How Brendan Donovan has turned around a slow start at the plate: Cardinals Extra

PITTSBURGH — As the temperature has climbed over the course of the season, Brendan Donovan’s bat has also heated up and provided the Cardinals with crucial production. He entered July as arguably the club’s hottest hitter of late.

Donovan, who had three hits and a walk Tuesday night, put up a slash line of .303/.349/.465 over the course of 26 games in June. He also hit four home runs, collected 16 RBIs and scored 10 runs.

“As much as I don’t want to admit it, I think just getting back into it after missing some time with the injury probably had a little bit to do with it,” Donovan said. “They say getting timing back — that is definitely one of those things — but also, I think, every year there’s an adjustment period.”

Donovan, who made his debut in 2022, missed the final two months of last season following internal brace surgery on his right elbow. He played through elbow discomfort that limited him to designated hitter for several weeks before he had surgery.

The left-handed hitting Donovan, who’d reached base safely in 15 consecutive games entering Wednesday, acknowledges there’s always a bit of an adjustment to start every season.

After all, pitchers spend so much time in the offseason on pitch design, developing and creating new pitches to add to their arsenal and teams are diving into data and scouting reports in order to recalibrate where they want to attack opposing hitters. That said, he also admitted the sub-par results got to him at times.

“I’ve always said, especially in the cold, pitchers have a little bit of an advantage,” Donovan said. “But for me, I was getting a little frustrated because I felt like I was doing a lot of the right things. Just getting a little unlucky.”

Through his first 29 games this season in March and April, Donovan slashed .228/.311/.377 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. A career .279 hitter during his time in the majors, his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was just .240 in March/April.

This last month, he’s posted an almost identical line-drive percentage (22.4% compared to 23.5%), groundball percentage (40.8% to 39.5%) and flyball percentage (36.7% compared to 37%) as he did during that initial 29-game period. However, his BABIP climbed to .329 in June.

Donovan said having a larger sample size of at-bats this season has also helped him start “honing in on” cues in order to help him find consistency at the plate.

He likes to analyze a two-week sample of at-bats at a time. He then uses that to guide the fine-tuning and adjustments he makes at the plate. Those adjustments then influence his pregame prep work.

“I feel like in this league if one team has success with something — and they all have their own philosophies and strategies on how they want to attack people — but if one thing works one series, then a lot of times you’re going to get it the next series,” Donovan said.

“If it’s one pitch — a breaking ball or if it’s a sinker down and away or whatever it is — if someone is having success and they have guys that can do that, then you’re going to get a bunch of them until you make that adjustment.”

Donovan began play on Wednesday ranked second on the club in hard-hit balls (95 mph or more exit velocity) behind Paul Goldschmidt.

“He’s feeling better about where he’s at swing-wise,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Donovan. “Even his misses are the way he wants to miss. The swing path has been super-consistent. So you’re seeing more productive at-bats.”

Helsley continues chasing history

Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley earned National League Reliever of the Month honors for June, MLB announced on Wednesday.

With his 31st save of the season on Tuesday night, Helsley set a new club record for the most saves prior to the MLB All-Star break. His 31 saves through 84 games are also the most in team history. He passed Hall of Famer Lee Smith for both marks.

“Just looking back on it, obviously I’ve had a busy first half,” Helsley said. “Not only I’m pitching well, but all the other guys down in the bullpen are too to get me in the ninth. Our team is playing good ball to get me in there and get me opportunities. So I think it’s not just me that deserves the credit, a lot of other guys too. It’s pretty cool to look back on and see where I’ve come to thus far.”

Helsley has converted 31 consecutive save opportunities, and he entered Wednesday with a 2.54 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 16 walks and a 1.15 WHIP in 39 innings.

He has mounted his assault on the record books despite having battled inconsistent fastball command during stretches this season.

“I felt like I just lost the feel of my fastball, I guess, for a couple weeks there,” Helsley said. “I just tried to compensate for it and kind of go outside my mechanics for a little bit.”

Helsley said he’s still trying to get more consistent in that regard, but added he definitely feels better and hopes to continue to make progress.

Nootbaar plays the full game

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar played the full game in the field for Double-A Springfield on his minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday night. Nootbaar, who is on the injured list with an oblique strain, been progressively playing more each game with Springfield.

Tuesday marked the first time he’d played a full game. He started in right field and went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored.

He was scheduled to serve as the designated hitter for Springfield on Wednesday night.

• Catcher Ivan Herrera (lower back tightness) is set to begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday with Triple-A Memphis. He’s expected to catch five innings.
• Left-handed pitcher Steven Matz (lower back strain) received clearance to begin throwing on Thursday.

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After winning the opener, the Cardinals continue a three-game road series Wednesday against the Pirates. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m.

