St. Louis Cardinals: Redbird Roundup Week 8

This is the eighth edition of the Redbird Roundup: a weekly St. Louis Cardinals notebook, check-in, and your one-stop shop for important transactions, movement in standings, player trends, and more.

Week 8 Game Results (5-2 in the week, 21-27 overall)

• 5/15: Milwaukee Brewers 1 - St. Louis Cardinals 18
• 5/16: Milwaukee Brewers 3 - St. Louis Cardinals 2
• 5/17: Milwaukee Brewers 0 - St. Louis Cardinals 3
• 5/18: Los Angeles Dodgers 8 - St. Louis Cardinals 16
• 5/19: Los Angeles Dodgers 5 - St. Louis Cardinals 0
• 5/20: Los Angeles Dodgers 5 - St. Louis Cardinals 6
• 5/21: Los Angeles Dodgers 5 - St. Louis Cardinals 10

One Paragraph Summary

The first few words that come to mind when evaluating Week 8 for the Cardinals: encouraging and productive. Following a 5-1 record last week, the Cardinals continued to claw their way back into NL Central contention with a 5-2 week against formidable opponents in Milwaukee and LA. The Cardinals got contributions from the Nolan's: Arenado and Gorman, as well as Oscar Mercado, Paul DeJong, and Tommy Edman. Special shoutout to Matthew Liberatore who pitched 5 great innings on Wednesday against Milwaukee.

Cardinals Week 8 MVP: Nolan Gorman

Play. Nolan. Gorman. Every. Day. In 6 games this week he slashed .458 / .519 / 1.519 with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs. Two of those Home Runs came against LHPs which mark the first 2 homers against left-handed pitching of Gorman's career. Among the many encouraging steps that Gorman has taken this year, perhaps the most consequential lies in his recent ability to hit left-handed pitching. If he continues to hit lefties that makes it a very easy decision for Oli Marmol to play him every single day. A confident and healthy Nolan Gorman playing every day lengthens the Cardinals lineup significantly.

NL Central Standings

• 1. Milwaukee Brewers: 25-21
• 2. Pittsburgh Pirates: 24-22 (1.0 GB)
• 3. St. Louis Cardinals: 21-27 (5.0 GB)
• 4. Chicago Cubs: 20-26 (5.0 GB)
• 5. Cincinnati Reds: 19-27 (6.0 GB)

Division, Pennant, and World Series Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

To win NL Central: +250 ($100 wager wins $250)

To win NL Pennant: +1800 ($100 wager wins $1,800)

To win World Series: +3500 ($100 wager wins $3,500)

Injuries and Transactions

10-day / 15-day IL: OF Dylan Carlson, OF Tyler O'Neill, RHP Jake Woodford, and INF Jose Fermin

60-day IL: LHP Packy Naughton and RHP Wilking Rodriguez

Prospect Watch

• The Cardinals 2022 1st Round Pick, Cooper Hjerpe, struck out 6 batters over 6 innings pitched on 5/16. Hjerpe has 44 SOs in 33.1 IP this year.
• OF Jordan Walker had a strong weekend for AAA Memphis. On Friday he clubbed a HR and on Saturday he collected two hits to bring his average in Memphis back above .200.
• OF Victor Scott II has 31 stolen bases for High-A Peoria. This clip leads all of Minor League Baseball.

The Week Ahead (listed starters are probable)

• Monday, May 22nd: @ Cincinnati Reds (Montgomery vs Williamson)
• Tuesday, May 23rd: @ Cincinnati Reds (TBD vs Ashcraft)
• Wednesday, May 24th: @ Cincinnati Reds (TBD vs Lively)
• Thursday, May 25th: @ Cincinnati Reds (TBD vs Weaver)
• Friday, May 26th: @ Cleveland Guardians (TBD vs TBD)
• Saturday, May 27th: @ Cleveland Guardians (TBD vs TBD)
• Sunday, May 28th: @ Cleveland Guardians (TBD vs TBD)

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.