St. Louis Cardinals: NL Central
Boston Mountain Publishing
Thursday, October 6, 2022, 9:00 AM
St. Louis Cardinals - #6
The St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Central division last week against the Milwaukee Brewers and have secured the #3 seed in the 2022 NL Playoffs.
They will face off against the #6 seeded Philadelphia Phillies starting on Friday at 1:07 PM (C) on ABC in a best of 3 series at Busch Stadium. Their final record in the regular season is 93-69, 7 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cardinals are having a season for the ages as Adam Wainwright (P), Yadier Molina (C), and Albert Pujols (DH) are all planning to retire at the end of this season and they were not going to leave Busch Stadium quietly. Wainwright and Molina teamed up for their 325th start together a few of weeks ago which set a new MLB record as a Pitcher/Catcher duo that will be near impossible to break. Last week, Pujols blasted his 701st career HR into Big Mac Land, which is in the 3rd Deck of Busch Stadium. The Cardinals also had 5 All-Stars on the roster for 2022. There has been a lot of excitement in St. Louis the second half of the season.
This is the first year leading the Cardinals for Oliver Marmol, and this is also the first year for him to be a manager in the majors. He was hired by St. Louis in October of last year after serving as bench coach the prior 3 years. Before being hired as bench coach, he was the Cardinals first-base coach where he began in 2017. He is the youngest manager of a major league team at 36 years old. As a player, Marmol was drafted by St. Louis in 2007 and mainly played as a utility player over 4 seasons, between A and AA minor league ball. He has been involved in the Cardinals organization since was drafted. Marmol was drafted out of high school by the Pirates in the 31st round but decided to attend The College of Charleston where he played for 3 years.
The St. Louis Cardinals are currently the 7th favorite to win the World Series at +2000 odds at the Caesar's Sportsbook in Las Vegas.
HITTING
As a team, the Cardinals are 10th in the league in batting average, currently hitting .252 through 162 games. In the league, they are 10th in total hits, 5th in total runs, 7th in walks, and 9th in HRs on the year.
Paul Goldschmidt (1B) is currently third in the league in batting average, hitting .317 while appearing in 151 games in the regular season. He has 178 hits (7th in the league) on the year which includes 41 doubles (10th in the league) and 35 HRs (8th in the league) to go along with 115 RBIs (4th in the league). He has taken 79 walks on the year (10th in the league) and he is third in the league with a .982 OPS.
Nolan Arenado (3B) is 18th in the league in batting average, hitting .293 in 148 games this season. He has 163 hits which includes 42 doubles (6th in the league), 1 triple, and 30 HRs on the year. He has scored 73 runs and has hit 103 RBIs (7th in the league) for the Redbirds. Sidenote: Arenado has won 9 straight Gold Gloves, soon to be 10th.
Albert Pujols (DH) has been the talk of baseball lately, compiling 703 career HRs and counting. The 11-time All-Star has been a great asset to the Cardinals this year as he has batted DH, played 1st base, came in as a pinch hitter, he pitched the 9th inning and secured a win in May, and after the All-Star break found his swing for the second half of the season. Along with his HR chase, he quietly passed Babe Ruth and moved to 2nd all-time in career RBIs only behind Hank Aaron. He will finish his career 5th all-time in games played. This year Pujols batted .270 while playing in 109 games. He had 307 at-bats with 83 hits which includes 14 Doubles and 24 HRs to go along with 68 RBIs.
Dylan Carlson (CF) hit .236 in 128 games this season. He had 30 doubles, 4 triples, and 8 HRs.
Tommy Edman (SS) hit .265 on the season with 31 Doubles, 4 triples and 13 HRs. He also led the team with 32 stolen bases, 4th in the league.
PITCHING
The Cardinals starting rotation and their bullpen are ranked 10th in the league with a 3.79 team ERA. They are ranked in the middle or bottom half of the league in strikeouts, saves, hits allowed, and are holding teams to a league average .246 batting average on the year.
Adam Wainwright (P) has a 11-12 record on the season through 32 starts. He finished the season with a 3.71 ERA and has thrown 191.2 innings this year. Wainwright has 143 strikeouts on the year and has given up 54 walks. Wainwright has started 390 career games throwing a 3.38 ERA over his 19 years in the majors. He's totaled 2,147 career strike outs to date.
Miles Mikolas (P) is 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA. He's thrown a team best 202.1 innings in 32 starts this year. Mikolas has 153 strikeouts, a complete game, and has allowed a .226 batting average to opposing hitters in 2022.
Jordan Montgomery (P) was traded to the Cardinals for Harrison Bader from the Yankees before the trade deadline this year. He is 6-3 in 11 starts for the Cards. Montgomery had come in and solidified his spot in the line-up since August and this move could be John Mozeliak's best decision in years.
Ryan Helsley (P) is their setup guy. He is sitting at 9-1 on the year, throwing a 1.25 ERA while appearing in 54 games for St. Louis. He's pitched 64.2 innings and has 94 strikeouts and is leading the team with 19 saves. Helsley is holding batters to a .128 batting average against him.
Dakota Hudson (P) has 26 game starts for the Cards and is 8-7 overall on the year. He pitched 139.2 innings with a 4.45 ERA in 27 appearances.
Giovanny Gallegos (P) just signed a two-year extension with the Cards this week. He has come out of the bullpen in 57 games this year and has thrown 59 innings this season. Gallegos is 3-6 on the season and has a 3.05 ERA while earning 14 saves on the season in 20 opportunities. Teams are batting .197 against him.
End of regular season
Next Game: MLB Wild Card Series Best of 3
Philadelphia Philles @ St. Louis Cardinals
Game 1: Friday, October 7 at 1:07 (c) ABC
Game 2: Saturday, October 8 at 7:37 (c) ESPN2
*Game 3: Sunday, October 9 at 7:37 (c) ESPN
* If necessary
Check out our MLB Playoff Rundown by Team here:
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