Game Recap - Apr 15 - Cardinals at Oakland

16/04/2024 06:40

The team's second west coast swing this month

Pre-game notes

• On the medical front, there isn't much new to report. MLB.com (among others) reports that Liberatore has been down with the flu and was sent home this weekend (he lives in the Phoenix area). Not that it's fun to be sick, but at least he was sick at home and not stuck in some hotel room. Broadcasters say he threw a bullpen earlier today.
• The Cardinals are in Oakland and trying to get their offense untracked.
• Have you ever been to Oakland's home stadium? If you have, you know why they are moving. The place is an indescribable dump. They do have 2,000 of the most passionate fans, I will admit.
• The Coliseum is somewhat pitcher friendly, ranking 24th in offense with a park factor of 97. It does tend to be extreme in supporting doubles and triples. Gap hitters would do well here.
• My first game there was a night Mike Matheny let Shelby Miller throw 50 pitches to get like 4 outs. If I recall correctly, pretty much the only strike he threw was crushed by Yoenis Cespedes.
• Disappoint is the word for this series. We must find a way to work it in.

Line-up machinations

• ·Sonny Gray is on the bump for the Cardinals. If there is anyone who knows how to pitch in Oakland, it should be him.
• Donovan at DH, Contreras at C. Otherwise, pretty standard line-up.
• I'm figuring Pallante and Fernandez are down tonight, probably everyone else is full go.

The game

T1 - Cards get out early. After Donovan grounds out, Goldy walks. Noot bunted him to 2nd, although I think Noot was really bunting for a hit. Arenado finishes well with a hard hit single to left. Contreras doubles to center (112 mph), but Arenado doesn't score even though he would've been off and running with 2 out. I think he has slowed (and he was slow to begin with). Gorman flies out. Cards up 1-0.

B1 - Toro flies out. Gelof singles, and then promptly gets thrown out stealing. Hold the presses!! (is that still a thing?). The Cards throw out their first base stealer of the season. Bleday K's.

T2 - Winn leads off with a hard-hit double to left - 106 mph. Who says he doesn't have power? But Walker K's and Scott pops out, which is getting to be a bit of a routine for those two. Donovan out F7.

B2 - Nevins grounds out. Brown K's. Langeliers pops out (foul). Boy there is a lot of foul territory here. On that play, I am not disappointed in the amount of foul ground. Later, I will be. Gray looking sharp.

T3 - Goldy K's. Noot F7. Arenado lines a double into the corner. He is perking up a bit at the plate. Contreras "lines" out the pitcher. It was softly hit, not a liner, but not high enough to be a pop. More of a ceremonial first pitch. I don't think that is a classification of struck baseballs.

B3 - Butler 6-3. Hernaiz 4-3. Noda F9. Yes, Gray is sharp. Low pitch count, too. Cards still up 1-0.

T4 - Cards return the quick inning favor. Gorman K's. Winn pops out. Walker F7. Stripling almost matching Gray.

B4 - Toro backwards K. Gelof singles again. Bleday singles. Nevin F9, advancing the lead running. Brown K's.

T5 - Scott pops out. He is kind of a pop-up machine right now. Maybe he and Walker could change shoes or something. Scott needs to hit Walker's GB% and Walker needs to hit Scott's FB%. Both would be better for it. But I strongly suspect it is not the shoes. It appears to me that both are the in major leagues only because Carlson and Edman are still not ready to play. Back to the game. Donovan K's. Goldy pops out. And we move on quickly.

B5 - Langeliers with long fly ball that becomes an F8. Butler lines out to Walker. Hernaiz 4-3. A's actually square up a couple balls that inning. Gray at 60 pitches. Very efficient.

T6 - Cards add on. Noot doubles. Arenado hits into hard line out. Contreras with RBI double. Gorman out 4-3 but advances the runner to third. Winn walks. Stripling out. 5.2 innings, 4 K, 2 walks, 6 hits, ultimately 3 runs allowed. Walker hits a single into the hole to drive in Contreras. Scott out on force play to end inning. Kept in on the ground, though. Cards now up 3-0.

B6 - Noda K's. Toro doubles. This counts as trouble for Gray. Gelof backwards K at a crucial moment. Bleday out F9. Gray at 72 pitches, may be done. Very nice job. 6 innings, 0 runs, 4 hits. This is what a top-flight pitcher does. Been a while since we've seen this. 2019 version of Flaherty maybe?

T7 - Donovan HBP on kneecap. Ouch. Goldy pops out. Noot hits into 1u-6 DP. Don't see that box score entry a lot. Cards still up 3-0.

B7 - Kittredge in. Naturally, the obligatory "reliever walks lead-off hitter" outcome. Ugh. Browns K's (again). I think that is the silver sombrero for him. Langeliers GIDP 5-4-3 to end the inning quickly.

T8 - Arenado pops out. Note: He has a couple shots over 100 mph tonight. Good to see. Contreras pops out. Gorman K's. Quick inning.

B8 - Pinch hitter Ruiz greets JoJo Romero with solo HR to left. Hernaiz fouls out. Pinch hitter Schuemann out F9. Toro K's. Cards now up 3-1.

T9 - Winn singles. Siani bunts, sacrificing Winn to 2nd. Scott K's. WP advances Winn to 3rd. Donovan K's stranding the runner.

B9 - Helsley in. Gelof out 6-3. Winn seems pretty dependable at SS. Helsley velo up into triple digits now. He takes a couple extra weeks to get fully revved up. Bleday K's. Nevin K's. Nice clean 10 pitch inning. Cards win 3-1.

Post game notes (observations and random musings)

• Tonight was just a workman like game. Nice clean 2 hours 19 minutes. Almost old-fashioned, even with 2 Sac Bunts. Nothing totally special, just solid contributions pitching, hitting and defensively. I have strong appreciation for mistake-free baseball, and a belief that it pays off over 162 games.
• It has taken me a bit to clue in that the Cardinals have 4 trips to the west coast this year. Lot of miles. This AZ-OAK swing is trip #2. They swing through Anaheim in a few weeks, and close out with a trip to Colorado and San Fransisco to end the season. I plan to be at both those venues, fire season permitting.
• Lynn pitches tomorrow. The Coliseum really suppresses home runs. Lynn gives up a fair number. Seems like something has to give, right?
• Anyone see the play where Tyler O'Neill got hurt colliding with Devers? 8 stitches and concussion protocols. Ouch!
• Here is a little trivia ... Over the last 10-15 years, Oakland is in the bottom half of MLB teams in terms of drafting success, drafting only 9 notable players since 2010, well below average. Seems like fixing that would do more for their success than where they choose to play. Just a thought.
• Tonight, there was nothing to be disappointed about.