������Ƶ

Even after their rock-ribbed commitment to field a better defensive team absorbed a series of hits during spring training and could have veered entirely due to a collision in the outfield, the Cardinals have mostly fought any temptation to shift from running down outs to chasing runs.

They know, firsthand, that was a losing endeavor.

They believe being surehanded is a better place to start.

“I think the key when we left spring is in order for us to get where we want to get to, we have to play good defense,” manager Oliver Marmol reaffirmed this past week in Detroit. “It’s not easy (when) you’re struggling on offense and you want to put out your best offensive lineup. But you are giving up something when you do that. If you’re committing to defense, then the guys who are in that lineup and you would expect to be offensive you have to be patient until they are. Because, if not, and you chase offense and that doesn’t click and you’re giving up things defensively you’re not in any of these games.”

He paused.

The Cardinals’ 24 games decided by three runs or fewer had already mentioned, their 6-10 record in those games when they score three or fewer runs only referenced.

“We’ve seen that,” he said. “And the teams that have been good for us in ������Ƶ have pitched well and they’ve played good defense. … (Offense) improves and the others hold, and you’re in a pretty good position.”

The Cardinals spent most of the first full month of this season exactly where they ended on the final day of this past season — in last place in the National League Central. They return home Friday having clawed their way into fourth, at 14-17, and avoided an utter lack of offense undermining them during what could have been an overwhelming schedule. Pitching and that devotion to defense gave their tripod two steadier legs as the offense wobbled. It was the other way around — two wobbly legs, one steady — a year ago as they reached the same point in the season at 10-21, their contending days over and 10 games out.

If they’re going to capitalize on the foundation they insist they have to launch back into contention after a challenging schedule and a listless lineup, it’s got to be May.

“I think the vibe is strong, for the young kids out there,” Miles Mikolas said.

The Cardinals return to Busch Stadium for their first home stand of the month with a team average of .220, a .300 on-base percentage, and a .338 slugging percentage. Only one team in the majors is performing worse in all three slash-line categories. As if on cue, that team happens to be their opponent for the weekend. The Chicago White Sox are batting .212/.276/.327 as a team, and they complement that with the second-highest ERA in the game, at 5.15. Former Cardinal Tommy Pham recently joined the Sox, and they won as many games in his first three games (3) as they won in their previous 25 (3).

The Sox’s arrival signals a shift in the Cardinals schedule. Five of their next 12 series are against teams in fourth or fifth place in a division, half of those series are against teams with .500 or losing records as of Thursday. Between now and the All-Star break, the Cardinals have only four road series against winning teams. According to FanGraphs playoff projections, the Cardinals have a 30% chance of reaching October in part because they’re predicted to have the best winning percentage in the NL Central from here. The schedule is accommodating.

Through the first 31 games of the season, the Cardinals played the second-most road games in the majors with 19 and already knocked off two West Coast trips. The Cardinals have played more games in the Pacific Time Zone than their home Central Time Zone, 13 to 12. The first-place Milwaukee Brewers have yet to go west and won’t until late June.

The Cardinals have also played the most day games in the National League.

The miles logged, the time zones crossed, and those night-day turnarounds influenced the Cardinals’ preemptive lineup choices and scheduled days off for players like rookie Masyn Winn as he dealt with back stiffness. The lineups drew criticism from fans and pundits and questions from reporters. But Marmol and his staff stuck to a plan. A strong start was important; a healthy finish could be essential. As injury lists throughout baseball swell with new names, Marmol calls that “the game within the game.”

“It’s interesting,” Marmol said. “You can go extremely hard and then you’re trying to find off days, whereas if you just pace yourself a little bit then you try to get a guy a day off before his body is screaming for it.”

Added John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations: “I think when you look at the race — meaning the 162 (games) over 187 (days) — health is definitely a major part of that.”

The Cardinals felt that pain before Day 1.

In conversations this past week about the first full month of the season, Cardinals officials traced back to what they felt was an early turning point for their season. In Arizona, on the eve of opening day and during an exhibition game against the Cubs, Dylan Carlson separated his shoulder in a collision with Jordan Walker. Carlson won the center field job when the named starter, Tommy Edman, had setbacks following wrist surgery. Carlson, a strong defensive option at center, would join Edman on the IL.

The Cardinals had their first test of this commitment to defense before the season started. There would be others.

