Hochman: Is Ivan Herrera’s catching good enough to start most games? Cardinals don’t have choice.
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Crime is about to go up.
Be it from burglars in Pittsburgh to larcenists in Los Angeles, Tampa Bay raiders to Kansas City thieves.
Not only will it be harder for the Cardinals to score without Willson Contreras in the lineup, it’ll also be easier for opponents to score without Willson Contreras behind the plate.
This season, in just 17 games played, backup catcher Ivan Herrera has allowed 17 stolen bases. And not once has Herrera thrown out a runner.
It might be baseball’s version of death by 1,000 cuts. Simple singles will quietly turn into doubles. And from there, it will take opponents one fewer hit to get one additional run. It’s actually kind of frightening for fans to think about.
Now, for cellar-dwelling Ƶ, scoring is the seminal problem. With a light-hitting offense — when they even get hits at all — the Cardinals must muster as many 90-feet advancements as possible to possibly win.
But with Herrera catching, the opponents will have an easier time snatching 90-feet advancements of their own.
Contreras, who was scheduled for surgery Wednesday on his fractured arm, is out for the foreseeable future.
And again: 0 for 17. Sounds like a Nolan Gorman offensive stretch or something, but it’s Herrera’s success rate behind the plate.
“The (glove-to-hand) exchange and consistency of where he’s missing (his throws) is what you’re trying to improve,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday prior to the postponement of the Mets-Cards game.
Consider this: There are 20 catchers who have allowed 17 or more steals this season. Only two have yet to throw out a base runner: Herrera (0 for 17 in 145⅔ innings) and the Mets’ Omar Narvaez, who is a preposterous 0 for 30 in just 116 innings played.
And of the 20 catchers who have allowed 17 or more steals, only three have played fewer innings than Herrera.
The Cards are 3-7 in games Herrera has allowed a stolen base. That includes the close and frustrating loss at San Diego when Herrera was particularly terrible behind the plate, allowing a trio of steals.
And for some perspective, the Mets are 6-7 in games Narvaez allowed a steal. And in 2023, the Mets were 6-19 in games when Narvaez allowed a steal.
Asked how Herrera can better himself, Marmol said: “There’s arm-strengthening stuff, as far as just being able to get on a long-toss program and actually gain something there. But his footwork, exchange and being able to consistently throw and give himself the best shot on the right side of the bag is what he’s working on. A lot of his misses are on that side. And that’s something that’s technical — you can improve that.”
Clearly there is much room for improvement, yet not a lot of room to work considering all that goes into the regular preparation for each day’s game. The one-time “Yadier heir” isn’t going to turn into Molina suddenly when the Cards’ plane lands in Milwaukee.
The goal, of course, is to make sure he improves to where he’s not a liability.
Overall on defense, Herrera ranks 70th out of 74 catchers in defensive runs saved (minus-4) per Sports Info Solutions. And his defensive run value is in just the 11th percentile per Baseball Savant.
“I’ve actually seen the most growth in his preparation,” Marmol said. “He receives well, he’s continuing to work on his blocking and throwing, but the biggest improvement has been in how he’s preparing for the game. And that’s allowed him to slow the game down while he’s calling it and kind of navigating a lineup and working with the pitcher.”
Much has already been made about losing Contreras’ bat. The dude was headed for the All-Star Game. Herrera has shown flashes of lightning with his swing — he’s in the 84th percentile for barreled balls — but he’s hitting .232 with a .653 on-base plus slugging percentage.
One good thing is that rookie Cardinal catcher Pedro Pages is a high-level defensive player. So you can, like the Cardinals were going to on Wednesday, start Pages at catcher and Herrera at designated hitter. But that means you’d have to have Pages (career .763 OPS in the minors) take multiple major league at-bats during a game — this during a time when the Cardinals need as much offense as possible.
But Marmol already showed some shrewdness the last time Pages was up with Ƶ. Late in a game in which Contreras wasn’t catching, Marmol subbed in Pages for Herrera behind the plate. The reason? To reduce steals.
