St. Louis Cardinals: Mike Matheny Shuffles the Lineup

 Thursday night, manager Mike Matheny rearranged the St. Louis Cardinals lineup in the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers, closing out a 4-4 homestand. They went 2-3 against the Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, two teams they’re expected to feast on in the National League Central Division this season.

Before the homestand came to a close, manager Mike Matheny reordered the Cardinals’ lineup in an attempt to jump-start the offense. The centerpiece of that switch was shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who was dropped from his usual second spot in the order to sixth.

Right fielder Stephen Piscotty, who spent the first month of the season hitting anywhere from fourth through sixth in the order, replaced Diaz in the two hole. Thursday night’s starting lineup looked like this:

1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. RF Stephen Piscotty
3. 1B Matt Carpenter
4. 3B Jedd Gyorko
5. C Yadier Molina
6. SS Aledmys Diaz
7. LF Randal Grichuk
8. 2B Kolten Wong
9. P Adam Wainwright

The switch likely had more to do with Diaz’s early-season struggles than a desire to see Piscotty hit near the top of the order. Piscotty has struggled in his own right to begin the year, but he also has a full season and a half of major-league action under his belt, whereas Diaz only has five months from last year to hang his hat on.

Related Story: Should Kolten Wong Be Moved Up In the Cardinals' Lineup?

Diaz went 3-for-5 Thursday night out of the six hole, and even played left field for the final six innings because of injuries to Piscotty and Fowler. At the plate, he hit his fifth double of the year and recorded two infield singles, one on a bunt. One of the outs he made was a fly ball fairly deep into the right-center field gap.

His batting average entering play Friday is now up to .236. His on-base-percentage is hardly above that, at .250. That’s because he’s drawn only two walks so far this year.

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Diaz’s aggressive approach at the plate this season is different than the approach we saw when he broke into the big leagues last year. He’s swinging at more pitches out of the zone, and more pitches earlier in counts.

He made the final out of the game Thursday night, swinging at the first pitch and chopping it to the third baseman for a routine play with the tying run on first base and two out.

Diaz often gets credit, and deservedly so, for his ability to turn on inside pitches and catch up to major-league fastballs.

However, this heatmap on FanGraphs shows that he’s being pitched away a lot more this year. It seems that Diaz is in a sophomore slump. Opposing pitchers have video from last year to watch and dissect Diaz’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s up to the second-year shortstop to adjust.

With Jhonny Peralta on the mend and Jedd Gyorko entrenched at third base for the time being, Diaz will need to begin hitting to avoid being squeezed for playing time. He has Matheny’s confidence as of now, but being moved down in the order is a sign that the manager is willing to shake things up for the team’s benefit.

Next: A look at the remaining May schedule

With Fowler and Piscotty nursing injuries, Matheny might need to get even more creative with his lineup selections. Stay with us as we continue to update you on the statuses of those two outfielders, the progress of the St. Louis offense, and everything else you need to know about the St. Louis Cardinals.