They promoted slick-fielding rookie Victor Scott II to start in center, and after he struggled offensively the Cardinals turned to deft fielder Michael Siani.

At the same time, the Cardinals’ offense wheezed. Their overall average is among the lowest for the team to start the season in decades. They have the fewest homers and fewest runs off homers in the majors. With runners in scoring position they’re hitting .202 and slugging a meager .326. For context, Atlanta is batting .316 with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals have made some recent, limited concessions to offense — when chasing the Tigers on the scoreboard this past week, Lars Nootbaar played center to upgrade the offense — but remain defense first, Marmol underscored.

The numbers suggest more than just outs would slip through their fingers otherwise.

At the same point last year, the Cardinals averaged a ½ run more per game, 4.00 to 3.52. They slugged .409 to this year’s .338. They were 3% better than the league average when creating runs vs. 14% worse this season. Their run differential is worse, minus-23 to minus-30. Yet, they are outperforming that through defense and pitching, specifically the bullpen. A minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield a year ago at this time, they’re a minus-1 and up overall on defense from 18th to top 12. The Cardinals’ ERA is a half-run better this season, 4.62 to 4.10.

They have four more wins and, not coincidentally, four fewer blown saves.

Last year’s record plunged over the precipice because of poor pitching and ragged defense. This year’s record has yet to topple, so far, due to the good hands and better grip of defense and pitching — which has held on as long as it can for the offense to arrive.

On a rehab assignment with Class AAA Memphis, Carlson could return to center by the end of this home stand. It’s a return to form from others in the lineup that will determine if the offense can carry its weight. History suggests this is the month. Nolan Arenado has slugged .539 in May for his career with a .901 OPS. Paul Goldschmidt has slugged .545 in May with an OPS of .936. The only month he’s been more productive in his career? June. The defense and pitching bought time. The lineup decisions tried to avoid wear.

The Cardinals now balance on the edge of an axiom.

Time for April showers to yield May powers.

“I really like our club: It’s a tough team, and they’re not going to give it, at all,” Marmol said. “We’ve played some really tough games, a lot of close games, and I like the overall personality and demeanor of our club. You look at what we’ve done over 30 days with our offense being where it’s been, and I don’t think that’s going to be a lasting theme.”

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While talking ball with Adam Wainwright on Thursday, the sounds heard in the background said plenty about the current state of the retired starter’s schedule.

Retired? Hardly.

Wainwright was in an airport. He had just grabbed his bag. Staying busy would be an understatement.

He’s coaching his kids’ baseball and softball teams. Hopefully other parents realize volunteer coach Wainwright would be coveted by some MLB teams as a pitching coach.

He’s playing live country music shows after dropping his first album last month. He recently took the iconic stage at the Grand Ole Opry. His in-progress schedule includes an upcoming stop at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo., on May 31.

And then there’s Wainwright’s growing TV game.

On Saturday during a game between the Mets and Rays he will make his regular-season debut as a Fox MLB analyst on a game that is to be shown to 82% of the nation. Wainwright, for the record, disagrees with the debut label here. He’s already been a regular on Fox postseason broadcasts, even before his 200-win career wrapped with his 2023 retirement.

“Playoff stats don’t count for the regular season, so I guess I am,” he said.

It’s really just his latest TV step forward. He’s received great reviews during regular visits to MLB Network’s studio. He will be on the broadcast for this season’s London Series between the Phillies and Mets.

Another big game looms. On Saturday May 25, Wainwright will be the analyst for the Fox broadcast of Cardinals versus Cubs at Busch Stadium. That one’s circled on his crammed calendar.

“It won’t be like just invading John Rooney’s booth during the game, like I’ve done a couple times,” Wainwright said. “This will be different. I’m excited about it. I’ll be able to offer some insight into our team. And those Cubs guys. I’ve faced those guys a lot.”

Wainwright, the analyst, has picked the brains of former players turned Cardinals broadcasters Ricky Horton and Brad Thompson. He’s leaned on personal advice given to him by the late Vin Scully and Bob Uecker. Both encouraged him to be honest and candid about player performance without making things personal. Wainwright’s finding his line.

“For me, at some point, during the last five or six seasons, I started paying attention to a broadcaster’s job and a journalist’s job, and understanding that,” he said. “Because sometimes, as a player, you want to hold a grudge when somebody says something bad about you or your team, or whatever. But at some point I understand, y’all had a job to do. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll go and try to be unbiased.”

