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 The next-man-up mentality continues to serve him and his team well.
The Cardinals have been without Opening Day starter Adam Wainwright
and middle-of-the-order batters Matt Holliday and Matt Adams for
extended periods this season, yet they still were the first major
league team to 80 wins. They remain on pace for triple-digit
victories and their fourth straight playoff appearance since Matheny
took over for Tony La Russa in 2012.
It is nothing new. Catcher and linchpin Yadier Molina and
right-hander Michael Wacha missed two months in 2014, but the
Cardinals still finished with 90 victories and the National League
Central title.
"It seems like every year we have key components who go down for a
significant amount of time," Matheny said. "This year we've had our
challenges, but every team does. Nobody is going to give you any
pity, sympathy.
"It has given great opportunities for some of our young players to
step up into bigger roles or even get an opportunity. There are pros
and cons to it. The exciting part of it is, we have quite a few of
these big pieces who are close to coming back, and hopefully that
will help us put a good strong push on."
Although there is no official timetable, Adams is expected back in a
week or so, and Holliday could be right behind. Adams sustained a
right quadriceps injury May 27 that required surgery, and Holliday
has been on the disabled list twice with a right quad injury.
When asked how the Cardinals manage to play through injuries to
their top players, Matheny had a ready answer.
"We are very intentional about that," Matheny said. "Understanding
completely that everybody has a job to do, and our job is not to
allow distractions or not to allow anybody to come in here and tell
us that because of this you can't do that. As soon as we start
falling for that, we are in trouble.
"I think we have enough veteran leadership around here, guys have
been on teams where big pieces have gone down. that everybody in the
baseball world says you guys can't compete because of that. I think
that is just an insult to them, and I think they throw their
shoulders back a little bit and say, 'Watch this.' Special people we
have around here."
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Team Report - St. Louis Cardinals - NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 83-45
STREAK: Won five
NEXT: Cardinals (RHP Michael Wacha, 15-4, 2.80 ERA) at Giants (RHP
Mike Leake, 9-6, 3.44 ERA)
PLAYER NOTES:
--RHP Trevor Rosenthal, who is tied for the major league lead with
41 saves after striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning
Thursday, will miss the weekend series in San Francisco. He will
return to St. Louis for the birth of his second child, scheduled to
be delivered Friday. He is expected to rejoin the team Monday for
the first game of a three-game series against Washington at Busch
Stadium. RHP Jonathan Broxton and RHP Steve Cishek could be used in
save situations in San Francisco, manager Mike Matheny said, as
could LHP Kevin Siegrist. Broxton has 118 career saves and Cishek
has 94. Siegrist has five saves this season.
--C Yadier Molina did not start Thursday, snapping a streak of 15
starts in a row since Aug. 11, although he entered in the ninth
inning to catch RHP Trevor Rosenthal. "He needed a day," manager
Mike Matheny said. "He didn't fight it. It's a good day for him."
Molina, hitting .280 with four homers and 53 RBIs, has 15 RBIs in
his past 15 starts. He has played 118 games, a pace that would take
him a handful of games over his career high of 140 games in 2009.
Molina has received some extra time off in the past week -- he was
removed in the eighth inning of a 9-1 victory over Arizona on
Tuesday and was taken out twice last weekend series in San Diego,
leaving in the eighth inning of an 8-0 loss Saturday and in the
ninth inning of a 10-3 victory Sunday.
--LF Brandon Moss hit a game-deciding, two-run homer and walked
twice Thursday. The homer was his first since joining Cardinals in a
trade with Cleveland on June 30. Asked if he knew it was coming,
Moss said: "No, you start to wonder. It gets to be a couple of
weeks. You feel good and you are having some at-bats where you're
hitting the ball well. Just missing ones and stuff like that you
start to wonder, 'Hey, man, am I going to turn this around?' It
definitely felt good to contribute." Moss had 15 homers and 50 RBIs
for Cleveland before the trade.
--RHP Carlos Martinez gave up four hits and three runs in six
innings at Arizona, and all the damage came in the second inning,
when he was touched for four singles and a walk. He struck out six
and walked two while making the Cardinals' fourth quality start in
the four-game series sweep. "He kind of reverted back to throwing
(early in the game)," manager Mike Matheny said. "He started
pitching in about the third. He started mixing his pitches in a
little better. Then they're off-balance a little, and it made his
fastball more effective."
