BIRD BYTES
1. Don’t look now, but Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery have collectively pitched to a 1.90 ERA in their combined 52 innings in July. The Cardinals rank 7th in the majors with a 3.36 starter ERA in July. The three cited starters have allowed only four homers to 201 batters faced this month.
2. In winning five of their last six games, the Cardinals offense has averaged 5.8 runs per game and the attack includes a .302 batting average with a .813 OPS with runners in scoring position. That’s fine work.
3. Since the beginning of May, Nolan Arenado has 18 home runs and 54 RBI. That RBI count is tied with Freddie Freeman for 2nd in the majors over that time, and the only hitter with more RBI since May 1 is Shohei Ohtani.
4. Dylan Carlson batted leadoff for the Cardinals last night, not long after manager Oli Marmol told him the Cardinals would soon be going with a starting outfield of Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker. Carlson responded with his best game in a while, going 2 for 4 with a double, walk, three runs and two RBI. Before erupting against the Marlins, Carlson was batting .167 in July. It was nice to see Carlson is fired up and packed with energy, but unfortunately we don’t see that enough. I can’t quite figure him out.
5. As Tyler O’Neill returns to the lineup – he’s been out since May 5 – let’s revisit his current season: he’s missed 75 in-season days with a back ailment, has only two homers in 92 at-bats, and is slugging .337 on the campaign. O’Neill’s first homer came on opening day. He struck for his second la bamba on April 12. Since then, he’s batted .189 with a .264 slug and two RBI in 58 plate appearances. Going back to last season, O’Neill has only four homers in his last 139 at-bats. Time to crank it up, big fella. The scouts are watching you – with curiosity before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
6. Ryan Tepera? The righty reliever would have been a great pick up for the STL bullpen back in, say, 2021. But he cost money then. Tepera needs to diversify his pitch arsenal. I have no idea why he thinks he can muscle four-season fastballs by hitters; they’re hitting .400 with a 1.000 slug against the pitch this season. He ranks in the 28th percentile in fastball velocity. Translation: that’s bad.
7. Good luck to volatile lefty reliever Genesis Cabrera. If you do any traveling soon, make sure to check in with the reality desk. In the last two seasons Cabrera has a 5.38 FIP, a 20.7 percent strikeout rate, and has walked an average of 4.5 batters per nine innings. Oh, and 14 homers. He has real talent but is in the process of wasting it. And now the door is closed on the deal that sent outfielder Tommy Pham to Tampa Bay in 2018.
8. I’m in favor of giving Dakota Hudson another opportunity in STL’s starting rotation. Why? Well, I don’t know why exactly. How about this? The Cardinals need to find out what they have going into the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Hudson has a 1.80 ERA in limited MLB work this season and impressed with his recent 2 and ⅔ scoreless innings against the Yankees. Some other stuff ain’t so hot, including the 48.4 percent hard-hit rate against this season. Ouch.
9. With a hit and a walk Monday night Paul DeJong is batting .268 with a .321 OBP and .443 slug in his last 106 plate appearance. That, and stellar defense. Pauly is 8 for 19 in his last five games.
10. Some dude at Fansided wants to see the Cardinals trade Jordan Walker to Seattle. And that’s not all. He suggests including Nolan Gorman in the deal. OK, champ. Whatever you say.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie hosts a weekday sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS-AM. It airs 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4-6 p.m. on Friday. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the show podcast at 590thefan.com or the 590 app.
Please follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz
The “Seeing Red” podcast on the Cardinals, featuring Will Leitch and B. Miklasz is available at 590thefan.com, the 590 the fan app or your preferred podcast platform. Follow @seeingredpod on Twitter for a direct link.
All stats used in my baseball columns are sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Baseball Savant, Fielding Bible, Baseball Prospectus or Bill James Online.
For the last 36 years Bernie Miklasz has entertained, enlightened, and connected with generations of St. Louis sports fans.
While best known for his voice as the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch for 26 years, Bernie has also written for The Athletic, Dallas Morning News and Baltimore News American. A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie has hosted radio shows in St. Louis, Dallas, Baltimore and Washington D.C.
Bernie, his wife Kirsten and their cats reside in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood of St. Louis.