Even when it’s Cardinals-Cubs?

“That’s not going to happen,” he admitted. “I’m going to probably say, ‘Yeah!’ or ‘Oh, no!’ But I’ll call the game as I see it.”

Wainwright watches most of the Cardinals’ games. It’s his preferred way of keeping up on the league. That, and he’s still invested. He doesn’t hide it.

“I still feel kind of like I’m part of the team,” he said. “It feels like I’m on the injured list or something. Because I know all those guys so well in there.”

He’s watching the games. He knows the team. So, what does Waino, the analyst, make of this fourth-place bunch that, so far, just can’t seem to slug?

“I was up at MLB Network on opening day, and everybody’s concern from a broadcaster and analyst side was the pitching staff,” he said. “I talked until I was blue in the face that the pitching staff was going to be fine. And no one believed me. I said, ‘They’re better than you think, man. These veteran guys, they stay in there. They throw the innings. They keep the team in the game. If we hit, we are going to win.’ And they were like, ‘You’re crazy, your team is going to score tons of runs, and give up tons of runs, and it’s going to be a total crapshoot.’ And I just didn’t believe that.”

Score one for Wainwright there. He spent years trying to recruit both Sonny Gray and Kyle Gibson to ������Ƶ. He said he never wanted Lance Lynn to leave. He was one of the few national voices squarely in the corner of Gibson entering his age-36 season. Gibson’s ERA (3.79) is nearly as low right now as it was when he was a Rangers All-Star in 2021.

“Gibby is a Cardinal,” Wainwright said. “He’s always been a Cardinals player to me. I couldn’t figure out for one second why he wasn’t with us the last five years. It’s so fun to watch him pitch good, because I knew he would.”

But not even Wainwright’s optimism, as much a part of his arsenal as his trusty curveball used to be, can shed much sunlight on the current state of the offense, except to say good hitters usually shake out of slumps so bad.

“I did think we were going to hit a little better coming out of the chute than we have,” Wainwright said.

You can say that again.

Before they begin a series against the lowly White Sox (6-25) on Friday, the Cardinals’ home run total of 21 ranked dead last in baseball. Their .338 slugging percentage trailed only the Pirates in the National League. The Pirates have three wins in their last 16 games. So far this season the MLB average for on-base plus slugging percentage is .699. The Cardinals have only three hitters above that mark, and none of them are named Nolan Arenado (.681), Paul Goldschmidt (.630) or last year’s home-run leader Nolan Gorman (.607).

“I don’t think I’m concerned for the long-term season whether Goldy, Nado and Gorman will hit for power,” Wainwright said. “Those guys are going to start driving the ball real soon. I mean, the veteran pitchers are doing what they need to do to be in first place in that division. When those guys in the order come around, when we get Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson back, and everything feels normal again, then I think you will see a team that takes off a little bit.”

Wainwright wanted to make one point, specifically about the searching Goldschmidt. When Goldschmidt won his first and only National League MVP with the Cardinals in 2022, he entered that May with one home run in 78 at-bats and a slugging percentage of .372. Then he averaged .342 with a .430 on-base percentage and a .666 slugging percentage until September’s start.

“There are players who have strong springs and horrible Aprils,” Wainwright said. “It happens a lot. Some people have horrible springs and Aprils. Adam LaRoche was always the worst player I’ve ever seen in April and spring training. Then he would turn around and end up hitting close to 30 home runs with a .270 average. The last couple of years, Goldy has done that. With Nado, you can tell he’s working through his swing a little bit. No denying it. But he’s still getting on base, driving in runs, getting his knocks. When great players are struggling and they still find ways to get knocks, that’s a really good sign.”

I’ll say this about Wainwright, the analyst. Considering the current heightened state of angst in Cardinal Nation, he’s not afraid to go against the grain. He was right about Gibson. Let’s see if he’s right about the Cardinals finding their slug, hopefully before he slides into his broadcast booth at Busch.

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BenFred: Talking Cardinals baseball with Adam Wainwright as his TV analyst debut at Busch nears

Wainwright will be the Fox analyst when the Cardinals host the Cubs on May 25

“Ack” is back, and so is “Waino,” this weekend.

