Tommy Edman via Getty Images, Harrison Bader via Patrick Smith - Getty Images, Alex Reyes via Jim Rossol- USA Today, Nolan Arenado via Jeff Roberson AP, Jack Flaherty via Bill Greenblat - UPI, Adam Wainwright via Johnathan Daniel - Getty Images.
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The Cards started the week with a 16-12 mark and one game behind the Brewers in the NL Central.
The top of the order is getting on base, and the rest of the order is picking up the pace. Pitching has been a good mix of Starters and Bullpen contributing when needed to get results. The results were a second straight week of a 5-2 record, another weekend series sweep, and a first-place team with the BEST record in the National League.
May 3 vs. New York Mets Cardinals 6 Mets 5
Adam Wainwright pitched 5 and 2/3 to get his first win of the season. After Sailing through the 1st, he ran into trouble in the second. A leadoff Double by Pete Alonzo, Dominic Smith flew out. A single to Kevin Pillar and an intentional walk to Johnathan Villar loaded the bases with one out. Wainwright then hit Thomas Nido with a pitch to bring in the Mets' first run. Jeff McNeil walked with two outs, and the bases loaded to give the Mets their second run. They would get three more in the 3rd inning. Micheal Conforto walked, and Alonzo hit his second Double of the game. After a fielder's choice by Smith, Villar hit a two-run Home Run.
The Cardinals started scoring early themselves. Dylan Carlson drove home, Tommy Edman, with a Sac fly for the Cards' 1st run. They added another in the second on a Harrison Bader Home Run (his second in as many games). St. Louis struck again in the 3rd. After back-to-back singles by Carlson and Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado took an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left field. Paul DeJong Doubled then was Doubled home by Tyler O'Neill. Wainwright and a quartet of Cardinal relievers kept the Mets' bats silent over 6 innings. While 3 Mets pitchers allowed the cardinals only 2 hits over 5 innings. Alex Reyes pitched the 9th. He walked two, but no runs crossed the plate to earn his 8th save and the Cardinals' 5th win in a row. Record 1-0 overall 17-12 and tied for first place in the NL Central.
May 5 Double Header vs. New York Mets.
After rain forced the cancellation of Tuesday's game, the Cards and Mets met for a regular twin bill. With a Brewers loss on Tuesday, the Cardinals were now 1/2 game up in the NL Central.
The 3, 4, and 5 hitters did the damage, as Mike Shildt likes to say. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado each drove in a run, and Paul DeJong drove in two to push the Redbirds to the win.
In the 1st inning, Goldschmidt hit a solo Home Run to put the cards on the board. In the third, three straight Singles by Dylan Carlson, Goldschmidt, and Arenado brought home the second Cardinal run. In the 5th, after Arenado reached an error, DeJong unloaded on a 3-2 pitch for a Homerun to Left Field.
The Mets got their lone Run in the 4th Brian McCann reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, and Micheal Conforto scored.
Kwang Hyun Kim went 4 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 2. the law firm of Helsley, Gallegos, and Reyes closed the case. Reyes earned his 9th save and still has not been scored on.
The win was the Cardinals 6th in row 2-0 for the week 18-12 overall. 1 1/2 game ahead of the Brewers.
2nd game Mets 7 Cardinals 2
The Mets came out in game two with a bit of revenge on their mind. Jacob Degrom was scratched from the game, so it became a bullpen game with Miguel Castro Starting his first game in almost three years. Jordan Yamamoto went 2 2/3 to get the win for the Mets. The Mets got 3 in the 2nd inning when Dominic Smith scored on a wild pitch for the first run then, Thomas Nido hit a two-run Home Run. They would add one more in the 4th on a Johnathan Villar Home Run. In the 5th, Kevin Pillar Singled with two on. Villar then reached on an infield single to plate another run. Pillar struck again in the 7th reaching on a fielder's choice scoring Pete Alonzo. The Mets used 5 pitchers to get through the 7 inning game. Giving up only 2 runs on 11 hits. striking out only 2
The Redbirds scored in the 4th when Dylan Carlson drove home Tyler O'Neill with a Single. They would score again in the 6th when Justin Williams reached on an infield single to score Harrison Bader.
Johan Oviedo got his second start as a Cardinal going 4 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, and striking out 2. Tyler Webb gave up 2 runs, and newcomer Bernardo Flores activated as the 27th man for the Double Header. He faced three batters giving up a run on 1 hit and 2 walks. Record for the week 2-1 overall 18-13 Tied with the Giants for the best record in the National League.
May 7 vs. New York Mets, Mets 4 Cardinals 1
The Mets scored 3 runs via the walk as Cardinal pitchers issued 11 free passes to the visiting hitters. On the flip side, Taijuan Walker stymied the host Cardinals for 7 innings allowing only one hit. He also struck out 8 while walking ZERO. There were NO walks issued by the Mets pitching staff. Cardinal starter John Gant issued 6 walks and gave up 5 of the Mets 9 hits in 4 and 1/3 IP.
The game was scoreless until the 5th after 1 out. Pete Alonzo was safe at first on a throwing error by Nolan Arenado. Three straight walks gave the Mets their first run. Kodi Whitley came in and walked the first batter he faced, thus giving the Mets another run. In the 8th, Tyler Webb Walked Jeff McNeil and Fransisco Lindor. Then a Micheal Conforto Singled to load the bases. Jake Woodford came in and walked Alonzo for the third Mets' run. Then he gave an RBI Single to Dominic Smith.
