Ivan Herrera may not have the stranglehold on the Cardinals’ backup catcher slot that he had at the beginning of the season, but his ability in the batter’s box likely will keep him from falling too far off the radar.
With starting catcher Willson Contreras on the injured list, Herrera and Pedro Pages have shared the catching duties as they did earlier this season after Contreras suffered a broken arm.
By the time Contreras returned, Pages had impressed enough with his defensive ability and still-developing bat to earn the No. 2 spot. Pages showcased that combination in Saturday night’s win when he caught a shutout and accounted for the game’s scoring with a two-run home run.
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On Sunday, Herrera went 2 for 4 with a double and extended his career-best on-base streak to 13 consecutive games. That’s currently the club’s longest streak. He was the lone Cardinal with a multi-hit game in their series-ending 10-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Busch Stadium.
“I do feel great at the plate right now,†Herrera said. “I’m seeing the ball well. I’m putting in a lot work in the (batting) cage every day, offensively, defensively, so my swing feels great right now. Hopefully, it stays that way.â€
Herrera, 24, earned the Cardinals’ minor league player of the year honor in 2023. He then went on to have a strong performance for Team Panama in the Caribbean Series. He batted .357 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in eight games for third-place Panama.
Herrera previously has said that he believes getting an early start to his season by playing in Panama and then playing in the Caribbean Series gets him better prepared for the season.
Overall this year in the majors, Herrera has batted .281 with a .350 on-base percentage and a .382 slugging percentage in 62 games.
Since his return from Triple-A on Aug. 25, he has slashed .296/.406/.407 with almost as many walks (five) as strikeouts (six) in those eight games.
“He has always swung it well,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “This is a guy that puts together a really solid at-bat. He’s going to be a tough at-bat. The bat-to-ball skills are good. He hits just about anything. He’s very confident in the box, which is also helpful.
“He’s continuing to work behind the plate, but offensively, he definitely puts together a solid AB.â€
Herrera entered Sunday tied with Contreras for the team lead in the metric catcher blocking runs (one each) according to Statcast data. Herrera’s four blocks above average led the club’s catchers.
Herrera and Pages were tied in terms of catcher framing runs — neither negative nor positive but zero runs each — and Herrera held a slight advantage in strike rate at 46.4% compared to Pages’ 45.4%.
However, Herrera’s struggles against the running game have been glaring this season. While Herrera and Pages each have each recorded minus-3 caught stealings above average, Herrera’s caught stealing percentage of 6% ranked last on the club behind Pages (18%) and Contreras (22%). Herrera’s average throw velocity (78 mph) also ranked third among the club’s catchers.
Herrera has continued to work to improve his footwork as well as his arm strength during the season.
Donovan sits again
Super-utility defender Brendan Donovan was out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive day because of a foot infection, according to Marmol. Donovan served as the club’s primary left fielder at the start of the season, but he’s played second base on a daily basis since late July.
He was not in the lineup for Saturday night’s win, and Marmol said on Sunday that Donovan was not available off the bench on Saturday night. With a day off Monday, the Cardinals did not use Donovan at all on Sunday. Jose Fermin started at second base for the second consecutive day and was 1 for 4 and drove in two runs.
Winn continues to play every day
Rookie shortstop Masyn Winn started his 25th consecutive game on Sunday. He entered the day in an 0-for-16 slump at the plate after he’d been a pacesetter atop the lineup throughout August with a team-high 33 hits. Winn also hit five home runs and scored 19 runs out of the leadoff spot last month.
Winn snapped his hitless streak with a seventh-inning single on Sunday, when he was 1 for 4. That was his final at-bat of the game, and he went into Monday’s off-day having stopped his slump at 0 for 19.
After the Cardinals released veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford on Aug. 20, that made Donovan and Fermin the backup options at shortstop.
Marmol said Winn is likely to have a scheduled day off for Tuesday’s series opener against Cincinnati. If Donovan is not in the lineup then, Fermin could start at shortstop with veteran slugger Matt Carpenter at second base.
A pitching duel shaped in Florida
Saturday night’s game featured a pair of sparkling performances from each team’s starting pitcher, Cardinals right-hander Kyle Gibson and Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert.
The duo allowed just four hits combined through the first six innings in a 0-0 duel. Gibson finished the night having allowed three hits and three walks in 6 2/3 scoreless innings, while Gilbert didn’t allow a run until the eighth inning when he gave up just his second hit of a game — a two-run home run by Pages.
Aside from their similar physical stature, both pitchers are listed as 6 feet 6, Gibson and Gilbert have another commonality. They’d crossed paths during the offseason at their shared training facility, Randy Sullivan’s Florida Baseball ARMory.
Gibson said the two have exchanged text messages a few times, and they greeted each other on the field before the series opener on Friday.