and make his first major league start. Gomber is 0–0, 3.77 ERA in 15 appearances (14.1 IP, 11 hits, 1 HR, 8 walks, 2 hit batters, 10 strikeouts, a .233 Opp–BA, 1.33 WHIP in 59 batters faced) as a reliever this year, and was 7–3, 3.42 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) at AAA–Memphis. The Cardinals' relief corps has allowed 21 runs in six games since the All-Star break, a 2–4 stretch pushing them down to .500 and fourth place in the NL Central. ==Schedule and results==