The Lone Cardinal run came in the 2nd inning when Harrison Bader drove in Nolan Arenado with a Sac fly.
The record for the week 2-2 Overall 18-14. One game ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central and tied with San Diego for the 2nd best record in the National League.
May 7, vs. Colorado, Cardinals 5 Rockies 0
It was the return of Austin Gomber to Busch Stadium as a member of a visiting team. It also marked The first time that Nolan Arenado would face his old teammates. Jack Flaherty on the mound for the home team turned in a 7 inning 103 pitch 3 hit gem with 6 Ks and no runs. Ryan Helsley and Genesis Cabrera combined with preserving the shutout. Flaherty is the FIRST pitcher in the Majors this year to reach 6 wins.
The Cards started the scoring with a deduces wild second inning. Nolan Arenado leads off with a ground-rule double. Then after Gomber dispatched the next two batters, Harrison Bader found himself batting with 2 outs. When the count was 2-2, Bader took a Gomber offering into the Left Center Field seats for a 2-run Home Run. In the third, Flaherty hit his FIRST career Home Run 416 feet into Left Center to score 3-0. In the 5th, Andrew Knizner on second and Tommy Edman on 1st, Dylan Carlson singled, scoring Knizner. Paul Goldschmidt reached on a fielder's choice, and Edman scored, making it 5-0.
The Cards are now 3-2 for the week and 19-14 overall and 2 games in front of second-place Milwaukee, who at this point have lost 6 in a row. The Redbirds are mere percentage points behind San Fransisco for the best record in the National League.
May 8th vs. Colorado Cardinals 9 Rockies 8
Paul Goldschmidt went 3-5 and had 3 RBIs, Yadier Molina was 1-4 with 3 RBIs, and Paul DeJong was 2-3 and had 2 RBIs to help lead -the Redbirds in a 9-8 victory, their 20th of the season. The Cardinals scored all of their runs in the first 5 innings, then held on for dear life to beat the Rockies for the second straight day, gaining their 3rd series win.
The Rockies had the early 1-0 lead on an RBI double by Ryan McMahon in the top of the 1st. The Redbirds came back with 3 of their own in the bottom of the first. Three straight Singles by Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, and Goldschmidt plated the 1st Cardinal run. Then with one out, Paul DeJong singled to bring Carlson Home. Molina grounded out, allowing Goldschmidt to score. Molina came up again in the 3rd with the bases loaded. He singled home 2 runs to make it 5-1.
In the 5th, after a bases-loaded Wild pitch gave the Rockies their second run, Dom Nunez Doubled, clearing the bases and tying the game at 5.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Cards struck back. With Carlson on 1st, Goldschmidt Exploded on a pitch, putting it up into the concourses in Left Center Field, making it 7-5, Then after a Rockies pitching change, DeJong Doubled home Arenado who had also doubled, making it 8-5. After DeJong stole third, Tyler O'Neill lifted a Sac fly giving the Redbirds the 9-5 lead. In the 8th, the Rockies would mount a comeback when Raimel Tapia doubled home a run, making 9-6.
Alex Reyes came in and walked Trevor Story with two out. Charlie Blackmon singled, scoring two runs making the score 9-8. After getting out of the inning, Alex Reyes pitched a 1, 2, 3 9th inning to earn his 10th save. Record for the week 4-2 and 20-14 overall Tied with the Giants for the Best record in the NL and 2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the Central Division.
May 9th vs. Colorado cardinals 2 Rockies 0
Adam Wainwright pitched yet another gem going 8 1/3 innings giving up 3 hits, 5 Strike Outs, and NO walks.
In the second inning, Nolan Arenado teed off for a Homerun against his former team for his 6th Home Run. Arenado has now reached base safely in 18 of his last 20 games. Yadier Molina would add a run in the 4th with an RBI double.
Ryan Helsley came in and got the final two outs of the 9th to notch his 1st save of the year, making the birds 5-2 for the week and 21-14 overall. They once again have the best record in the National League and the SECOND BEST record in all of baseball.
Highlights since May 1st
Tommy Edman has hit .333 and an OBP of .400 and has hit safely in 8 of his last 10 games.
Dylan Carlson has hit ..367 and an OBP 0f .429. He has 11 hits in his last 9 games and has a 7 game hitting streak.
Paul Gold Schmidt has 2 HRs and 6 RBIs in his last 8 games with a slash of .355/.394/.581
Nolan Arenado has 3 Dbls, 1 Triple, 2 HRs for the month for a .697 Slg%
Harrison Bader has 7 hits, 3 HRs and 8 RBIs
Paul DeJong has 3 Dbls and 2 HRs with 7 RBIs.
On the mound
Adam Wainwright was 2-0 for the week with a 3.21 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and an opponent BA of .200.
Alex Reyes is 10-10 in saves since the beginning of the season. He had a streak of 15 1/3 innings over 15 games that he was not scored on. he currently sits at 2.14 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and Opponents BA of .067
So far, Jack Flaherty is having a better May than April.
In April, he was 4-0 in 5 games with a 3.20 ERA, 0.961 WHIP, and an opponent's BA .190
In May, he is 2-0 in 2 games with a 2.08 ERA, 0.923 WHIP, and an opponents BA of .196
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