Right-hander Miles Mikolas (6-7, 5.32) will take the mound for the Cardinals. His last outing, in which he gave up nine earned runs to the Reds, was one of his worst in his career.

“I kind of stunk out there," he said after the game. "With the bullpen a little short-staffed today, it was not a good day for me to stink."

The Pirates will send out right-hander Jared Jones (5-6, 3.66), their other star rookie starting pitcher.

Jones, who hasn't pitched since June 22 as the Pirates manage his workload, is averaging 9.73 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, which ranks 15th among qualified starters.

His slider is one of the better breaking pitches in baseball, and hitters are averaging just .183 against it.

His fastball, at 97.8 miles per hour, is the second-fastest among starters, second to the Reds' Hunter Greene, who faced the Cardinals on Sunday.

The Cardinals have never faced Jones.

The Cardinals are 44-40, second in the NL Central and six games out of first. St. Louis has won eight of 11 to reach a season-best four games above .500.

The Pirates are 40-44, third in the NL Central. The Bucs have won just one of their four meetings with the Cardinals this season.

Pittsburgh's .655 team OPS is third-worst in baseball.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Masyn Winn, SS

2. Alec Burleson, RF

3. Willson Contreras, C

4. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B

5. Brendan Donovan, LF

6. Nolan Arenado, 3B

7. Brandon Crawford, DH

8. Nolan Gorman, 2B

9. Michael Siani, CF

P: Miles Mikolas, RHP

PIRATES

1. Andrew McCutchen, DH

2. Bryan Reynolds, LF

3. Oneil Cruz, SS

4. Edward Olivares, RF

5. Rowdy Tellez, 1B

6. Nick Gonzales, 2B

7. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B

8. Joey Bart, C

9. Jack Suwinski, CF

P: Jared Jones, RHP

Injury report

Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain): Nootbaar will continue a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield that he began on Friday. On Tuesday, he played all nine innings for the first time. Nootbaar told reporters he'd likely play in six rehab games before being able to come off the injured list. Updated July 3

Tommy Edman (wrist surgery): Edman rejoined the team to continue his rehab in St. Louis last week after he spent time at the club's spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida. He took batting practice on the field on Tuesday, when he suffered a 'relatively mild' sprained ankle. He took swings on Friday, and he came out of that feeling good. He will not return to Florida when the team heads out on the road next week. He could join a minor-league affiliate in the coming week, depending on how he recovers from activity this weekend. Updated June 29

Ivan Herrera (lower back tightness): Herrera was placed on the 10-day IL ahead of a June 22 game against the Giants. Herrera said his back locked up while picking up his bag coming off the bus in Birmingham, Alabama. He will begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday with Triple-A Memphis. He's expected to catch five innings. Updated July 3

Riley O'Brien (flexor tendon): The right-hander was slated to pitch for Double-A Springfield on June 18, however he had trouble bouncing back from his last outing. O'Brien was sent for an MRI, which came back clean. He resumed a throwing program. There is not set date for when he could pitch in a rehab game. Updated June 24

Steven Matz (lower back stiffness): Matz received clearance to being throwing on Thursday after suffering a setback in his rehab process that prevented him from throwing for two weeks. Matz will need another full progression to work his way back to the mound. He experienced lingering soreness the morning following a June rehab outing, leading to a lengthy setback. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said the best-case scenario is a four-to-six week recovery time for Matz. Updated July 3

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PITTSBURGH — Nolan Gorman knew that one way or another, he’d added to the Cardinals run total. With the funk he’d been in at the plate of late, Gorman would’ve taken some measure of solace from a sacrifice fly.

When he launched a ball to the deepest part of PNC Park with the bases loaded on Tuesday night, Gorman had just finished a 2-for-30 stretch at the plate. The previous four weeks were a grind for Gorman, the left-handed hitting slugger.

With one well timed and deftly synchronized swing, Gorman delivered four runs on a 415-foot blast to left-center field — where the wall juts out to 410 feet — and notched the second grand slam of his major-league career. He turned around a two-strike sweeper from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller and sent it into the stands to put the Cardinals on their way to a 7-4 win in the series opener of a three-game set.

“I put the barrel on the ball,” Gorman said. “So whatever happened there in that situation with the bases loaded and not outs, I got a job done. I’m just glad it went over the fence too. That helped.”

Gorman went 2 for 4 with a single to go along with his 17th home run of the season. The grand slam gave the Cardinals (44-40) a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning.

It put Keller, the leader of the Pirates’ rotation, temporarily on his heels and gave Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson maneuvering room that he didn’t know he needed.

The Cardinals entered the night scoring an average of 3.95 runs per game, and Keller entered with a 3.20 ERA. The Pirates’ right-hander and opening day starting pitcher, Keller held the Cardinals to two base runners the first time through the lineup. He hit Willson Contreras with a pitch and gave up a single to Brendan Donovan (3 for 4).