“It’s very important,” Marmol said Wednesday. “I mean, depending on who you’re playing, there are some teams that run a lot more than others, and you have to defend against that no different than when you make a defensive replacement in center field. If you have a catcher whose strength is that — and while you’re carrying three catchers, it’s easier to do, because you still have protection — you defend against it. And we were in a part of a lineup where I felt like (our opponent’s) way of getting back into this game would be by taking the 90 feet. So we made the move and kept that from potentially happening.”
Ivan Herrera shows 'confidence' in starting ability with Willson Contreras out: Cardinals Extra
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After arriving to the majors in 2022 and returning for brief stints in 2023, the big league opportunities through the first six weeks of the 2024 season were already the most plentiful of any stretch in the young career of Cardinals rookie Ivan Herrera.
The 23-year-old made the opening day roster for the first time and started behind the plate in the Cardinals’ home opener while regular starter Willson Contreras nursed a bruised hand.
Following Contreras’ early exit Tuesday against the Mets because of a fractured left arm, the rookie’s big league opportunities are set to increase. Herrera will take over as the Cardinals’ starting catcher while Contreras is out.
“We have great people here that support each other, and I truly believe I can help this team win,” Herrera said Tuesday night.
Contreras suffered a fractured left arm in the second inning of Tuesday’s game at Busch Stadium when he was hit by New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez’s bat as the slugger swung at a pitch. Contreras was set to undergo surgery on his fractured left arm Wednesday, manager Oliver Marmol said.
Rookie catcher Pedro Pages was recalled Wednesday from Class AAA Memphis as Contreras’ placement on the roster once the ailing backstop was placed on the injured list.
There is no timeline for when Contreras may return to play.
Through 24 games, Herrera is batting .232 with three home runs and a .653 on-base plus slugging percentage. He went 2 for 4 with two singles off the bench in the Cardinals’ 7-5 loss Tuesday. The pair of singles made him 5 for 15 in his past five games dating back to April 30. The recent production at the plate was preceded by a nine-game stretch during which he had one hit in 21 at-bats.
“I’ve been feeling good, man,” Herrera said. “There’s nothing better than struggling and then coming back right out of it, right? I think that’s when you know what kind of player and person you are: when you hit rock bottom. I’ve been struggling, but I come every day to the field grinding and grinding. Hard work is always going to pay off. It’s a long season.”
When looking at where Herrera has progressed since making his debut in 2022 when the Cardinals needed catching help because of injuries and inconsistencies, Marmol pointed to the rookie’s ability to receive pitches as an area where he’s succeeded and noted his blocking and throwing abilities are still developing. But it’s in Herrera’s preparation for games where strides have been most evident to the Cardinals skipper.
“Exposure to this level and realizing how quick the game gets when you’re not fully prepared,” Marmol said. “I think sometimes it takes that to realize, ‘Man I got work to do.’ And he realized: ‘I got work to do.’”
With regular playing time as Triple-A Memphis’ starting catcher a season ago, the former top catching prospect made strides in identifying how to attack hitters’ weaknesses, maximizing pitchers’ strengths and in understanding how to do both while seeing a lineup two or three times over.
Those strides on defense aided him to a breakout year that included a .297 average, 27 doubles and a .951 OPS in 84 Class AAA games. Herrera’s strong minor league campaign earned him Cardinals minor league player of the year honors and instilled confidence in the Cardinals front office to elevate him to a big league backup role and non-tender Andrew Knizner.
Following Contreras’ injury, Herrera feels his recent opportunities have set him up to contribute.
“I think this time has helped me gain more confidence,” Herrera said. “I don’t feel nervous in big spots. I used to feel really nervous. Now it’s like, I go out there, like I said, and do my best and put the ball in play and put a good swing on it. Most of the time, I’m just trying to control what I can control. ... I just have a lot of confidence right now that I’m going to be able to do this job.”
Starting pitching plans
Following Wednesday’s postponement, the Cardinals will head into their four-game road series against the Brewers with ace Sonny Gray set to start Thursday and Lance Lynn starting on Friday.
Kyle Gibson and Miles Mikolas are likely to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Roycroft strikes out 2 in debut
When he entered from the bullpen in the ninth inning Tuesday night against the Mets, Chris Roycroft felt his first jog to a big league mound was “a little nerve-wracking” given the milestone moment and the rush of energy Busch Stadium provided.
