Cards Face Double Trouble Today

The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Face Double Trouble Today
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The Cardinals went to Cincinnati looking to steady themselves after a rough finish against Pittsburgh.

Instead, they got a rainout, a reset, and now a full Saturday’s worth of National League Central baseball.

Friday night’s series opener between St. Louis and Cincinnati was postponed because of weather, pushing the Cardinals and Reds into a split doubleheader Saturday at Great American Ball Park. Game 1 is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. CT, with Game 2 set for 6:15 p.m. CT. The opener will be the makeup of Friday’s postponed game. (MLB.com)

For the Cardinals, this is not just another doubleheader. This is the next stop in the divisional gauntlet that closes out May — a stretch of games against the Pirates, Reds, Brewers and Cubs that will tell us a good deal about whether St. Louis is merely hanging around or ready to plant its flag near the top of the National League Central.

The Cardinals enter the day 28-21, while Cincinnati comes in at 26-24. St. Louis remains in the middle of a crowded division race, with Milwaukee leading and the Cardinals, Cubs, Reds and Pirates all still close enough to make every head-to-head series feel a little heavier than the calendar suggests. (ESPN)

Saturday gives the Cardinals two chances to get right.

St. Louis lost two of three to Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium, including a flat 6-2 loss in Thursday’s series finale. That followed a 7-0 shutout the night before and left the Cardinals needing to rediscover the offense that carried them in Tuesday’s 9-6 walk-off win. Two games in one day can strain a pitching staff, test a bench and expose weaknesses, but it can also let a club wash away a bad series in a hurry.

The first game lines up as Andre Pallante against Chris Paddack. Pallante enters at 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA, while Paddack comes in winless at 0-5 with a 7.07 ERA. On paper, that is a matchup the Cardinals need to attack early. Paddack has struggled to find traction, and Great American Ball Park is no place to let a scuffling pitcher settle into a rhythm. 

The nightcap is expected to feature Kyle Leahy for St. Louis against Reds right-hander Chase Petty. Leahy enters at 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA, while Petty is being pressed into doubleheader duty for Cincinnati. The second game will be televised nationally on FOX. 

That second game may be where the day gets interesting.

Doubleheaders are rarely clean. Managers have to think three innings ahead. Bullpens get stretched. A short start in Game 1 can put the whole day sideways. That makes Pallante’s outing in the opener especially important. If he can give the Cardinals length and keep Cincinnati’s offense from turning the day into a bullpen scramble, St. Louis will be in much better shape for the nightcap.

The Cardinals’ offense also has work to do. Being shut out twice in three games earlier this week was not just a cold spell; it was a warning light. This lineup has enough pop, enough athleticism and enough balance to be dangerous, but the Cardinals cannot afford to drift through early innings waiting for one big swing. Against Cincinnati, especially in that ballpark, traffic matters. Put runners on. Pressure the defense. Make the Reds’ pitchers work.

The Cardinals placed left fielder Nathan Church on the injured list Friday with a left shoulder strain, opening the door for Bryan Torres to receive his first call to the major leagues. Torres, who had been with Triple-A Memphis, joins St. Louis at a time when the club is trying to manage its outfield depth through injury and uncertainty. For Torres, it marks a long-awaited big-league debut and a chance to show whether his contact skills, speed and defensive versatility can help stabilize a Cardinals roster that has leaned heavily on outfield-by-committee answers in recent weeks.

There is also the Jordan Walker watch. Walker was hit on the right wrist during the Pittsburgh series and left the game, creating real concern because wrist trouble for a power hitter is never just a footnote. His availability Saturday will be worth monitoring closely. The Cardinals need his bat, but they need him healthy more than they need him rushed into a May doubleheader.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, has its own storyline with Eugenio Suárez expected to return to the Reds’ lineup after having to wait through Friday’s rainout. That adds another power threat to a Reds club already capable of doing damage in its home park. 

This is the kind of day that can swing a road trip.

Take both games, and the Cardinals leave Cincinnati with the division roadshow back on track. Split, and they live to fight Sunday. Drop both, and suddenly the rainout becomes the least of their concerns.

That is baseball in the division. It does not always arrive neatly. Sometimes it comes in nine innings. Sometimes it comes in 18. Sometimes it comes after the tarp has been rolled up and everybody has to reset the rotation card.

The Cardinals do not need style points Saturday.

They need innings from their starters, better at-bats from the lineup, clean defense, and enough old-fashioned road toughness to get through a long day in Cincinnati.

Game Info
Matchup: St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
Game 1: 12:10 p.m. CT
Probable pitchers: Andre Pallante vs. Chris Paddack
TV: Cardinals.TV / Reds.TV / KMOV-4

Game 2: 6:15 p.m. CT
Probable pitchers: Kyle Leahy vs. Chase Petty
TV: FOX

The Cardinal Chronicle
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.