The second time through the lineup, the Cardinals scored more runs than Keller had given up in any outing this season. In his second at-bat of the day, rookie shortstop Masyn Winn doubled down the right field line with one out in the third inning. Then Alec Burleson smacked a two-run home run into the right field stands.

The Cardinals carried that 2-0 lead into the fourth inning.

Donovan smacked a leadoff single up the middle to start the fourth, then Nolan Arenado reached on catcher’s interference and Matt Carpenter blooped a single into left field. That brought Gorman to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs.

Last season, Gorman’s 27 home runs led the Cardinals and were the third highest single-season total by a primary second baseman in franchise history behind Rogers Hornsby’s 42 homers in 1922 and Hornsby’s 39 homers in 1925.

However, something had gone awry with Gorman’s wing in recent weeks. In 93 plate appearances (84 at-bats) from June 5-June 30, Gorman had gone 7 for 84 with a .083 batting average and 37 strikeouts.

That’s why Gorman would have taken satisfaction from squaring up the baseball with the bat and driving it deep to the middle of the field even if it were just a sacrifice fly.

Though he made sure to add that “the work has got to continue.” 

Gorman has been working with the Cardinals hitting coaches to fix his swing mechanics, including pregame work he’d done earlier in the day before batting practice.

“I think anybody going through the failure that we go through, it would be tough,” Gorman said of handling his recent struggles. “But I think we all know that this is a game. We love to play it, and there’s always another day to play this game. So you can’t put too much on yourself and beat yourself up. You’ve got to go out there and compete again for another nine innings against a professional team, so you’ve got to turn the page real quick.”

Keller (9-5) lasted just one more inning, and he finished the day having allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits in five innings.

“That’s one thing we need to continue to do a better job of is not letting these starters off the hook,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Today, that was huge. Burleson gets that homer, and then we get the bases loaded and Gorman comes through there. Really nice job by him.

"(Paul Goldschmidt) is starting to swing a really good bat as well. He’s staying on the ball. We saw some good swings out of him, Donovan.”

Marmol, the youngest manager in Major League Baseball, turned 38 on Tuesday. The Cardinals improved to 3-0 on his birthday since he became manager prior to the 2022 season.

The runs scored on Gorman’s grand slam proved vital to the Cardinals’ win.

Gibson (6-3) started Tuesday’s outing with five strikeouts in his first two innings. He also struck out the side in the fourth inning and pushed his total to eight for the game. He finished one strikeout shy of his season high of nine against the Detroit Tigers on April 30.

However, the Pirates four runs in the fifth inning. A slow roller off the end of the bat by Rowdy Tellez trickled onto the infield grass for a leadoff single. Nick Gonzales singled on a line drive to left field, and that put two men on base.

Then Jack Suwinski belted a fastball on the inner half of the plate for a one-out, three-run home run. That cut the Cardinals' six-run lead in half. With two outs in the inning, Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run to center field and made the score 6-4.

“Being realistic, they put two good swings on it,” Gibson said. “That’s what big league hitters will do. I left both those pitches in sports where they can hit them well. Cutch did a good job and so did Suwinski. It’s frustrating, obviously, that two-hard hit balls is what does you in for four runs.

"But other than that, I felt good. So a lot of good things to build on. A lot of things to be realistic about and understand that the four runs probably doesn’t show quite how I threw. I would’ve like to get deeper in that game. That’s for sure.”

The Cardinals had five extra-base hits against Keller, including the two home runs. The Pirates (40-44) had just two extra-base hits, their two homers, and all of their runs scored on those two big swings.

Gorman’s four-run blast kept the Cardinals in the lead despite the Pirates’ home runs.

“That’s a big-time job for the pitching staff when they do that,” Gibson said of the Cardinals offense adding on runs. “It really allows us to go out there and attack and, unfortunately, give up four runs and still feel really confident that you’re going to win the game. Right? Then to add on there as well (in the seventh), just gives the bullpen breathing room.

“We know that we’ve got a good offense. We know that we have a lot of professional hitters that put together really good at-bats. Even Gorman, I know he’s going through it, and it’s been tough. But what a day for him to stay with it. He’s just got to stay confident, stay in his swing and understand that when he puts good swings on the pitches that he can hit — that’s what he can do.”

The Cardinals added a final insurance run in the seventh inning when Goldschmidt (2 for 5) hit his second double of the day and scored on Donovan’s third single of the game, a line drive over the infield and into shallow right field.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Marmol proclaimed his confidence in Gorman’s ability to get his swing back on track and be a big factor in the second half of the season for the Cardinals offense.

Following the game, Marmol doubled down on that sentiment.