The 26-year-old rookie and former NCAA Division III product threw six pitches to Mets star Francisco Lindor and got the four-time All-Star to strike out swinging on a 96.8 mph sinker for his first career strikeout against the first batter he faced in his debut.
“It’s really great. I stuck to my plan. I executed my plan. Went cutter, cutter, cutter and was able to get the sinker down and away, and I got the job done,” Roycroft said Tuesday night.
The career moment was followed by a solo home run allowed to slugger Pete Alonso.
“Maybe I eased up a little too much on Alonso, but I missed my spot there. But we’ll get better there,” he said.
Roycroft, who was called up Monday, struck out former Cardinal Harrison Bader and, after allowing a single, completed his first inning in the majors by inducing a ground out.
Roycroft said he received the ball from the Lindor strikeout and plans to give it to his mom, who was in attendance Tuesday along with other family and close friends including his stepdad, grandparents and his best friend.
“It means the world to me,” said Roycroft, who began his pro career in independent ball after going undrafted. “Just having them in my corner like they’ve always been from day one from when I was a D-III kid and in independent ball, they stuck with me the whole way through.”
Ten Hochman: With Willson Contreras injured, what does Cardinals' Ivan Herrera bring?
Cardinals know ‘huge risk’ of catchers chasing metrics closer to home: ‘We just experienced it’
One of the smallest gaps on the baseball field is only getting narrower and more valuable as both sides scrutinize the data to gain an edge at the strike zone, putting batters and catchers ever closer together. Hitters are scratching back to buy themselves an infinitesimal amount of extra time to recognize a pitch, and catchers are reaching forward to frame strikes nearer the plate.
It was there Tuesday, in that sliver of space and time where pitches and games can be won, that Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras extended his mitt and Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez uncoiled his swing.
Bat met bone, and the Cardinals’ season painfully changed.
In the second inning, Martinez’s swing crashed into Contreras’ left forearm and drove through to his wrist, fracturing at least one bone as it went. Contreras screamed in pain, wheeled toward the Cardinals dugout and eventually surrendered to the ground. He left the game and started what will be months of recovery from a fractured forearm. Contreras stood at his Busch Stadium locker late Tuesday night after the 7-5 loss to the New York Mets with his arm in a splint and a sling, and he explained that surgery is a possibility in the coming days to stabilize the arm and aid healing.
“This is the most painful I’ve been through, for sure,” Contreras said after chronicling the bumps, bruises and injuries of a catcher. “When I got to sit down in the dirt, it was numb. I knew it wasn’t right. I was trying to recover to see if I could catch. But once I turned, I did some motion. I felt some cracking in it. I knew it was bad.”
A question facing Major League Baseball is whether it will be worse.
A topic of discussion within the industry is the dramatic increase in catcher interference calls just like Contreras’ on Tuesday. Chasing an old practice of framing pitches but empowered by new metrics that precisely measure that skill, catchers throughout the majors are creeping closer and closer to the plate. Contreras worked with the Cardinals during the spring of 2023 to position himself closer to that plate than he had been with the Cubs for the express purpose of improving the calls he got on lower pitches.
Many catchers and teams are doing it for an obvious reason: It works. It pays off. But it’s not without risk.
“The risk is high. We just experienced it,” manager Oliver Marmol conceded Tuesday night. “It’s a huge risk, and it’s been talked about. Even in the offseason, it was a topic of discussion because there was an increase in them. The more catchers are evaluated on framing, the closer they’re getting to the hitter to get that low pitch.”
Said Contreras: “I think the best way to frame is to get closer.”
It does not take long to search for the leaders in all of the latest or greatest stats — from baseball card standards like batting average and home runs to the modern metric alphabet soup of xwOBA, OPS+, DRS, BABIP, wRC or ISO. But try finding catcher interference. It’s not a common column on any of the stat sites. It’s not even all that well-known an event. The batter gets first base. The catcher gets an error, right there on the scoreboard. But it happens so rarely, why track?
Or, rather, it did.
As recently as 2002, there were fewer than 10 catcher interference calls in the majors. From 2012 to 2014, the yearly total did not surpass 25. There were 26 catcher interference calls this past April alone. Back in 2015, there were 33 catcher interference calls total in the season. Contreras’ was the 33rd of this season. In the span of just five years, the number of catcher interference calls in the majors has doubled, and in 2022, a new record was set with 74. That high was surpassed in 2023 — more specifically, in August of 2023, on the way to 96.