Tom Ackerman, who broadcast eight Cardinals games last season for Bally Sports Midwest in a fill-in role for lead play-by-play announcer Chip Caray, is set to call the team’s three-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox that starts at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Then on Saturday former Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is scheduled to make his regular-season Fox Sports broadcast debut as a game analyst for the Mets-Rays game.

Before last season Ackerman had called numerous Cards spring training games that were on radio or exclusively streamed, but he never had done a big-league regular-season contest.

So calling major-league games that count certainly was memorable. Not surprisingly the first one was the biggest for Ackerman, the sports director at Cardinals Radio Network flagship station KMOX (1120 AM).

“I talked to (partner) Jim Edmonds before the first pitch about what a great moment it was, but how calm I felt,” Ackerman said. “It was so special calling a game in my home ballpark, of a team I have been covering for a long time and in my hometown. ... I really enjoyed calling it.”

Ackerman, 48, said during that first game Edmonds asked him if his family was there. When Ackerman said yes, “he said that they should come up to the booth to share the moment,” and said, “I’ll arrange it.”

Edmonds did that, and it was quite an entourage that arrived — Ackerman’s wife, two daughters, mom, stepfather, mother-in-law and a couple of family friends.

“They all stood and watched (me broadcasting) and took pictures,” Ackerman said. “It was really great of him to arrange that.”

BSM has been breaking him in with some of the team’s most low-profile games on its schedule, not exactly marquee matchups with the Cubs or Dodgers. His debut came in a contest against Detroit, which finished six games under .500, and the Cards’ foes in the two other series he called, against Kansas City and Oakland, finished in last place. So did the Cardinals.

This weekend he’ll have another series featuring struggling clubs. The White Sox (6-25) have the worst record in the majors and the Cards (14-17) are only a half-game ahead of Pittsburgh at the bottom of the National League Central Division standings.

But Ackerman is ecstatic just to be calling big-league games and said he looks at his schedule “the other way around.”

“If the Cardinals are the superior team in the series, I may have some fun things to call ... and make it as exciting as possible,” he said.

BSM began using Ackerman last year in order to groom a potential fill-in just in case Caray had an unexpected absence as well as giving him an occasional break. That’s after his predecessor, Dan McLaughlin, was an ironman when he was the full-time Cardinals television play-by-play announcer from 2016-2022.

“It’s important for our broadcasters to have a chance to rest and refresh and important to have depth ready to fill in,” Bally Sports Midwest general manager Jack Donovan said then.

Ackerman has no BSM games scheduled beyond this weekend but said he’ll be ready if called again.

“Chip has been so supportive,” Ackerman said. “I’m just here for when he needs some time off.”

Wainwright resurfaces

Wainwright has been busy since retiring from baseball at the end of last season, dabbling in broadcasting and doing a lot more than dabbling with a blossoming career as a country musician.

He has released an album and has had some tour dates to support that, including one recently in ������Ƶ as he opened for the Zac Brown Band and is set to be appear June 2 as part of the Confluence Music Festival, which is associated with the NASCAR weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison.

But it’s has been back to baseball this week. Wainwright has pulled some shifts as a studio analyst on MLB Network as part of his deal for occasional appearances there, then makes his season debut as a Fox game analyst Saturday when he works alongside play-by-play announcer Adam Amin. They have been together before, as Wainwright has called a postseason series for Fox in 2020, 2021 and 2023 after the Cardinals were done playing.

Fox has two games Saturday, with Wainwright’s Mets-Rays game being sent to 82% of the country — including ������Ƶ affiliate KTVI (Channel 2) — at 6:15 p.m. The Mariners-Astros game will go to the rest of the nation.

It’s the first of about 15 games Wainwright is expected to call this season for Fox/FS1, including the Cardinals-Cubs contest on May 25 at Busch Stadium.

ST. LOUIS — Comcast has dropped ������Ƶ Cardinals broadcaster Bally Sports after contract renewal talks broke down with Bally’s parent company, Diamond Sports Group, Comcast said on Wednesday, leaving viewers across a swath of the Midwest without access to Cardinals games.

The stalled negotiations will complicate Diamond’s plans to emerge from the bankruptcy it initiated last March, after years of declining cable viewership.

Cardinals officials said in a statement the team was disappointed.