“I trust this guy a lot,” Marmol said. “I love his demeanor. I love the way he goes about his business. To his credit, you walk in and you can’t tell if he’s been 0-for4 or 4-for-4. He has been very consistent during this stretch that has not been easy. You pull for guys like that.

"This is a guy we trust, and he’s going to come up big in this second half for us. Hopefully, this is the start of it.”

Following his first two-hit game since June 4, Gorman was asked whether he felt he may have found something at the plate or whether it was too soon to make that declaration.

“I definitely think it could be the start to something,” Gorman said. “I think that I made some strides, definitely, today. With just loading and getting in a better position to hit. So yeah, I think I’m going in the right direction right now.”

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Cardinals infield prospect Thomas Saggese punctuated a four-hit performance on Tuesday by delivering his most impactful swing of the night.

Having singled in three of his first four at-bats against Nashville, Saggese hit a towering three-run home run to left-center field, lifting the Redbirds to a 13-11 win in 10 innings against Nashville.

The four-hit night set a season-high for Saggese and gave him seven hits in his last two games. The 22-year-old, who went three-for-four with a triple on Monday, had gone 15 games without homering entering Tuesday’s game at AutoZone Park. Saggese’s three-run home run traveled 379 feet and was the infield prospect’s ninth of the Triple-A season. 

Following the four-hit game, Saggese is batting .241 with a .403 slugging percentage in 72 games during his first full season in Triple-A. His back-to-back multi-hit games to begin July come after he batted .209 with six extra-base hits and 10 RBIs across 22 games in June. Three of his four hits on Tuesday including his home run had exit velocities above 100 mph, per Statcast.

Here are other Cardinals minor league performances from Tuesday:

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar, Class AA Springfield (rehab assignment): Nootbaar played a full nine innings in a rehab game with Springfield as planned. Nootbaar played right field and went two-for-five with a double and a run scored. Nootbaar (oblique strain) has played four games since beginning a rehab assignment on Friday. Tuesday marked his first time playing a full nine innings since beginning his rehab. Nootbaar has been on the IL since the end of May.

Center fielder Victor Scott II, Class AAA Memphis: Two innings after driving in a run with a sacrifice fly, Scott helped cut a four-run deficit with a two-run double in the seventh inning of Memphis’s win. Scott lined a 2-0 cutter to the right field corner for a stand-up double on a ball he hit with a 102 mph exit velocity. The three RBIs from the 23-year-old were a season-high for him at any level this year. Scott, the Cardinals’ opening-day center fielder, is batting .210 with a .280 on-base percentage through 55 Triple-A games.

Left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, Class AA Springfield: The 2022 first-round pick completed two scoreless innings on 39 pitches (24 strikes) and struck out three batters before he was removed at the start of the third inning during Springfield’s 7-3 win over Northwest Arkansas. It was not immediately clear if Hjerpe’s exit was related to an injury. The lefty came into Tuesday’s start having not allowed a hit in his last 10 innings. He’s posted a 3.07 ERA and totaled 14 2/3 innings in his first four starts since reaching Double-A.

Catcher Leonardo Bernal, Class High-A Peoria: Bernal singled twice and produced two RBIs in Peoria’s 7-0 win over South Bend. Both of Bernal’s hits came as a left-handed hitter vs. a right-handed pitcher. With his two-hit game, Bernal improved to a .269 average and a .770 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) through 62 games in High-A. Bernal, 20, has batted .248 and posted a .729 OPS against right-handers. In 33 games since May 16, Bernal is batting .304 with 19 RBIs. He entered Tuesday with an .856 OPS in his previous 32 games.

Outfielder Matt Koperniak, Class AAA Memphis: Batting from the third spot in Memphis’s starting lineup, Koperniak led the Redbirds in RBIs with four as he went three-for-five with two home runs. Koperniak opened the scoring between Nashville and Memphis by hitting a solo home run to left-center field in the first inning. Koperniak collected his other three RBIs with a three-run home run in the seventh inning that traveled 420 feet to center field and gave Memphis a 9-8 lead heading into the eighth. The multi-homer game from the 26-year-old Koperniak was his third this season. Koperniak, a former Division III product and undrafted free agent, is batting .321 with a .366 on-base percentage and a .517 slugging percentage in 71 games with Memphis. He’s hit 12 home runs, 17 doubles, and driven in 41 runs.

Right-handed pitcher Darlin Saladin, Class High-A Peoria: Saladin improved to a 6-0 record as he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out eight batters in Peoria’s win over South Bend. The 21-year-old righty allowed seven hits and didn’t walk a batter in an outing that marked his second in High-A following a June 24 promotion from Class Low-A Palm Beach. Since his promotion, Saladin has maintained a 0.77 ERA over 11 2/3 innings and struck out 16 batters while walking two. Between two levels of minor league baseball this year, the Dominican Republic native owns a 1.76 ERA and has 78 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings.