“He’s close to the plate trying to steal strikes, (and) as pitchers, we appreciate that,” starter Miles Mikolas said. “If we knew he was going to get hurt, I’d rather throw a ball than have Willy get hurt. ... I don’t think any amount of strikes is worth a player’s health. Guys are getting paid and going up and down (to the minors) based on their framing metrics. The closer you can get, the better the framing metrics you can get. We’ve kind of forced these guys to scooch up as far as they can so they can steal low strikes and give the umpires a better view.”
Out of the game after pitching into the fifth inning and allowing six runs in the fifth inning, Mikolas said he thought about a solution:
Draw a line for safety. Widen the gap and erase the encroaching reward from metrics.
“I think there should be a line back there for the catchers and just have them stay behind the line,” Mikolas said. “That way no one can get any closer than the next guy, and if you put them back there in a spot that is deemed safe, that might help guys.”
This year, Cardinals batters have swung into three catcher interference calls. Paul Goldschmidt has two of them. San Diego has the most, with four. In 2023, the teams that committed the most catcher interference violations had seven. Two hitters, Oakland’s Esteury Ruiz and Houston’s Kyle Tucker, swung into seven. A game between the Brewers and Dodgers this past fall was decided, in part, by two catcher interference calls.
The catcher? Willson’s younger brother, William Contreras, who helped his older brother this offseason to shift where he starts his mitt and his angles to better frame.
And the hitter? Martinez.
“It’s the last thing you’re expecting to happen,” said Martinez, the Mets’ new designated hitter, after Tuesday’s game in the visiting clubhouse at Busch. “You’re expecting to hit a ball and you hit an arm. And you’re like, ‘What was that?’ I hit meat. I felt I hit meat. I didn’t hit just a glove, where you kind of just point back at the catcher. ... It was just solid. I got to first. I felt terrible.”
A freeze frame of the at-bat before Mikolas attempted to wedge a slider in on Martinez shows just how close the catcher and hitter are.
The back line of the batter’s box vanishes in the first inning.
Catchers can lobby the umpire to notice if the batter’s a bit farther back, but as Contreras said, any trace of white chalk around the cleat is going to keep the batter in place.
Meanwhile, the catcher is trying to get that glove-side angle to get the low, inside call. He wants to get the low pitches called strikes, and he’s getting closer to the plate because he’s not just fighting the umpire’s view. Gravity has a say, too.
The space between Contreras and Martinez vanishes fast.
“He saw the pitch really late and tried to get his emergency swing off, and that’s when he hit me,” Contreras said. “I think if he sees the pitch well, he would try to hit it out in front, and he wouldn’t hit me. I’m not blaming him. He’s doing his thing. As a catcher and I’m trying to get good framing (numbers), I have to risk something. It was really bad tonight. ... I happened to get hit in my arm and break it. Hopefully it doesn’t’ happen again to another catcher because it’s not fun.”
But before that moment, Contreras’ approach had been fruitful.
Setting up nearer the plate did not immediately improve his framing of the low strike for 2023, but coupled with changes to his mitt positioning, his use of a one-knee-down stance and other adjustments, it has for 2024. He ranked outside the top 30 for catchers on converting the low, glove-side edge pitch into a strike before this season. This year, he’s got the sixth-highest percentage, at 41.9%. He’s improved in all three areas of the low strike zone. Which is why he said he’s going to go back to the same spot when he returns.
“There is always a risk to being a catcher,” Contreras said. “It could be different on my knee or getting hit in the head with my concussion. The risk is always going to be there. I’m not blaming any part of my game because this happened tonight. When I get back, I’m going to try to be the same guy behind the plate and keep doing my best.”
The 23-year-old catcher taking over for Contreras as the Cardinals’ everyday starter echoed the veteran who has been a mentor as he, too, tries to improve his framing.
“There’s always a risk in anything,” Ivan Herrera said. “You can get a foul into the wrist. We’re trying to get strikes for the pitcher and get in the best position. It happened to Willson today. It could happen to me, too.”
