St. Louis Cardinals: A major takeaway in yesterday’s game

After weather postponed Monday’s game, the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs played in tough conditions on Tuesday.

On the backing of a four game win streak, the St. Louis Cardinals came into Chicago looking to add even more pressure to the under-performing Cubs early in the season. The Cards didn’t get their chance on Monday thanks to the crazy weather we’ve had, but made up for it on Tuesday in some tough conditions. Even though to some it may feel just like another game, this particular game showed me something I didn’t see in the St. Louis Cardinals last year or in the year before.

What I saw in the 5-3 win was a sense of urgency to beat the Cubs, especially on the road. Last night in the broadcast, Fox Sports Midwest flashed a graphic showing the Cardinals record against the Cubs in 2017. The Cards went a measly 5-14 against their rivals and 1-8 in games at Wrigley Field.

Last night’s game however, gave me hope in things turning the opposite direction for a couple of reasons:

Scoring late when it matters

In the same graphic, FSMW also showed the record between the two teams in one run games. The St. Louis Cardinals went 2-7 against the Cubs in one run games in 2017, many which were blown leads or saves. But yesterday in a one run game, heading into the top half of the eighth inning, the Cardinals tacked on three more runs to put the game, then, at a safe distance.

Last year, and even some times this year, we saw the Cardinals squander opportunities to score late to put games out of reach or even climb back into them. But last night, the Cardinals pressed the issue to score runs late in the game thanks to a home run by Paul DeJong and a two-run single by Matt Carpenter, with the bases loaded I might add. Clutch hitting in the late innings is something the Cardinals have been missing as of late, and it was nice to see them come through in yesterday’s win.

Next: Waino bueno in 5-3 win

But what makes it more important is where the game ends up at the end of the night. If Carpenter doesn’t score two, Javier Baez’s home run off Greg Holland ties the game at three and that all too familiar feeling of a sinking ship comes back. What happens if DeJong flies instead? Thankfully, we won’t have to wonder on that too much, but my point stands.

Scoring late, no matter if you’re up one run or three runs, can make a huge difference in a game.

Bullpen management

For as much as I have raked Mike Matheny for his bullpen management, I also have to give him props when deserves it. Last night Matheny pushed all the right buttons when it came to the bullpen and his starter Adam Wainwright.

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Wainwright, who was vintage Adam Wainwright, made the most of his start last night, going five innings and giving up only one run. He managed to strike out five and walk four while giving up only four hits through his outing.

As the his start got deeper into the game, it was clear Wainwright was losing steam and I remember asking my colleague Josh, if the fifth would be his last inning. And sure enough, it was.

Matheny pulled him out of the game heading into the sixth inning and I was pleasantly surprised.

I’m not trying to bag on Wainwright either. But it was clear as day his outing was over. Matheny, recognizing the same thing, made the right move in pulling Waino from the game in order to preserve the lead the St. Louis Cardinals had at the time.

That is a move Matheny would seldom make in previous years. At times you would have to wonder how many innings he would leave a starter in with a lead with obvious signs of slowing down. But yesterday he made the right call and gave me reason to believe he understood what was at stake in winning yesterday’s game.

But his management decisions didn’t stop there either.

After Greg Holland gave a up a home run to Javier Baez in the bottom half of the eighth, he walked his next batter and out came Matheny. The Cardinals manager pulled Holland, who is obviously not right yet, for Tyler Lyons to face Jason Heyward. Yes, the same Jason Heyward who hasn’t done squat for the Cubs since signing with them.

Normally Matheny would leave Holland in the game to get his work in and see what he can do with some adversity. But not this time. Again, sensing the realization of this game slipping through their fingers, Matheny made the right call and brought in Lyons to finish off Heyward. Then brings on Bud Norris for a five-out save to get through the rest of the night.

THAT is the kind of managing you want to see in games. The difficult part is that is not the manager the Cardinals get every single time. But there is no question his sense of urgency to win last night’s game was out in full force. Let’s just hope yesterday’s win serves as a reminder to Matheny.

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The St. Louis Cardinals are back in action tomorrow against Jon Lester. Here’s to another Redbird winner.