St. Louis Cardinals: Birds Sweep Braves at Brand New Ballpark

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May 7, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham (28) reacts with team mates after defeating the Atlanta Braves in fourteen innings at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

The St. Louis Cardinals swept the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park over the weekend. The Redbirds are now two games above .500 for the first time this season.

With a three-game sweep on the road against the Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals improved to 16-14 on the year. The starting pitching was solid, the bullpen got plenty of big outs, and the offense put up 21 runs on 38 hits in the three victories.

Since beginning the year 3-9, the Cardinals are 13-5 in their last eighteen games. In second place, they’re a half game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central Division and a half game ahead of the Chicago Cubs.

Who could have seen this coming when the St. Louis Cardinals came limping out of Spring Training after having a solid and productive spring? Who could have guessed this when players like Dexter Fowler and Stephen Piscotty and Jose Martinez (oh, and Jhonny Peralta too I guess) are absent with injury or on the disabled list?

While fans may not have predicted the turnaround of the record, the St. Louis Cardinals were more determined to hold onto their history (at least through 2016) of road victories.

The three victories in Atlanta extends the Cardinals’ road winning streak to six games, dating back to three consecutive victories against the Brewers in Milwaukee. The Braves now sit in last place in the National League East, at 11-18. Since winning their first four games at the new SunTrust Park, Atlanta has dropped eight of their last nine at home.

What was the magic elixir? Despite the loss of players, the St. Louis Cardinals rolled together a squad ready to go into a new ballpark and ready to play. With new “regulars” like Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia and recalled players like Tommy Pham and Magneuris Sierra, the Cards put on an offensive show over the three games.

The offense wasn’t alone as the arms on the mound held their own too holding Atlanta scoreless in two of the three contests. Mike Leake continued his dominance to stay atop the NL in ERA rankings and others wowed as well.

The Cardinals had all facets of their game firing at one point or another in the series. Here’s a look at the individuals that stood out in the sweep.

Starting Pitchers (2-0, 19 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 14 K, 2.37 ERA, 1.06 WHIP)

The St. Louis Cardinals’ starters continued to be very good, and this time it was the 3-4-5 pitchers in the rotation that set the tone for the team’s three victories. Lance Lynn and Mike Leake both improved to 4-1 on the year, and Michael Wacha, though he earned a no decision, left his start with the Cardinals in the lead.

Lance Lynn: W (4-1), 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 95 pitches (56 strikes)

Lynn’s sixth start of the season was his fourth consecutive quality start, and also his fourth consecutive win. He’s allowed just two runs in twenty-five innings pitched over that period of time. His earned run average is down to 2.04, third best in the National League.

His start Friday night was his second of the season in which he did not allow a run, and opposing teams are hitting just .205 against him this year. It doesn’t appear Lynn has missed a beat so far this season in his return from Tommy-John surgery. At the same time, he’s eclipsed the 100-pitch mark just twice this season. Both of those starts he threw 101 pitches.

Mike Leake: W (4-1), 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 91 pitches (61 strikes)

Leake continued his sterling beginning to the season, pitching into the seventh inning for the fourth time in six starts. He allowed just one hit through his first six innings of work, and the three-run home run he served up to Adonis Garcia in the seventh was the first time he’s been taken deep all year.

His fourth victory tied Lynn for the team lead, and his earned run average, which rose to the highest mark it’s been at all year at 1.79, is second best in the National League. Leake and Lynn have been the Cardinals’ best two starters through the first six cycles in the rotation.

Michael Wacha: ND, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 83 pitches (53 strikes)

Wacha and Leake are the only Cardinals starters to pitch at least six innings in all six of their starts this season. Wacha’s third consecutive no-decision Sunday was his fourth quality start of the year. He exited with his team in the lead 4-2, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead and he missed the opportunity to earn his third win of 2017.

Relief Pitchers (1-0, 13 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 14 K, 0.69 ERA, 1.15 WHIP)

The Cardinals’ bullpen often bent, but didn’t break against the Braves. Kevin Siegrist helped preserve the shutout Friday and earned the save Sunday. Trevor Rosenthal and Seung-Hwan Oh finished off Saturday’s win. Matt Bowman and Brett Cecil were touched up on Sunday, but the pen responded with five consecutive scoreless innings in which the Braves needed just one run to walk off with a win.