After Contreras got up from his seated position near the on-deck circle — his left arm stabilized in the grip of the Cardinals’ head athletic trainer — Herrera took over behind the plate. He had two singles, and somewhere in between calling pitches and hitting them, he got back to the clubhouse to check on Contreras.
Contreras told him about the fracture.
Herrera’s head dropped.
“You don’t need to put your head down; you need to pick me up,” Contreras recalled telling the rookie. “It’s not that he needs to, but he’s going to. Because he’s really good.”
Cardinals prospect Tink Hence takes loss, Jordan Walker singles twice: Minor League Report
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After beginning the season with a 3-0 record and a 2.10 ERA across his first five starts, Cardinals prospect Tink Hence looked like he’d protect that perfect record on Tuesday as he kept Northwest Arkansas scoreless through his first four frames.
Then came the fifth inning.
With one out in the fifth and a 1-0 lead afforded to him, Hence three singles and a walk to the first four batters he faced led to a run. That was followed by a three-run home run and a double to the two batters that followed. The double accounted for the seventh hit Hence allowed on the day and led to the sixth run that scored against him in his start. It also signaled the end of his outing after 4 1/3 innings of work on 83 pitches (50 strikes).
Before the troublesome inning, Hence had kept Northwest Arkansas to two hits and a walk through his first four frames. The righty’s 4 1/3 innings of work were the fewest he’s logged in a start this season while the seven hits and six runs he gave up were season-highs. Hence (3-1) ended Tuesday with a 3.60 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and 36 strikeouts over 30 innings. Opposing hitters have batted .185 against the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect.
Here are other notable minor-league performances:
Right fielder Jordan Walker, Class AAA Memphis:The 21-year-old went two-for-three with a pair of singles and a walk in Memphis’s 9-4 loss to Norfolk. The first of Walker’s two hits came in the second inning on a groundball pulled to third base with a 105.4 mph exit velocity, per Statcast. Walker’s hard-hit ball could not be corralled by Orioles’ prospect Coby Mayo. A single up the middle to center field in the sixth gave Walker his second two-hit day since he returned to Memphis. With his two-hit game, Walker improved to six-for-15 in his last four games as he continues to work on mechanical adjustments and pitch selection. Across 28 at-bats since he returned to the minors, Walker is batting .286 with a .394 on-base percentage.
Right-handed pitcher Gordon Graceffo, Class AAA Memphis:On a day where he generated seven whiffs on 49 swings, Graceffo reached a maximum velocity of 94.7 mph and was charged with five earned runs after allowing six hits and four walks. Of the five runs allowed, for scored against Graceffo in the first inning in Memphis’s loss to Norfolk. Three of the first-inning runs allowed by the Cardinals prospect crossed home plate following a solo home run from Kyle Stowers. Graceffo has a 4.93 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. He’s struck out 33 but walked 16.
Shortstop/second baseman Jonathan Mejia, Florida Complex League:Mejia played away from his natural shortstop stop for only the second time in his pro career. The 19-year-old former top international signee started at second base and went one-for-four, which included a three-run home run to center field in the FCL Cardinals 11-9 win over the FCL Astros. The homer was the switch-hitter’s first of 2024 and came from the left side of the plate. He is one-for-11 to begin his second season stateside.
Cardinals waste lead, drop game to Mets, but take bigger loss with Willson Contreras’ injury
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Before the game turned familiarly on the Cardinals, the season did excruciatingly.
A bat fractured Willson Contreras’s left arm in the second inning when J.D. Martinez’s swing and the Cardinals catcher’s forearm collided near the plate. Contreras was reaching in for a slider when Martinez’s bat dropped hard and fast into the middle of his arm and swept up toward the left wrist and mitt.
Contreras’ anguished scream could be heard in the upper deck at Busch Stadium.
One of the Cardinals’ leading offensive players and in many ways their most consistent and most valuable player for the first 35 games of the season, Contreras will miss a lengthy period of time and possibly the remainder of the season due to the fracture. The Cardinals took scans of the injury at the ballpark, though the extent of the damage and specifics of the bones broken were not immediately known. The team said surgery is possible.
It had been Contreras, of course, who helped the Cardinals take a lead.
