The Cardinals entered the All-Star break with a 44-46 record. With 72 games left to play the first opponent after the break, the San Francisco Giants. A team they took two out of three from right before the break. After the Cardinals left the city by the bay, they split a weather-shortened series with the Cubs 1 game apiece. The Giants went on a 3 game winning streak against Washington. Two teams with different mindsets, The Giants, keep distance between themselves and the Dodgers. The Cardinals climb past three teams to take the top spot in the Central Division.
Right before the All-star break, it did seem as if the Cardinals were starting to heat up.
Harrison Bader - since coming off the IL on July first, Before the All-Star break, he hit safely in 7 out of 9 games with a pair of Home Runs and seven RBIs.
Paul Goldschmidt - went into the break with a 10 game hitting streak hitting .400 (16-40) and 5 multi-hit games in that stretch.
Paul DeJong - had a modest 3 game hitting streak, going 4-9 with 2 home runs.
Ryan Helsley - has only allowed ONE run in his last 12 games going into the break. He also has only allowed 4 of 23 inherited runners to score.
Kwang Hyun Kim - has pitch 13 consecutive scoreless innings in two games opponents are scoreless in his last 15 innings. . He also has three wins in a row for the first time this season.
Adam Wainwright -has gone 6 innings or more in 6 of his last 7 starts.
So what happened after the break? Quite frankly, they picked up where they left off—hosting the Giants for a three-game weekend series. St Louis set up the rotation with Wainwright, Kim, and LeBlanc. While not a lot of runs, they would get some outstanding pitching. And a much-needed series win.
Game 1 July 16 vs. San Francisco Giants 7 - Cardinals 2
The Cardinals banged out 11 hits. Paul DeJong went 3-4, Harrison Bader went 2-3 with a walk, but they only managed to push two runs across the plate. They stranded 13 runners, including the bases loaded in the fourth and seventh. They left a runner on base in every inning but the first and ninth.
Adam Wainwright allowed only two hits in the first four innings, a second-inning Single, and a fourth-inning home run. The Giants touched him for three runs in the fifth and never looked back. New bullpen pick-ups Luis Garcia and TJ McFarland allowed 3 runs in the seventh.
The Giants pulled ahead in the fourth on a Mike Yastrzemski home run. The Redbirds came back to tie the game on a Tommy Edman 2 out RBI single.
The Giants scored three in the fifth on a LaMonte Wade home run, giving them all the runs they would need pulling ahead 4-1.
The Giants added three more on Yastrzemski's second home run of the game in the seventh inning, making it 7-1. Paul Goldschmidt would homer in the seventh, making it 7-2
the loss starts the second half on the wrong note at 0-1 for the week and 44-47 for the year.
Wainwright would go Six innings giving up four runs on five hits, walking one while striking out seven. It would mark the 8th time in 10 games he has gone 6 innings or more.
Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 11 games
DeJong would push his hitting streak to 4 games and his second multi-hit game in a row.
Game 2 July 17 Vs. San Francisco Cardinals 3 - Giants 1
Kwang Hyun Kim picked up exactly where he left off, keeping hitters off-balance and runs off the scoreboard—becoming a very good 1-2 with Adam Wainwright. Saturday, Kim turned in another outstanding game tossing six innings, allowing no runs on only three base hits. He walked two and struck out one. Ryan Helsley gave up the lone Giant run in 1/3 of an inning. After that, Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos got St Louis to the 9th Reyes came in and earned his 21st save.
Paul Goldschmidt would go 3-4 with two RBIs to pace the Cardinal offense. He extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He also hit his third home run in as many days as his 16th of the year. Tyler O'Neill would also hit a solo home run his 16th and extend his hitting streak to four games. Paul DeJong also had a multi-hit day and extended his hitting streak to five games.
The scoring started in the second on O'Neill's solo blast to the opposite field for his 16th home run of the year.
Goldschmidt sent a pitch 409 feet into right-center almost over the Cardinal bullpen in the sixth, making it 3 -0.
The Giants would get their run in the seventh on a single by Steven Duggar and an error by O'Neill in left.
The win evens the week at 1-1 and makes the Cardinals 45-47 for the year.
Goldschmidt - 18 multi-hit games
Kim -has now pitched 21 scoreless innings and has won his last four starts.
Reyes -earned his 21st consecutive save without a blown save this year. It gives him 23 straight successive saves to start his career and ties him with LaTroy Hawkins for the longest such streak in baseball.
Game 3, July 18, vs. San Francisco Cardinals 2- Giants 1
Wade LeBlanc started, Harrison Bader put the Cards on top, and Alex Reyes put the historic finishing touch on the Cardinal 2-1 win.
LeBlanc went five innings allowed one run on five hits. He ran into trouble in the sixth, giving up back-to-back singles put runners on the corners, and NO outs. Ryan Helsley said, hold my beer, and three batters later, the Cards went back to the dugout without a run being scored. Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos kept things status quo. Alex Reyes entered the ninth After an out and a couple of walks, and he coaxed the final two outs to earn his 22nd save.
Paul DeJong would get the home team on the board first with a solo blast DEEP to left field for his 13th home run and third in five games.
Darrin Ruff would homer off of LeBlanc to tie the score in the fourth. Then in the seventh, Matt Carpenter would drive a ground-rule double to Right Field. Jose Rondon came into pinch run. DeJong would advance Rondon with a fly ball to centerfield. Then Bader tried to check his swing hit a slow roller down the first baseline and beat the throw while Rondon scored the go-ahead/winning run.
The win gives the Cardinals Back to Back series a sweep against the team with the best record in baseball. And makes the 2-1 for the week and 46-47 overall.
Reyes - Breaks the major league record for consecutive saves to start a career with 24
hitting streaks extended
Paul Goldschmidt 13 games
DeJong 6 games
O'Neill 5 games
Bader has hit safely in 9 of his last 11 games.
The Cardinals are coming into a crucial stretch of games 7 straight divisional games. Then after two games in Cleveland, they have a nine-game homestand vs. the Twins, Braves, and Royals.
Next week starts with four games at home vs. the Chicago Cubs.
July 19 Jake Woodford 1-1 vs. Alec Mills 4-2
July 20 Johan Oviedo 0-5 vs. Trevor Williams 3-2
July 21 Adam Wainwright 7-6 vs. Kyle Hendricks 12-4
July 22 Kwang Hyun Kim 5-5 vs Adbert Alzolay 4-9
Followed by 3 games at Cincinnati
July 23 Wade LeBlanc 0-2 vs Tyler Mahle
July 24 Jake Woodford 1-1 vs. Luis Castillo 3-10
July 25 Johan Oviedo 0-5 vs. Sonny Gray 2-5
Let's hope the corner has been turned. We are 9 games out in the Central and 7.5 games out of the Wild Card.
Where will we be next week? Tune in and find out.
Thanks for reading.