“Unfortunately, the Cardinals and Major League Baseball have no voice in this matter, but are hopeful the two sides will come to an agreement as soon as possible,” they said.

In prepared statements, Diamond and Comcast blamed each other.

Diamond — the parent company of Cardinals and Blues broadcaster Bally Sports Midwest — said Comcast rejected a proposed extension and “refused to engage in substantive discussions.”

Comcast said it had been “very flexible” with the broadcaster, and Diamond had opted not to exercise an extension.

The change will mainly disrupt viewing in central Illinois; subscriptions to Comcast’s Xfinity are not available in the ������Ƶ market, the Cardinals said.

Diamond filed for bankruptcy last March. Its business model had been decimated by new online streaming services and a decline in traditional TV watching. For decades, baseball fans paid cable providers for a bundle of channels. The cable companies, in turn, paid broadcasters like Bally to produce the telecasts. But as cable subscriptions dropped, the decline in revenues rippled up the chain.

Diamond proposed a plan to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings and continue airing professional sports. It includes infusions of cash from four separate deals, including one with Amazon that would launch in October, ahead of the NBA and NHL seasons. As part of that agreement, Amazon Prime Video would become Diamond’s main streaming partner.

But last month, baseball, basketball and hockey officials raised concerns that Diamond wouldn’t strike a deal with all of the cable companies, and warned Diamond and the Houston bankruptcy judge.

Diamond relies on three distributors — Comcast, DirecTV and Charter — for the majority of its revenues, and Comcast is now the last one remaining without a renewal agreement. Diamond secured a renewal with Charter last month, and on Wednesday DirecTV said it had reached a deal.

If Diamond couldn’t clinch renewal agreements with the cable companies, the leagues wrote in court filings, they doubted Diamond would be financially capable of emerging from bankruptcy.

Diamond said it will continue to seek an agreement with Comcast to restore the broadcasts. The company’s creditors are voting on whether to support Diamond’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy, which will also require approval from the bankruptcy court judge.

The judge could rule in mid-June.

The ������Ƶ Blues said in a statement that it was monitoring the situation, and working to provide the best possible viewing options for its fans.

And Comcast said Wednesday it will credit customers’ bills for the gap in coverage. Most will receive between $8 to $10 per month. Fans’ alternate options for viewing the Cardinals games include Spectrum, Fubo and DirecTV stream.

Patrick Rishe, executive director of the sports business program at Washington University, said it probably wouldn’t be a big setback for the Cardinals; Comcast isn’t in “core Cardinals country.”

All the same, teams don’t want to confuse their fans. Professional soccer, he said, has a more consistent broadcast schedule, which is helpful for viewers.

Indeed, the change left some fans adrift.

Jim Herrin, a retired city employee in Springfield, Illinois, started watching the Cardinals during the ’64 World Series, when he was 9, and became a real fan at 12, during the ’67 World Series.

On Wednesday, he didn’t know what to do. He looked at streaming services, and considered switching cable providers to DirecTV, just so he could watch the Cardinals.

“I may do that,” Herrin said. “That’s the No. 1 thing I watch.”

More detailed information about the team’s cable and streaming options is available on the .

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DETROIT — For the first full month of the season, a discussion within and around the Cardinals as the team sought to differentiate this year’s start to how last year finished was how it’s “in every game.”

There have been a few real clunkers at Busch Stadium and the pyrotechnics of opening day at Dodger Stadium were reserved for the host Dodgers, but the Cardinals have mostly played tight, hairpin games. Of their first 31, 24 have been decided by three or fewer runs, and in 16, the Cardinals have scored three or fewer runs. As they concluded a six-game road trip that followed their 2006 voyage from Queens to a World Series in Detroit without Adam Wainwright’s curveball to close for them, five of the games were decided by three or fewer runs.

They are routinely on the brink and one swing away.

Quite literally.

After the 4-1 loss to Detroit on Wednesday, four words spoken by manager Oliver Marmol captured the entirety of the season thus far.

“Just not enough offense,” he said. “Look at the games we’ve been dropping. We’re in every game. Just not enough runs across the board. We just have to score. It’s simple. If you look at our game, it’s a good game. We’re creating opportunities. We’re not getting the next big hit. It’s happened often. So we have to figure out a way to get on the other side of it. It goes in cycles. Ready for this cycle to be over.”