It was several innings after his injury that it vanished, too.
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas faced six Mets batters in the fifth inning and did not get an out. The Mets’ six-run chomp overtook the Cardinals’ early lead and gave them room to survive some late-game threats from the Cardinals on the way to a 7-5 victory at Busch Stadium. Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbaar launched homers in the closing innings to tighten the score. Nootbaar’s came in the ninth and sparked what became a second chance for Paul Goldschmidt. The Cardinals had the tying run on base for him with one out in the ninth when he struck out.
Former Cardinal Adam Ottavino struck out two batters to freeze those baserunners there and close out the game for his first save of the season.
The Cardinals lost their fourth consecutive game, assured they would lose both series in this home stand, and now look at a long stretch without a player who has become more than just a part of the battery – but a furnace of energy, passion, and production.
Contreras writhes in pain
Six batters into the game, Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas had retired four and faced his former college roommate, the Mets new designated hitter J.D. Martinez. Maritnez fouled off a 2-0 fastball, and Mikolas came back to the inside part of the plate with a 2-1 slider.
That was the pitch that brought Martinez’s bat down on Contreras’ arm.
Contreras wheeled immediately away from the plate in clear agony. He eventually sat down near the on-deck circle, where he pinched his eyes shut, stretched out his legs, and the Cardinals’ head athletic trainer braced Contreras’ left arm between his two hands. Contreras has previously injured his left hand and wrist when hit by a pitch that left a deep, lingering bone bruise that bothered him through the season’s first month.
As Contreras has worked to become a better receiver at catcher and steal the low strikes for the Cardinals, he and the club moved him closer to the plate before the 2023 season. This was part of the work he did in his first spring training with the Cardinals, in 2023. This past offseason, while working with his younger brother, Brewers’ catcher William Contreras, the older Contreras adjusted how he held his mitt so that he could better frame pitches. He also did more work from a one-knee down stance.
Throughout the majors, catchers are closing that gap with the plate in an attempt to improve pitch-framing metrics, and there has been a spike in catcher interference calls as a result. In 2022 there were 74 catcher interference calls, according to MLB. In August 2023, there were already 76 catcher interference calls to reset the record, and that number swelled to more than 90. During a game between the younger Contreras’ Brewers and the Dodgers, he was a part of two catcher interference calls with the same batter: Martinez.
Adding error to injury, Martinez received first base on the catcher’s interference and stood there as Contreras winced in pain near the on-deck circle. The inning ended without the Mets taking advantage.
Ivan Herrera replaced Contreras at catcher and had two singles.
At Class AAA Memphis’ game, prospect Pedro Pages was removed for a pinch-hitter as he’ll likely return to Ƶ ahead of Wednesday’s game to be the backup catcher. Pages has twice been with the Cardinals already this season and earned trust from the pitching staff with his work during the spring.
Donovan, Cardinals strike fast
Four pitches into the game, Brendan Donovan had his fourth home run and the Cardinals had something they’ve so rarely had in the past week — an early and substantial lead.
A club that has scored three or fewer runs in nearly a third of their games had three runs from their first three batters of the game and a quick 3-0 lead on the Mets and starter Jose Butto. Donovan opened the scoring with his second career leadoff homer. He drilled the fourth pitch he saw into the right-field seats, and the Cardinals pressed on from there. Contreras got immediately involved with his second double in as many games against the Mets.
The team-leader with six home runs, Contreras was in the middle of the Cardinals’ three-run burst to briefly tie Monday night’s game. He provided the only run in Sunday’s loss to the Sox, and while the rest of the lineup has had its fits and starts or just slumps, Contreras has been a steadying presence. He stung a line drive that was hit so hard that it remained elevated, glanced of the left fielder’s glove, and still had the pace to carry to the wall.
The bolt left Contreras bat at 113.1 mph.
That was one of the hardest hits of the season so far for the Cardinals.
Ruled a double, Contreras’ laser moved two runners into scoring position, and both would come around the score. Nolan Arenado’s sacrifice fly scored Lars Nootbaar and Burleson’s first RBI of the game came on a single to score Contreras for a 3-0 lead.
Mets key on Mikolas, obliterate Cards’ lead
Within the first three batters of the fifth inning, that lead had vanished.
