Cardinals have become Paul Skenes’ kryptonite

Baseball has been blessed in recent times with rocket arms and boastful power bats. Not only is the talent at an all-time high, but players are getting started earlier than ever before. The ways of the blossoming superstar evaded St. Louis until this season. Cardinal fans are getting a taste of what it’s like with JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker during their breakout campaigns. Division rivals of the Redbirds are no strangers to this kind of talent. 

Specifically, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates has cemented himself as the second coming of Nolan Ryan. His flaming fastball, evasive sweeper, and signature ‘splinker’ have mowed down the MLB’s finest since his debut. 

There’s only one foe the towering talent can’t seem to crack, and that is the St. Louis Cardinals. 

In your dreams Skenes 

The Cardinal lineup has matched up against Skenes six times in his career. In those contests, the reigning Cy Young award winner is 0-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 50 strikeouts. The K-numbers and ERA highlight his persistent dominance. The Birds on the Bat find a way to solve the unsolvable every time, Benoit Blanc style. 

In his latest attempt to conquer the nemesis Redbirds, Skenes was rocked for four earned runs and eight hits in a mere five innings. The antidote to the Skenes’ virus is simple: outlast. 

Cardinal hitters were adamant about running up Skenes’ pitch count early, eventually leading to his departure after only five innings. This kind of strategy only pays off when you get along with ball four. This St. Louis team is best friends with the walk. 

The Cardinals have a patrol of hitters ready to take their base. Ivan Herrera, Wetherholt, Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, and Nolan Gorman all own walk rates of at least 9.8%. Herrera leads the way with a 17.4% walk rate, which is absurd. 

Just the beginning

Alex Stumpf of North Shore Shine described the recent dynamic between the Cardinals and Pirates perfectly. 

“[The] St. Louis Cardinals were that old high school buddy who came to town in PNC Park this week, and the Pirates regressed back to their 2021 selves.” 

The Cardinals have had Pittsburgh’s number for some time now, and even in a year where the Pirates are clinging to competitiveness, St. Louis can yell 'Scoreboardddd!'

This back-and-forth has hints of a rivalry as the Pirates and Cardinals continue to retool. Pittsburgh possesses young talents such as the aforementioned generational Skenes and the number one prospect in baseball, Konnor Griffin. St. Louis counters with Wetherholt and Walker. With so many ascending players on both sides, this is just the start of a long and eventful in the Skenes/Wetherholt era. 

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