CBC graduate and Detroit third baseman Matt Vierling lifted the Tigers to the three-run victory Wednesday at Comerica Park by creating with one swing what the Cardinals could not do in nine innings. Vierling produced the Tigers’ first three runs by leading off the second inning with a single and scoring on a double and then tripling the lead with his two-run homer in the third. Each of the rallies ignited or punctuated by Vierling illustrated what the Cardinals have lacked: extra bases.

Through a month of games, the Cardinals’ slugging percentage ranks toward the bottom of the majors. They have the fewest homers in the majors to go with the second-lowest batting average (.220) in the National League. The crux of the season thus far comes down to two numbers.

The rival Milwaukee Brewers have a .339 on-base percentage.

The Cardinals have a .338 slugging percentage.

Milwaukee is getting on base at a greater clip than the Cardinals are totaling bases.

“Yes, you create opportunities, but those opportunities are when you’re touching multiple bases per swing,” Marmol said. “That matters, and that just hasn’t been the case to this point. If I were to narrow it down to one thing, it comes down to slug.”

Several times Wednesday, the Cardinals were one extra-base hit from upending Vierling’s lead. Once Tigers starter Kenta Maeda left after six strong innings, the Cardinals immediately greeted Detroit’s bullpen with back-to-back singles by Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Arenado. The inning went sideways when Paul Goldschmidt, who had four hits in Tuesday night’s game, bounced into a double play turned at third by Vierling, and then, the Tigers played matchup. Lefty Joey Wentz entered and struck out Alec Burleson to end the inning, just as right-hander Alex Lange entered an inning later and struck out Willson Contreras to unplug the Cardinals’ chances in the eighth inning. The Cardinals had six base runners in the final five innings, but not one reached third — and there wasn’t a single extra-base hit. A potential double drilled by Nolan Gorman went unluckily at the first baseman and became a line-out double play.

“We have slug in our group, just naturally,” Marmol said. “We have guys (who) that is their game. It just hasn’t been their game to this point. That is the frustrating part. If we are what we normally are offensively, then it looks very different.”

Both of the Cardinals’ comeback rallies in Tuesday’s doubleheader — one of which netted a win — had similar traits. In the ninth inning of Game 1, Arenado and Goldschmidt both reached base before Burleson tied the game and a sacrifice fly won it. In Game 2, immediately ahead of Burleson’s three-run homer, Arenado and Goldschmidt reached base.

“I was joking with them to get on base for the big boys,” Burleson said.

There’s truth in comedy.

The Cardinals lineup radiates from their All-Star corner infielders, and while the lineup has changed, that reality has not. A speed bump the Cardinals continue to encounter, even in Motor City, hasn’t changed either. Goldschmidt moved out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup to No. 5 so that Contreras, one of the team’s leading hitters, could have the prominent spot. In Detroit, Contreras delivered the Cardinals’ lone run Wednesday with a solo homer but otherwise struggled. He was 0 for 9 in the doubleheader with six strikeouts. He struck out nine times in the series.

Following modern lineup dynamics, teams often put their best hitter at the No. 2 spot because of the odds favoring plate appearances with runners on base. That spot for the Cardinals has hit .178 this season with a .297 slugging percentage and twice as many strikeouts (42) as hits (21). Only six extra-base hits have come from that spot, including Contreras’ homer Wednesday, his fifth of the season.

“We’ve played a lot of close games,” starter Miles Mikolas said. “If we get a ball that’s a foot more to the left or right, maybe it’s a fair ball down the line and it’s extra bases. But for us, it seems to be a foul ball or a line drive turns into a double play there for Gorman in a big spot. Those are kind of just hang-with-them moments. Over the course of the season, I think a lot of those things have a tendency to even out. We’re going to lose some tough games where things don’t go our way, and we’re going to catch some tough breaks and maybe even win some games that maybe we shouldn’t have. Luck will favor the prepared.”

Mikolas allowed three runs to Vierling in the first three innings and then caught his groove and enough grounders to author six innings and a quality start.

The right-hander returns to ������Ƶ with a better feel for his curveball and the lower edge of the strike zone after working with strings in his bullpen session. He stretched strings near home plate so that he could visualize throwing down in the zone, and once he got there consistently Wednesday, he retired the final 10 Tigers he faced. The game turned then on a curveball he left up in the zone to Vierling and a change-up drilled into the gap for a double. Asked how extra-base hits changed the game against him, Mikolas agreed.