Right-handed pitcher Juan Salas, Class Low-A Palm Beach: With six scoreless innings during Palm Beach’s 2-0 win over Jupiter, Salas notched his fourth quality start in his last five outings. The 21-year-old Salas struck out eight, walked one, and limited Jupiter to four hits. He improved to a 5-4 record and lowered his ERA to 2.44 with the strong start. During his first full season in Low-A, Salas has struck out 81 batters and walked 17 across 70 innings. Opposing hitters have produced a .202 average against the Mexican-born right-hander.

PITTSBURGH — Another baseball lifetime ago, Cardinals left-handed bullpen pillar JoJo Romero was a starting pitcher making his way through the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

The transition to becoming one of the most-used relievers for the Cardinals has come relatively quickly, and Romero admits he’s still learning to navigate life in a bullpen role. He said he’s benefited from the presence of more experienced relievers Andrew Kittredge and closer Ryan Helsley with him in the bullpen.

Kittredge entered Tuesday night’s series opener in Pittsburgh having made 39 appearances this season, while Helsley and Romero had each made 38 appearances. All three rank among the top 10 in the National League in the category.

“I’m just kind of watching how they go about their business, taking a few things from them and seeing if that helps me,” Romero said. “Or if I have any questions about why they do this on this day or something they do after throwing back-to-back (days) or whatever, I think using their experience and trying to apply it to what I do has been a big, useful tool.”

Kittredge and Helsley have both been selected as All-Stars in the past. They’ve each had multiple seasons in the big leagues as relievers.

Romero first made the transition to a reliever in 2020 while at the Phillies’ alternate training site. Even then, he wasn’t necessarily a one-inning reliever. He pitched more than an inning in four of his first 12 appearances in the majors in 2020.

Prior to 2020, Romero had been exclusively a starter in the minors. In 2021, he pitched in relief in the majors (11 games) prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in May 2021. He returned in the summer of 2022.

His first fully healthy, full-length season as a reliever came last year. After he pitched for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, he made 27 appearances in the majors and 17 with Triple-A Memphis.

Through the first 83 games of this season, Romero has pitched 38 times. He entered Tuesday night with an MLB-best 25 holds.

“I think the big thing so far has been knowing when to take the step back in the weight room and focus more on mobility to address certain needs or whatever the case may be,” Romero said. “I think it’s understanding that the body is going to take a toll out there on the field and understanding that I don’t need to go super-heavy in the weight room or doing a lot of stuff. Maybe sometimes it’s just going in there and moving around and just doing maintenance.”

Learning how to keep himself available and healthy over the grind of the season is an ongoing process for Romero, who said he also leans on the training and strength and conditioning staffs often as part of the process.

With each added day of experience, he gains more understanding of the adjustments he needs to make to his routine and his preparation.

“I think it’s more like a day-to-day basis where there’s going to be some core things that I do on a daily basis,” Romero said. “Some days, it might be I don’t need to do this today. Instead, I’m going to do a little bit more in the weight room with some stretching or some mobility. It’s just kind of addressing needs on a day-to-day basis.”

Marmol believes in GormanSecond baseman Nolan Gorman entered this week still leading the team with 16 home runs, but the left-handed hitting slugger has slumped badly of late before hitting a grand slam Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Gorman, who also hit a team-high 27 home runs last season, had gone 2 for his past 29 at-bats. Since June 5, he’d gone just 7 for 84 (an .083 batting average) with 37 strikeouts, six walks, two home runs and six RBIs in 24 games (22 starts).

“There’s some stuff mechanically that he’s working through — with his lower half, with his load, with his path — and just making sure that there’s a rhythm to that and that allows him to recognize pitches the way he is accustomed to,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said prior to the game.

“It’s something that he was out there early today working on, and our hope is that he just starts taking steps in the right direction. Him, (hitting coach) Turner (Ward), (assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen), (game planning coach) Packy (Elkins) and that group are working hard at getting him on track.”

Prior to the slump that started in early June, Gorman had a stretch of 20 games (18 starts) where he slashed .343/.429/.836 with 29 strikeouts, 10 walks, 10 home runs and 19 RBIs.

Asked if walks would be an indicator of Gorman making strides in the right direction as far as recognizing pitches, Marmol said, “Walks, doubles, I’m not really seeking the home run here. Getting him to feel good about staying on the ball and being a hitter is equally as important as anything, so simplifying it. I believe in this guy, man. I really do believe Gorman will get out of this here soon and help us in a very, very meaningful way down the second half.”

Nootbaar getting closer

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar was set to continue his minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield (Missouri) on Tuesday. He’s currently on the injured list with an oblique strain.