Within the first six, it had been overtaken.
And still Mikolas did not have an out.
After being lulled into scoreless innings by the right-hander during four scoreless innings, the Mets keyed on Mikolas quickly in the fifth inning and whipsawed through six consecutive hits before the Cardinals removed their starter from the trouble. Two singles that did not travel farther than the reach of an infielder were followed by three extra-base hits in the next four batters. In its third look at Mikolas, his curveball, and his sequence of pitches, the top of the Mets’ lineup went 4 for 4 with two doubles, a homer, and five RBIs.
A day after winning a game with a solo homer against the Cardinals, Mets leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo tied the game with a three-run homer that traveled 440 feet.
Alonso’s two-run double chased Mikolas from the game and broke the 3-3 tie to put the Mets ahead. Including Martinez’s RBI single later in the inning off reliever Kyle Leahy, the Mets sent 11 batters to the plate in the decisive fifth inning. Former batting champ Jeff McNeil started the inning with a single and continued it with a single before Leahy could escape.
Golden chance, squandered
In the seventh, Herrrea singled to load the bases and bring the game around to the hitters usually at the top and front and center of the Cardinals’ lineup. With the bases loaded, one out, and a three-run deficit the Cardinals gave Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt each a crack at bringing them back into the game.
Burleson had homered in the sixth to cut into the Mets’ lead.
The tying run was in scoring position for both of the players who finished top three in voting for the 2022 National League MVP. Arenado popped up to an infielder. Goldschmidt, the winner of that MVP and now stuck in a profound funk to start the season, struck out to end the best opportunity the Cardinals had until the game found him again in the ninth.
Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras in agony after bat fractures his left forearm
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After the buoyancy of a three-run first inning and a genuine offensive rush, the Cardinals felt a potential sudden, wrenching shift in their season when catcher Willson Contreras screamed out in anguish as a bat fractured his left forearm.
In the second inning, New York Mets designated hitter J. D. Martinez took a swing and his bat dropped down and hard into Contreras’ forearm. The swing collided with the middle of Contreras’ forearm and carried through to Contreras’ wrist. The Cardinals’ catcher raced from behind the plate, screaming loud enough for fans in front of the third-floor press box to hear him. Eventually he sat near the on-deck circle, his legs straight out, his eyes pinched, and his forearm cradled in an immobile pinch by the Cardinals’ head athletic trainer.
Contreras left the field and left the game after several minutes.
A scan taken at the ballpark revealed the fracture that will cause Contreras to miss a significant amount of time. A Cardinals official announced that the catcher had been diagnosed with a fractured left arm, and the severity of the break and other details will be clearer after the game.
Ivan Herrera replaced Contreras at catcher with the Cardinals leading, 3-0, in the top of the second inning. At Class AAA Memphis, catcher Pedro Pages was replaced by a pinch-hitter and is presumably on his way to Ƶ to be activated ahead of Wednesday's game.
Contreras, of course, was part of the initiating rally.
In the first, the Cardinals pushed for three runs, as many or more than they’ve scored in nearly a third of their first 35 games this season. Batting third to start Tuesday’s game at Busch Stadium, Contreras ripped a line drive that was hit so hard that it stayed on a line, glanced off the left fielder’s glove, and still had the power to carry to the wall. His double put two runners in scoring position and both of them scored.
The double left Contreras’ bat at 113.1 mph – one of the hardest hits of the Cardinals’ season so far.
Entering the game, Contreras was the Cardinals’ leader on offense with six home runs, a .274 average, a .538 slugging percentage, and 12 RBIs to go with 19 runs scored. His RBI double was one of the pivotal hits in the Cardinals’ three-run inning Monday night before they lost, 4-3, to the New York Mets and continued a losing streak that reached three games.
The Cardinals recently returned catcher Pages to Class AAA Memphis. Pages has earned the trust of the pitching staff with his cameos in the majors this season and his work during spring training. Although he has not been in the minors for the mandatory minimum amount of days following a demotion, Pages would be immediately eligible to return to the majors due to an injury.
Adding error to injury, Contreras was called for a catcher's interference on the Martinez swing. Martinez was given first base, and that is where he watched Contreras writhe and then sit in pain.