“It only takes one,” he said.

Don’t the Cardinals know it.

“It’s not like guys have to change who they are to get more extra-base hits,” Marmol said. “Goldy drives the baseball. Nolan drives the baseball. Gorman drives the baseball. Contreras drives the baseball. If you go down (the lineup). Noot drives the baseball. It’s just we haven’t up to this point. We will.”

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Coming off an April in Triple-A during which he slugged .407 in 81 at-bats, Cardinals infield prospect Thomas Saggese began May with a jolt.

The 22-year-old infielder clubbed a solo home run as a part of a two-for-four performance in Triple-A Memphis’s 7-3 Wednesday road win over Charlotte. The home run, Saggese’s third of the year, jumped off his bat at 106.5 mph and traveled a projected 397 feet, per Statcast. The solo home run marked Saggese’s first since April 19.

Saggese’s powerful start to May comes after he batted .272 with a .737 OPS in 90 plate appearances during April. His production included five doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBIs in 21 games, but came with 20 strikeouts. On the year, the Cardinals' top infield prospect has a .261/.330/.413 slash line in 24 Class AAA games.

Elsewhere across the Cardinals minor league system:

Center fielder Victor Scott II, Class AAA Memphis: As a late-game substation for rehabbing big leaguer Dylan Carlson, Scott went two-for-two with a double and a two-run home run. Scott entered Memphis’s win as a pinch-hitter for Carlson in the seventh inning. He collected his second Triple-A double when he hit a 91.1 mph fastball to left field on the second pitch of his at-bat vs. Charlotte’s Aaron McGarity. With Memphis looking to pad its 5-3 lead in the ninth inning, the 23-year-old pulled a 93.9 mph fastball from Lane Ramsey to right-center field for a two-run blast that marked his first home run in Triple-A. Since getting optioned to the minors, Scott owns a .233 average over 30 at-bats. Six of his seven hits have come in his last 17 at-bats.

Right-handed pitcher Tekoah Roby, Class AA Springfield: The 22-year-old completed 4 1/3 innings and allowed a season-high six runs on nine hits including a home run in Springfield’s 11-0 loss to Tulsa. Roby surrendered three runs in the second inning, two of which came on a homer from Tulsa’s Chris Alleyne, and two in the third inning before he exited the game after he allowed back-to-back singles with one out in the fifth. One of the two runners Roby left on base scored after lefty Nick Raquet allowed a single. Roby, who struck out eight over four innings in a rain-shortened outing on April 25, notched three strikeouts and walked two. He owns a 6.94 ERA and has totaled 26 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings through his first five starts.

Left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, Class High-A Peoria: The lefty got through his first two innings of work on 18 pitches and collected two strikeouts in the process before command issues led to a 32-pitch third inning in what became a four-inning outing. Hjerpe issued a leadoff walk to start the third frame before allowing a two-run homer in the next at-bat. The lefty worked around two walks and a hit-by-pitch to limit the damage in the third inning to just the two-run homer from Cedar Rapids’ Keoni Cavaco. A 1-2-3 fourth inning that included two swinging strikeouts bookended Hjerpe’s start. Hjerpe has yet to complete more than four innings over his first five starts of 2024. He owns a 5.28 ERA and has 21 strikeouts and 10 walks in 15 1/3 innings.

Right-handed pitcher Gordon Graceffo, Class AAA Memphis: Graceffo earned his third win of the season after keeping Charlotte to two runs (one earned) across five innings. The righty’s fastball reached 95.5 mph during his the start and his curveball got three whiffs on eight swings, per Statcast. Graceffo got 21 called strikes with his four-pitch arsenal. Sixteen came on on his fastball and four on his curveball. Charlotte hitters put just three hard-hit balls in play against the 24-year-old. Wednesday’s start was the fifth time in six starts that Graceffo, who owns a 4.34 ERA, completed five or more innings. His five strikeouts raised his season total to 29 across 29 innings.

Catcher Jimmy Crooks, Class AA Springfield: Crooks went zero-for-three with a walk and a strikeout in his first game back from the injured list. The former fourth-round pick from the 2022 draft had been sidelined since April 18 before his return on Wednesday. The Cardinals did not provide a specific injury designation for Crooks’ IL placement. Before hitting the IL, the 22-year-old had produced a .344 average and .436 on-base percentage in his first 39 plate appearances in Double-A.