He’d played in three games with Springfield on his assignment entering Tuesday and was scheduled to play nine innings in the field for Springfield on Tuesday night.

Giants claim left-hander Ingram

The San Francisco Giants claimed left-handed pitcher Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Cardinals. The Giants assigned Ingram to their Double-A affiliate.

The Cardinals designated Ingram for assignment on June 30. In 14 appearances for Triple-A Memphis this season, Ingram posted a 3.93 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP, 23 strikeouts and 12 walks in 18 1/3 innings.

Since December 2023, Ingram has been claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers from the Los Angeles Angles, claimed off waivers by the New York Mets from the Tigers, by the Texas Rangers from the Mets, by the Cardinals from the Rangers and now by the Giants.

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The Cardinals will have their top pitching prospect and their fastest-rising prospect of 2024 as their representatives in this summer’s All-Star Futures Game.

Tink Hence, a right-hander and the club’s top minor league arm, and Quinn Mathews, a left-hander who has advanced two minor league levels since making his professional debut this year, are set to take part in the July 13 prospect showcase at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, it was announced on Tuesday.

Through 12 starts with Class AA Springfield (Missouri), Hence has gone 4-2 with a 3.29 ERA and struck out 73 batters in 54 2/3 innings. The 21-year-old has set single-game career highs in innings (seven) and strikeouts (13) all while he’s displayed improved command, which became an issue for him last summer during his second month in Double-A following a July promotion from Class High-A.

Hence began his second season in Double-A by posting a 2.10 ERA with 31 strikeouts and six walks over 25 2/3 innings through his first five starts. Hence followed his strong month by posting a 4.15 ERA and collecting 37 strikeouts in 26 innings in May. He exited a June 5 start after two innings because of cramping and was held to just one inning in his most recent start on June 23.

An appearance in this year’s Futures Game would be Hence’s second after he pitched in the prospect exhibition a year ago.

Since making his minor league debut on April 5 with Class Low-A Palm Beach, Mathews has posted a 2.03 ERA, struck out 113 batters in 79 2/3 innings and been promoted to Class AA Springfield’s rotation. The 23-year-old former fourth-round pick from the 2023 MLB draft owns a 6-2 record and has kept opposing hitters to a .143 average in 14 starts. He ranks second across Minor League Baseball in strikeouts, third in strikeout rate (37.2%) and sixth in strikeout-to-walk rate (29.6%), per FanGraphs.

With an improved fastball that has flashed upwards of 97 mph, Mathews started his professional career by striking out 52 batters in 30 2/3 innings in Low-A. A 0.50 ERA in his first 18 innings of the season helped him earn Cardinals minor league pitcher of the month honors for April.

The Stanford University product received a promotion to Class High-A Peoria by the middle of May and, after going 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA against more advanced hitters, earned a promotion to Class AA Springfield by the end of June.

Mathews made his Double-A debut on Sunday. He allowed two runs (both unearned) and struck out three over 5⅓ innings in a start for Springfield.

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There was once a Cardinals’ lefty slugger with a .930 OPS.

He’d homer in bunches and strike out a bunch, but it worked out well, considering the OPS in the "nines." And it was August 26 of the season.

What happened next was hard to watch.

As the 2016 Cardinals battled for a wild card, slugger Brandon Moss stopped slugging.

In his final 31 games, Moss had an OPS of .358. In 106 at-bats, he hit .094 with three homers and 39 strikeouts.

The Cards went 16-15 in those games and barely missed the playoffs.

“September Brandon Moss” is a reference some Cards fans understand right away, even today.

And that’s basically who Nolan Gorman was in June of 2024.

On June 4, the lefty slugger had a .829 OPS. He’d homered four times in the previous three games.

What happened next was hard to watch.

Gorman became a liability.

Since June 4 — 24 games — Gorman had an OPS of .305.

In that stretch, his batting average was a miniscule .083. He hit two homers and no doubles or triples. And he struck out an astounding (even for Gorman) 37 times in 84 at-bats.

The difference between Moss’ infamous September and Gorman’s infamous June was that the Cards won more with Gorman. St. Louis went 15-9 in those games. But let’s not kid ourselves. St. Louis needs its reigning home run leader to hit home runs. It’s tough to imagine the Cardinals staying afloat with “NoGo” a no-go (and Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado struggling, too).

“There are a couple things that he's been working on — making contact was big part of the discussion because the punch-out rate was climbing,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said before Sunday’s game. “He flew out deep (Friday) game and then (Saturday), made more contact (on fly ball outs). But I mean, yeah, the reality is he's going through a little bit of a funk right now and he's trying to figure it out. And he's grinding through it, but it's not a lack of effort or attention to detail on his end. He's been working like crazy. And it's frustrating for him. …

“Yes, (when he swings) he's always going miss under, that's who he is; he doesn't miss on the ground. So more contact is more of a conversation than getting underneath the ball.”