--CF Jon Jay is set to leave for a rehab assignment Friday, manager
Mike Matheny said, although Matheny did not say where Jay was going
nor how many games he would need before returning. Jay, hitting .223
with a homer and 10 RBIs in 166 at-bats, has been on the disabled
list with a stress reaction in his left wrist since July 1.
--INF Matt Carpenter went 1-for-4 with an RBI double, a walk and a
run in his first start at first base since 2013. Greg Garcia opened
at third because manager Mike Matheny wanted to get another
left-handed bat into the lineup against Arizona RHP Rubby De La
Rosa. "He knows the position," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said
of Carpenter playing first. "He's played it enough. He's not scared
at all about being thrown in there and figuring out how to make
something happen." Carpenter, who has 32 career starts at first,
moved to third in the sixth inning.
[to top of second column] |
QUOTE TO NOTE: "(The changeup) was on tonight. You hope it is on
every night, but that's not always the case. Mind's racing, but you
have to do your best to just breathe and focus on one pitch at a
time. Trying to execute that pitch and on to the next pitch." -- RHP
Seth Maness, on the pitch that helped him escape a bases-loaded,
no-out jam in the eighth inning Thursday with the Cardinals leading
by two. St. Louis went on to complete a 5-3 win over Arizona.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Team Report - St. Louis Cardinals - ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
--CF Jon Jay (stress reaction and bone bruise in left wrist) went on
the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 1. He was taking swings
off a tee as of Aug. 11. He took early batting practice Aug. 26, and
he is expected to begin a rehab assignment Aug. 28.
--RHP Matt Belisle (right elbow inflammation) went on the 15-day
disabled list June 26, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on
July 24. He experienced a setback in his rehab in July, and the club
shut him down. He was throwing again in early August, and he might
throw off a mound in late August.
--OF Randal Grichuk (strained right elbow) went on the 15-day
disabled list Aug. 17. There is no timetable for his return.
--1B Matt Adams (strained right quadriceps) went on the 15-day
disabled list May 27, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on
June 5. He underwent surgery May 29. He started taking controlled
swings in the batting cage Aug. 11. The club considers Adams to be
ahead of schedule and might send him on a rehab assignment before
minor league seasons end Sept. 7, meaning he could be available to
the Cardinals by mid-September.
--LF Matt Holliday (right quad strain) went on the 15-day disabled
list July30. He is out with the same injury for the second time in
less than two months. The Cardinals hope Holliday will return by the
end of the season.
--RHP Jordan Walden (right biceps inflammation) went on the 15-day
disabled list retroactive to April 30, and he was transferred to the
60-day DL on June 30. He began a rehab assignment with Double-A
Springfield on July 23, then moved his rehab to Triple-A Memphis on
July 29. He halted his rehab assignment Aug. 4 due to a setback. He
was given a new strength and conditioning program Aug. 11 that he
felt could help him return to the bullpen before the year is over.
--RHP Adam Wainwright (sore left ankle and left Achilles tendon)
went on the 15-day disabled list April 26, and he was transferred to
the 60-day DL on April 30. He underwent surgery April 30. On Aug.
15, he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he would be willing to come
out of the bullpen if he is able to return this season.
ROTATION:
RHP John Lackey
RHP Michael Wacha
RHP Carlos Martinez
RHP Lance Lynn
LHP Jaime Garcia
BULLPEN:
RHP Trevor Rosenthal (closer)
LHP Kevin Siegrist
RHP Jonathan Broxton
LHP Randy Choate
RHP Seth Maness
RHP Carlos Villanueva
RHP Steve Cishek
CATCHERS:
Yadier Molina
Tony Cruz
INFIELDERS:
1B Mark Reynolds
2B Kolten Wong
SS Jhonny Peralta
3B Matt Carpenter
INF Pete Kozma
INF Greg Garcia
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Brandon Moss
CF Tommy Pham
RF Jason Heyward
OF Peter Bourjos
OF/INF Stephen Piscotty
-----------------------------------------------
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