In February at Cardinals spring training, under a sunny sky that hadn’t yet started falling, I asked manager Oliver Marmol about Turner Ward.

“I mean, he lives and dies with (the Cardinals batters) — these guys will describe it as they feel like he’s in the box with them, just because how much he cares,” Marmol said. “That’s what you want in a hitting coach.

“You want that he goes into those deep dives with (players) — and when things aren’t going well, he’s feeling that just as much as you are. He does a really good job of engaging.”

Ward is a nice guy. Strong track record. And highly respected by former National League Most Valuable Player Paul Goldschmidt, with whom Ward worked with in Arizona, too.

But right now, the Cardinals are not good at hitting.

They just finished a three-game series at Detroit — in the 27 innings, the Cardinals scored in just four of them.

And yes, the players should be held most accountable for having the NL’s fewest homers (21 in 31 games) and lowest batting average (.220). But Ward should be under a searing spotlight as the season unfurls into May, especially if the offense continues to unravel. The hitting coach is supposed to enhance hitters, empower hitters, unlock hitters. Right now, you could argue, every Cardinals hitter except two (Willson Contreras and Masyn Winn) is underachieving.

The lack of offensive power from Goldschmidt (two home runs), Nolan Gorman (four) and Nolan Arenado (one) is flabbergasting. Sure, people can easily say: “These guys will break out soon enough, just look at their track records.” I’m guilty of this too. But what will have happened by the time they all actually start slugging? We’ve already been through a month-plus of baseball and the Cardinals are 14-17 with the fewest wins in the National League Central (all while wasting some strong pitching performances from ������Ƶ starters and relievers).

Similarly disheartening is the lack of hits in general. The Cardinals entered Wednesday with 7.2 hits per game — in the NL, only the Reds averaged fewer. And then, in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss at Detroit, the Cards tallied seven hits — with the only run courtesy of a Contreras homer.

And it was under Ward’s watch that Jordan Walker regressed so much he was sent back to the minors. Again, the onus is on the player. But the coach is part of the project. Walker was the Cardinals’ best hitting prospect in a decade. He broke out last summer as a rookie. Now, he’s broken. With ������Ƶ in 2024, he has a .155 batting average, no homers and a .498 on-base plus slugging percentage — so he’s refining (and perhaps even rediscovering) his swing at Class AAA Memphis.

And this next one isn’t just on Ward. Remember, he is just in his second season in charge of the hitting department — and his predecessor Jeff Albert couldn’t fix Tyler O’Neill in 2022. But after a dismal 2023, O’Neill was traded to Boston. And in 2024, O’Neill is hitting .320 with nine homers and a 1.126 OPS.

So another team’s coaches helped unlock O’Neill, at least in the short-term.

The Cardinals offense is equally underwhelming when you look at some advanced stats, too. The Cardinals entered Wednesday 27th in baseball in weighted on-base average, 15th in expected weighted on-base average and tied for 25th in barrels per plate appearance.

Admittedly, there is extra urgency regarding Ward and the offense because of last year. The 2023 Cardinals, of course, went 71-91 (Ward’s 2023 offense, to his credit, was third-best in homers and OPS in the NL at the trade deadline, when the white flag was waved). So 2024 is a crucial season in Cardinals history. If they stink again, it would confirm the franchise is on the wrong track. If they return to the playoffs, people can say that 2023 was an aberration.

Thus, the intensity is heightened. Achievement is expected. And right now, the offense is a problem. It’s not just the big names, either. What’s up with Lars Nootbaar? In his past 15 games, he has 10 hits — and leading off Wednesday’s ninth, down 4-1, he swung at the first pitch and hit a chopper to second base.

Brendan Donovan has proven to be a brilliant on-base batter — but so far in 2024, his on-base percentage is just .309.

And Ivan Herrera got six hits in his first 16 at-bats (.375), but since then, he has seven hits in 42 at-bats (.167).

The good news is the first home series of May features the worst team in baseball, the Chicago White Sox.

And again, many of these Cardinals, especially the famous names, have strong track records. Surely, some of them will start hitting closer to their career averages.

But the Cardinal who must have the most-improved May? Turner Ward.

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