Seung-Hwan Oh: SV (7) , 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K

Oh earned his seventh save of the season Saturday. He hasn’t blown a save opportunity since Opening Night. That doesn’t mean he’s been wholly dominant, either. Pitching in the bottom of the tenth inning in Sunday’s 14-inning matinee, Oh loaded the bases by allowing a hit and a couple of walks.

He escaped, however, thanks in large part to his scamper to first base as he covered on a ground ball fielded by Matt Carpenter. That play extended the game to the twelfth.

Oh hasn’t allowed an earned run in nine consecutive appearances. In that time, his earned run average has dropped from 9.53 to 3.45. He has yet to string together a series of dominant outings, but the Cardinals will take scoreless innings from him for now as he continues to improve after a slow start.

Trevor Rosenthal: HLD (3), 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Rosenthal pitched in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday for the first time all season. He recorded his third hold on Saturday and pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning Sunday. In ten of his eleven outings this season he hasn’t issued a walk. That’s been key to his success so far this year.

Ten of his appearances this year have gone for exactly one inning. His other outing lasted only a third of an inning. But of those ten appearances, in eight of them he’s struck out at least two batters. In total, he’s struck out twenty hitters in 10 1/3 innings pitched. Rosenthal continues to be a late-inning weapon out of the Cardinals bullpen.

Matt Bowman: HLD (8), 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Bowman earned his team-leading eighth hold of the season Sunday. Pitching in the seventh inning, he allowed one run. Although it was unearned, it was his third consecutive appearance in which he’s allowed a run. He’s been scored upon in four of his last five outings.

That comes on the heels of eleven scoreless appearances to begin the season. Bowman’s workload and effectiveness will be someone to monitor moving forward.

Brett Cecil: BSV (3), 1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Cecil’s had an up-and-down beginning to the year, and he allowed a game-tying home run to Freddie Freeman on Sunday that tied the game at four in the eighth inning. For the third time this year, Cecil surrendered a lead in the late innings.

At the same time, those three blown saves are the only three times this year he’s allowed an earned run. Before Sunday, he previously appeared in twelve consecutive outings without allowing an earned run. He also made a nice defensive play off the mound on a bunt attempt by Ender Inciarte.

Kevin Siegrist: SV (1), 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Siegrist still doesn’t look dominant on the mound, but he’s now strung together seven consecutive scoreless outings. His save on Sunday was just the second time he pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning. In four appearances in the month of May, he hasn’t walked a batter, which is encouraging since he issued eleven free passes in 8 1/3 innings pitched in April.

Offense (21 R, 38 H, 10 2B, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 12 BB, 3 SB, .295 AVG, .273 RISP)

The St. Louis Cardinals’ bats were another big reason the team collected its second sweep of the season. They got off and running early, scoring in the first inning in all three games. Friday night, they spotted Lynn a 6-0 lead through four innings. Saturday night, they gave Leake a 4-0 lead after four. And Sunday afternoon, they led 4-0 for Wacha after three.

Recent injuries to Stephen Piscotty and Dexter Fowler forced Mike Matheny to shuffle up the batting order, which featured Kolten Wong and Jose Martinez at the top of the lineup in the first two games. Matt Carpenter, Aledmys Diaz and Tommy Pham paced the team in run production, and Randal Grichuk enjoyed three multi-hit games.

Matt Adams filled in in left field for the injured Martinez on Saturday, and produced at the plate as well. 21-year-old Magneuris Sierra replaced Martinez on the roster Sunday and collected a hit in his major-league debut.

Kolten Wong: 3-for-17, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K

Wong hit just .176 in the series against the Braves, but tallied a hit in each of the three wins, extending his career-best hitting streak to twelve games. He also hit in the leadoff position for all three games in lieu of the injured Dexter Fowler. Fowler pinch-hit on Sunday, so it’s likely Wong will drop back down in the order soon once Fowler returns full-time.

Jose Martinez: 2-for-7, 2 2B, 3 K

Martinez was next in line for more playing time with Piscotty on the disabled list, and started in left field and hit second in the order in the first two games of the series. Friday night, he swatted two doubles. Saturday night, he injured himself running to first base during his first at-bat. The club placed him on the disabled list a day later.

One wonders if Martinez, who earned an Opening Day roster spot over fellow outfielder Tommy Pham, will be ticketed for Triple-A rather than the Major Leagues once he’s ready to return from the DL. Martinez has hit well in limited time with the Cardinals this season, but Pham was even better in his first three games back with St. Louis.

