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St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching thrives in every way

By Rodney Davis |

The St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff has continued to dominate, despite the bevy of injuries the ball club has faced thus far in the 2015 season.

Contrary to what people think though, it has not just been on the mound that the staff has excelled, but at the plate as well.

With injuries suffered by staff ace Adam Wainwright (out for the season) and ace runner-up Lance Lynn (15-day DL), many were anticipating a significant drop-off.

Instead the rotation has received consistent performances from everyone when called upon, including Jaime Garcia, who has been tremendous in his five starts since his return, Michael Wacha who could be going to his first All-Star Game in July, Carlos Martinez who has been dominant at times and the reliable veteran John Lackey.

The rotation as a whole, has a Major League-best staff ERA of 2.99, which is outstanding. However, of late, they have done their fair share of contributing with the bats, as well.

This past week, Carlos Martinez sparked the Cardinals’ rally against the Rockies on Wednesday with a third-inning, two-out single, later scoring in that inning and getting a second base hit later on during the game.

On Friday, despite the fact that he received no offensive support in three of his first four starts, Jaime Garcia decided he was not allowing that trend to continue and drove in a run with a two-out single.

That kind of effort is not lost upon manager Mike Matheny, despite the fact that the Redbirds have actually seen a decrease statistically from their pitchers at the plate so far this season.

The manager spoke to MLB.com recently about the staff and their output at the plate this season.

“I thought we had better athletes than what our at-bats were showing [previously], so it’s nice to see all of them taking better swings … But it is fun to watch these guys go up, and when they do contribute, it’s amazing what that does to the game, rolling the lineup over with some damage up there.”

Last season, the ballclub ranked among the top in hitting from the pitching staff, but this year they have found improvements from their pitchers from an individual standpoint.

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That shows just how complete the St. Louis Cardinals are: the toughness, the dedication to the man playing next to you and the job that Matheny is doing.

In my opinion, with what he has had to deal with – from losing a staff ace like Waino to daily position pieces like Jon Jay, Randal Grichuk, Matt Adams and Matt Holliday – the fact Matheny has St. Louis 20 games above .500 is astounding.

Some of it may be good fortune or the next man up philosophy panning out at the right time, but after 62 games, it is pretty clear that this team is head and shoulders above everyone else right now.

If everyone continues to do their part and fulfill their roles, winning every two out of every three games will be more than enough the rest of the way.

Next: Cardinals win again against Kansas City

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