Gorman’s new walk-up song is “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” but the at-bats have remained nightmarish.

In his first at-bat Sunday, he swung-and-missed at strikes one, two and three.

In his second at-bat, the first strike was called. The second strike was one of the worst swings I’ve seen in awhile. And he then struck out swinging, yet again.

In his third at-bat, yep, he struck out swinging.

In his fourth at-bat, he didn’t strike out, yet visually it was somehow worse — he popped up high to the catcher, who caught the foul ball just feet from Gorman, who had begun walking back to the dugout.

Look, I want to believe there’s still some production in there. Even with a bad June and a pretty bad year (.187 batting average, .665 OPS, 109 strikeouts), Gorman still has 16 homers. That’s the sixth-highest home run total in the National League. But again, bunches — only five of his home runs haven’t been within two games of another home run hit.

And this year, he’s striking out at an unacceptable rate. He has K'd 36.5% of the time. Only one player in baseball — Cincinnati’s Will Benson at 39.6% — has a higher percentage.

But the Reds weren’t counting on Will Benson to be a pivotal player in a playoff push for 2024.

And while Gorman has improved defensively at second base, he’s still just OK. In fact, he’s at minus-4 defensive runs saved on the season, per Sports Info Solutions.

But as the Cards get healthier in the outfield — with the anticipated returns of Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman — that should mean more Brendan Donovan at second instead of left … and thus Gorman as the designated hitter.

Oh, and if you want to talk splits — against lefties, he’s got a .400 career slugging percentage and a .708 career OPS. This year? A .346 slugging against southpaws and a .590 OPS. Then again, it’s not like Gorman is "pre-September-2016 Brandon Moss" against righties.

For sure, there are many low-batting average, high-strikeout rate guys who thrive in the majors because they hit homers. Kyle Schwarber is perhaps the most famous of them all in the National League. It comes down to how many strikeouts can a team tolerate.

And for Nolan Gorman in June, there were just too many.

At least it’s now a new month.

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Willson Contreras returned to the St. Louis Cardinals lineup on Monday and received a loud ovation from the Busch Stadium fans.

If Cardinals followers squint really hard at their club on running the bases, well, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan and Pedro Pages still don’t look anything like Willie McGee, Lonnie Smith and Ozzie Smith.

Yet the current edition of the Cardinals, playing with a No. 24 patch on their sleeves in honor of recently deceased Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog and the innovator of “Whiteyball,” has become defined this season by tight games and an offense reliant on manufacturing runs and aggressive play on the bases with its two cornerstone sluggers — Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado — not having put up their typical power production thus far.

After having a day off, the Cardinals resume play Tuesday in Pittsburgh while standing three games above .500 (43-40) and in second place in the National League Central Division, six games behind the Milwaukee Brewers (50-35). The Cardinals passed the midpoint of the 162-game season over the weekend.

They played 28 games in June, 16 of which were decided by two runs or fewer. So far this season, more than half of their games have been decided by a margin of two runs or fewer (26 one-run games, 18 two-run games).

“I’m OK with winning by more once in a while,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said with a smirk following Sunday’s 2-0 win over Cincinnati. “But it does allow you to learn how to play in those games and understand the rhythm of being down two and still clawing back late in the game or being able to hold a one-run lead like the other day from the third inning on.

“There’s a mentality to that. That’s not easy to do. You’ve got to stay locked in. Every pitch matters. Literally a pitch can change the game, and when you play enough of those games it becomes normal. Some teams panic in those situations. We play so many of them, it’s our norm right now. I think that’s a good thing.”

The Cardinals salvaged a split of their four-game series with the Reds on Sunday. They scored just two runs, but that was enough behind starting pitcher Lance Lynn and the bullpen. That ’pen is anchored by major league saves leader Ryan Helsley (30) as well as setup men JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge, who rank first and second, respectively, in the majors in holds.

Pages, the backup catcher, had three of the Cardinals’ seven hits and chugged home from second on a one-out RBI single on the ground to right field by Burleson in the fifth inning.

“We don’t want to give any out away. We don’t want to give any at-bats away,” Pages said of the approach while always playing close games. “It’s just more making that pitcher on the other side work for it. If we do that, we’re going to be in a good place.

“The at-bats are going to come along. We’re going to score more runs. We have the offense to do it. Us grinding out at-bats and making the other pitchers work definitely helps us.”

Aggression on bases

In the previous weekend’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants, Pages and Cardinals designated hitter/outfielder Burleson combined for three stolen bases. Slugging second baseman Nolan Gorman also swiped a bag to bring the team total to four in the game.

