St. Louis Cardinals: Matt, Matt and Matt are Catching Fire

The month of May has come to a close and the St. Louis Cardinals’ offense continues to be the best in the National League. Heading into June, the Cardinals look to go streaking behind a surging trio of Matt’s.

Matt Holliday, Matt Adams, and Matt Carpenter each started their season at a less than desirable pace, but as May came to a close, all three were large contributors to the St. Louis Cardinals’ offense. In series’ against the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers, the trio of Matt’s have proven that their bats can lead the way for the Redbirds. Here is a look at each player’s performance as May came to a close.

Matt Holliday

As of May 24, Matt Holliday was hitting a disappointing line of .234/.310/.442 on the season. The Cardinals’ left-fielder was struggling to put together productive plate appearances and was swinging at breaking balls that weren’t even close to the zone. From May 1 to May 24, the usually consistent Holliday hit only .212, while getting on base at a pitiful rate of .279. Overall, the career .305 hitter was having no luck at the plate.

So after all that it is pretty difficult to see how Matt Holliday is even being mentioned in this article. Well in the final week of May it seems that the 36-year-old has finally found his footing in 2016.

On May 28, it seems that Matt Holliday’s bat finally woke up from its’ nearly two-month long slumber. During the Cardinals’ third game against the Nationals, Matt Holliday began the streak that he is now on, going 2-4 with a home run. Including this game, Matt Holliday has batted a sky-high .550 average in the Cardinals’ past five games, going a combined 11-20 with six RBIs.

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One highlight of these impressive performances was his 3-4 outing on Memorial Day against the Milwaukee Brewers. In this game, Holliday launched a 466 foot home run that garnered attention from all around the MLB.

Holliday’s recent performances have risen his batting average to a slightly more respectable .262. Though his average did drop one point in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Brewers, as he only went 1-4. As the Cardinals enter the month of June, it seems that Matt Holliday might be getting back to his usual consistent and productive self.

Matt Adams

Matt Adams is the next Matt that has caught fire for the Cardinals, and it has earned him more than a higher batting average. Adams, through his recent hot stretch has started getting more playing time at first base over Brandon Moss, who has been taking on more of a bench role.

Adams, who many are still viewing as trade bait, has been a vital piece to the Cardinals’ puzzle as of late, while his batting average has risen as high as .327. Though Adams had fewer at bats at the beginning of the season and this number reflects more on his recent stretch, it is not to be overlooked by Cardinals fans.

When you dive into the numbers you can see that Matt Adams had an overall impressive month that was capped off by a few outstanding series. At the beginning of May, Adams held an average of .261 and was the Cardinals go to lefty off the bench, usually taking a back seat to Brandon Moss. In May, Matt hit .364/.411/.652 and his overall average rose all the way to .315. As stated before, this performance not only buffered his numbers but bolstered him into the starting role at first base.

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Though the Cardinals’ future with Matt Adams is still unsure, fans will always appreciate months like Adams had in May.

Matt Carpenter

Last but not least, Matt Carpenter’s bat has suddenly become steaming hot in the Cardinals’ last few games. Carpenter, unlike the previous two Matt’s, has heated up suddenly and much more dramatically.

In the first two games against the Brewers, Carpenter went off, hitting everything that Milwaukee threw at him. His unbelievable start to the series began with a 4-5 night, tallying two doubles and three runs scored. The second of the two games was somehow more impressive, as Carpenter gathered four more hits but this time, he scorched two triples and a double while scoring four times and gathering two RBIs.

Carpenter however, finally came down from that impressive string of hitting on Wednesday afternoon, as he went 0-4 in the final game against the Brewers. Even with the hitless afternoon, Carpenter left Milwaukee with a .266 average, which is .025 points higher than his .241 average at the start of the series.

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Though high numbers are not something that is new for these players, they had been absent to this point in the season. That is why Cardinals fans are happy to see the trio of Matt’s surging at the time when the Cardinals need to start separating themselves from the .500 mark. With more performances like these and the recent improvement of the rotation, the Cardinals may be on the rise.

Think the Matt’s are going to continue their hot streaks? Think they are going to fall back to their inconsistencies? Let me hear it! You can find me on Twitter @NChill17 or hit me up in the comment section below.