Magneuris Sierra: 1-for-6

Sierra made the jump from A-ball to the Majors on Sunday because of Martinez’s injury. He started in center field and hit seventh in the lineup. He really only had one opportunity to display his defensive prowess in center, and tracked down a line drive in the left-center field gap with relative ease:

At the plate, he made five ground ball outs, but also collected his first major-league knock, a soft line drive

single

to left field. If Fowler is ready to return to the lineup, Sierra might not see regular time moving forward. He’s likely to return to the minor leagues anyway once Piscotty is healthy.

Matt Carpenter: 4-for-11, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K

Carpenter is finally beginning to find a groove at the plate. He went deep in all three games against the Braves, and now leads the team with seven home runs. In his last nine games, Carpenter is 11-for-36 (.306), with five home runs, fifteen runs batted in, and thirteen walks.

Over the years, Carpenter is at his best when he combines his ability to work counts and draw walks with his ability to drive the ball for extra-base-hits and collect RBI’s. He’s been doing both lately, and that’s why the All-Star continues to hit third in the Cardinals’ lineup.

Randal Grichuk: 6-for-17, 3 2B, 1 RBI, 2 SB, 5 K

Grichuk hit seventh, fourth, and second in the three games, but the different spots in the order didn’t affect his production. He collected two hits in all three wins. He hit three doubles in the series, and is tied with Wong for the team lead with nine. Accompanying the six hits at the plate were five strikeouts.

The Randal Grichuk on display against the Braves was essentially the Randal Grichuk that the Cardinals are accustomed to seeing.

Aledmys Diaz: 7-for-14, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 1 K

Since Matheny removed him from the two hole in the lineup last Thursday, Diaz has done nothing but hit. Even with an 0-for-6 day at the plate Sunday, he ended up with a knock in half of his at-bats over the weekend. He reached base in his first eight plate appearances of the series.

Diaz’s batting average is now up to .267 on the year after spending much of April in the .220s-.240s range. He also knocked in five runs in the three games, an indicator of the effectiveness of the lineup switch. The Cardinals need another run producer in their lineup, and Diaz has answered the call as of late.

Tommy Pham: 6-for-12, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, 1 K

Pham’s return to St. Louis is already well-documented: he missed the Opening Day roster and spent the first month of the year in Triple-A Memphis. All he needed, it appears, was an opportunity. That came when Piscotty went down with a hamstring strain.

Pham was in the Cardinals’ starting lineup Friday night, and made an impact immediately. He doubled off the wall in his first at-bat, and hit a two-run home run in his second time up.

Pham played center field Friday and Saturday, and shifted over to left field for Sunday’s game.

In the series finale, he went deep again in his first at-bat, but his biggest moment of the weekend came hours later, in the fourteenth inning. With Sierra on first base with one out in a 4-4 game, Pham launched a pitch from Josh Collmenter into the upper deck down the left field line for his second home run of the game.

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The decisive blast all but ensured that the Cardinals, who blew a lead in the eighth inning, would leave Atlanta with a three game sweep. Pham hit four home runs in twenty-five Triple-A games this season. He hit three in his first three games back in the majors. He’ll continue to get looks in the Cards’ starting lineup so long as Piscotty remains sidelined. His audition to stay on the big league roster even when Piscotty returns will continue this week.

Matt Adams: 2-for-6, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K

Adams, who started four of the Cardinals’ first nine games in left field, hadn’t seen any action in left since then. Until Saturday. Martinez’s injury thrust Big City back into the outfield. He caught the one fly ball that came his way without incident, but it was his day at the plate that opened eyes.

He hit the ball hard in all four of his at-bats. Two of them resulted in hits. One was good for his first home run of the season, a no-doubter in the fourth inning to extend the St. Louis lead. He struck out in pinch-hit appearances Friday and Sunday, but is quietly in the midst of a productive stretch at the plate after a rough start.

He’s 8 for his last 16, and three of those hits were pinch hits. Add a spot start in here and there to keep him sharp, and Adams can be a valuable reserve piece for Matheny and the Cardinals.

Next: A Look At the May Schedule

Next up for the Cardinals is a three game series against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park that closes out the six game road trip. The Redbirds have an off day Thursday before beginning an eight game homestand against the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants.

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