Burleson’s first steal put him in position to advance to third base on a deep fly out and then score the game’s first run on a two-out hit by Donovan. That started a three-run inning. The next inning, Pages singled and stole second base. Burleson’s two-out single on the ground up the middle scored Pages from second base.

Stolen bases contributed to the club scoring two of the first four runs in a game they won 5-3.

A day later against Atlanta, a club that has had the Cardinals’ number in recent seasons, a four-run third inning by the Cardinals proved the difference in a 4-3 series-opening win. All four runs scored with two outs, and Burleson’s RBI double that drove in the game’s first run was the lone extra-base hit during that frame.

The fourth run, and ultimately the deciding run in the game, scored on a two-out, two-strike count delayed steal with Gorman on third base and Donovan at first base. Donovan broke for second and drew a throw from catcher Sean Murphy. Donovan got in a rundown long enough for Gorman to score from third.

In Thursday night’s series-opening 1-0 win against the Reds, the run scored when speedy center fielder Michael Siani tagged up and was sent home by third base coach Ron “Pop” Warner on a fly ball hit into shallow center field and caught by Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

“I think that’s kind of our offense,” Donovan said. “We’re always looking to take the extra base, take advantage. We just try to keep pressure on them. We know our bullpen is going to keep us in it. We know our starters are going to get us length. They’re going to keep us in the game. So we can pick those spots, and we can be aggressive in those situations.”

Last season, the Cardinals ranked among the bottom third in the majors in percentage of extra bases taken (23rd out of 30 teams) and base running runs above average (23rd of 30).

Entering Monday, the Cardinals ranked among the top third of the league in extra-base taken percentage (10th) and base running runs above average (ninth).

Asked about that difference this season, Marmol insists the pregame scouting work remained diligent last year and this year to identify and recognize openings to exploit.

He pointed to the difference in game situations. Last year’s team regularly played from behind by multiple runs. The Cardinals lost 27 games by five runs or more. The risk of running into outs or running themselves out of an inning when trailing by multiple runs often outweighed the potential reward of an aggressive base running play.

“It’s harder to do some of the things we’ve done when you’re down three to four runs,” Marmol said. “You just don’t take those chances. So the opportunities have been there, and we’ve also been in a position to take advantage of it. That combination helps.”

Making up for power outage

This season, the Cardinals haven’t had the luxury of relying on slugging and hitting the ball out of the ballpark. They’re tied for 21st in home runs hit this season. Their slugging percentage (.376) is below the league average (.393). They rank 28th of 30 teams in percentage of runs scored as a result of a batter’s play (not necessarily an RBI).

Goldschmidt, who has a career slugging percentage of .512, has scuffled. He’s batted .225 with a .361 slugging percentage and a .294 on-base percentage. He’s on pace for his lowest home run total as a Cardinal in a full-length season. He has scored a team-high 39 runs.

Arenado also has scuffled with his power production, despite batting .262. With a career slugging percentage of .520 and seven 30-home run seasons under his belt, Arenado has slugged .315 with just seven home runs so far this year.

Last year’s leading slugger Gorman, who hit 27 home runs and slugged .478, does have 16 home runs this season. His slash line of .187/.268/.397 has carried a strikeout rate of 36.5%.

Rookie shortstop Masyn Winn has stepped into the leadoff spot in the batting order and served as an offensive catalyst with a team-leading .286 batting average. Winn ranks second on the club in both doubles (16, behind Donovan’s 18) and stolen bases (eight, behind Siani’s nine).

“It’s huge, especially whenever we’re not slugging the ball around the ballpark,” Winn said of the aggressive mindset on the bases. “Getting every run we can, moving up the extra base is huge. Pedro (Pages) being sent today. We need stuff like that. He’s the slowest guy on the team, but we needed him to get it up in high gear and get there.”

Pages, whose locker is only two stalls away, overheard the comment about his lack of speed, smiled and yelled toward a group of reporters, “He ain’t lying.”

Burleson, who has moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order behind Winn in recent weeks, has become a major run producer for the club of late. He’s batting .278 and slugging .456 this season with 12 home runs.

In June, Burleson batted .271 and slugged .514 with seven home runs, 20 RBIs and 18 runs scored in 28 games.

“I think you look at different games and different guys, one through nine, are contributing,” Burleson said. “Some days it’s me and Masyn at the top. Some days, it’s Petey and Siani in the eight and nine-hole. It’s just when one guy is not going or one guy is not seeing the ball well or whatever it might be, somebody else is picking them up.

“I think just being able to have each other’s backs in the lineup is something that has allowed us to maintain when we’re not feeling great. I think last year when we weren’t feeling great, we weren’t feeling great one through nine. And it was terrible, and it didn’t look good. This year, we’re having guys step up and fill different roles.”

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