St. Louis Cardinals offense lights up in sweep of Pirates

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The Cardinals got the offensive outpour they have been seeking as they were able to sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend.

A number of storylines converged and made for quite a spectacular weekend for the St. Louis Cardinals. They swept the series, defeating the Pirates 5-3 on Friday, 5-4 on Saturday, and 18-4 on Sunday.

The best thing about it all was that the team looked like they were having a lot of fun. As the season moves along, if they can keep that going, it will be very important. From the old in Albert Pujols to their current star in Paul Goldschmidt and the brand new in Nolan Gorman, the team came together and looked great.

After the sweep, the Cardinals head back to St. Louis to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in a two-game set, a four-game series against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, and a three-game set with the San Diego Padres.

The series in Pittsburgh had so much going on. Let’s go ahead and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all.

Matthew Liberatore (52) pitches during the first inning of a spring training game at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports /

The Good

Two of the top prospects in the Cardinals system were called up this weekend. Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore were called up and made their major league debut this weekend.

Gorman was 1-for3 on Friday with one walk and an RBI. He was 1-for-2 on Saturday, coming into the game after Dylan Carlson was removed and Tommy Edman shifted from second to replace Carlson in centerfield. Gorman was 3-for-5 with three runs, an RBI and a walk.

Gorman doubled on a liner to center field in the first inning Sunday, scoring Tommy Edman.

Liberatore had a no-decision in his debut Saturday. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks, four earned runs and two strikeouts. He did induce five swings and misses. Bryan Reynolds hit an inside-the-park home run to left field, scoring Ke’Bryan Hayes.

Drew VerHagen earned his first win of the season after pitching 2.1 innings in relief of Liberatore. He gave up one walk while striking out two and inducing six swings and misses.

Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth inning, earning his second save of the year. He had one strike out. He topped out on velocity at 102.3.

Also, on Friday, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright earned their 204the career win as a starting battery in their 312th game as a starting battery. Wainwright earned his fifth win of the season, pitching seven innings, giving up four hits, three walks and one earned run, a homer to Michael Chavis. He did strike out three and induced five swings and misses.

Molina was 2-for-4 on Friday with two RBI. On Saturday, he was 0-for-4 with a run, Molina reached on a fielder choice, allowing Juan Yepez to score. Molina pitched, that’s right pitched, on Sunday in the ninth. He saved the bullpen but did give up four hits and four earned runs, including two home runs Yoshi Tsutsugo hit one to right field. Jack Suwiniski hit his fourth of the season to center, scoring Hayes. Much like his bestie Albert Pujols, Molina too has an ERA of 36.00. Impressive!

Giovanny Gallegos had a huge comeback Friday evening, earning his eighth save of the season, pitching 1.2 innings, striking out five and inducing six swings and misses. He looked sharp and confident in his return to the mound after giving up a walk-off homer the day before to Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.

On Saturday, Paul Goldschmidt was 4-for-5 with two RBI. Goldy doubled in the second inning scoring Molina and Edmundo Sosa. He had a single in the ninth that traveled 234-feet at an astonishing 108.5 mph off the bat.

On Sunday, Nolan Arenado was 1-for-2 as the designated hitter. He hit a sacrifice fly into right field in the second inning, scoring Tommy Edman. Brendan Donovan doubled to center field, scoring Gorman and Yepez in the second inning.

Harrison Bader was 2-for-5 on Sunday. He knocked a single to left field in the second inning, scoring Edmundo Sosa. Sosa doubled in the eighth inning to left field, scoring Gorman. In the ninth, Bader knocked his fourth home run of the season to left, scoring Andrew Knizner. The homer traveled 401-feet at 101.3 mph.

Tommy Edman was 3-for-6 on Sunday, with three runs and two RBI. Edman doubled to right field in the second, scoring Corey Dickerson and Bader.

Juan Yepez was 1-for-5 with two runs on Sudnay. He doubled to left field scoring Arenado.

Not a replay, @PujolsFive sends 683 over the left-field wall! pic.twitter.com/PHFqmptBAd
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 22, 2022

Albert Pujols replaced Arenado as the designated hitter in the fifth inning on Sunday. In his first at-bat, Pujols hit his third home run of the season to left field. This home run traveled 425-feet at 105.7 mph. In the ninth inning, he hit his fourth homer of the season to the same area in left field, scoring Edman and Gorman. This home run traveled 403-feet at 104.1 mph.

Pujols now has a total of 683 home runs for his career. He’s 13 away from Alex Rodriguez’s 696 career homer total. He is 17 home runs away from 700. These numbers seem doable if he gets on a streak fans known he is capable of doing.

May 22, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Angel Rondon (60) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bad

The injury bug made an appearance this weekend as well.

Dylan Carlson was removed from Saturday’s game due to a tight left hamstring.

This is concerning as he has been heating up recently. Brendan Donovan played in right field on Sunday, with Harrison Bader returning to center and Corey Dickerson playing in left.

Steven Matz was pulled from his start Sunday after four pitches that were down in velocity. He was holding his harm when he alerted he couldn’t continue.

Thankfully, Angel Rondon was called up prior to the game and available. He had been with the team’s taxi squad. Rondon earned his first win for the Cardinals after throwing five inning, giving up a hit and three walks. He did strike out four and induced nine swings and misses. This was his first major league win. T.J. McFarland earned his second hold of the season, pitching three innings, giving up three hits and a walk. He did strike out two and induced six swings and misses.

Carlson and Matz statuses are currently unknown. Tyler O’Neill is not elible to return from the injured list, so don’t be surprised to see Lars Nootbaar possibly return to St. Louis.

While the Cardinals optioned Matthew Liberatore back to Memphis on Sunday for Rondon, the Cardinals may be able to bring him back up before Matz next scheduled start. Rondon is expected to stick around to help with the bullpen.

May 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (16) hits a single in his first major league at bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

The Ugly

On the weekend where so much happened for the Cardinals, it was a huge bummer for many in Cardinals nation that the games were not as easily available to view. Friday evening’s game was the early game for Apple TV+’s Friday Night Game. Sunday’s game that featured two home runs from future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols was the Sunday Morning game on Peacock.

It’s wonderful that MLB is looking to reach a younger, more tech savvy audience. While it’s great that the Cardinals were showcased for a national audience on such a huge weekend for the team, it’s awful that many had to settle for watching on Saturday while having to listen to the games on the radio affiliate. Listeners did get a treat Sunday as Dan McLaughlin joined Ricky Horton and John Rooney in the booth.

It also served as a reminder that many Cardinal fans in the Midwest and South live in areas that are blackedout by MLB and could view if the have Applie TV+ or paid the subscription fee for Peacock.

For America’s National Pasttime, Major League Baseball doesn’t make it easy for fans to tune into their favorite team’s game. While it is a business, they should be better to their loyal customer, the fans.

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