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Reuters
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Cardinals seek to climb in wild-card race, send Rockies to ninth loss in a row
August 12 - The St. Louis Cardinals aren't conceding their season despite shipping away three of their top relievers ahead of the trade deadline. They will continue their bid for a National League wild-card berth when they host the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night in the second contest of a three-game series. The Cardinals rallied for a 3-2 victory Monday night on Brendan Donovan's two-run pinch double in the eighth inning. St. Louis has won four of its past five games to move within three games of the New York Mets for the final wild-card slot. "We're going to take out shot every night and we're going to have fun doing it," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "There's a lot of belief in that clubhouse," Donovan told the FanDuel Sports Network. "No matter the circumstances, we're going to show up, we're going to prepare, and then we're going to play hard. That's baseball. Just like anything, there's ups and there's downs, but it's how you show up and respond. That's what we're trying to do." Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar will be questionable to play Tuesday after exiting Monday's game with a left knee contusion. Donovan's availability to play in the field also is in question as he continues to recover from a left groin strain. With Colorado scheduled to start left-handed pitchers the next two games, right-hand hitting outfielder Jordan Walker is expected to play a key role in the St. Louis offense. After hitting .210 through June 22, Walker went on the injured list with appendicitis and used his rehab stint in the minors to retool his swing. Walker hit .304 in July with an .807 OPS, and he is hitting 9-for-28 so far in August. The Cardinals on Tuesday will start left-hander Matthew Liberatore (6-9, 3.98 ERA), who failed to complete five innings in his past three starts -- due in part to poor support in the field. Liberatore allowed nine runs in 12 2/3 innings in those games, but only four of those runs were earned. He is 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies. The Rockies will turn to left-hander Kyle Freeland (2-12, 5.53) as they try to snap an eight-game losing streak. Freeland should be back to full strength after pitching through illness in previous start, a 20-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Interim Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer praised Freeland for giving his depleted team some innings, given his health. "(Freeland) was clearly still battling fatigue, clearly," Schaeffer said after the game. "He gave us all he had. He battled through that game. I don't think he was quite over the sickness. It was continuing to take a toll. That's not an excuse. ... I'm saying how it is. "But I thought he competed well. In general, (he was) missing over the plate, happened throughout the game. I mean it's a good-hitting team. They hit some good pitches too. They hit some good pitches off Freeland." Freeland is 0-3 with a 5.45 ERA in seven career games against the Cardinals. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former All-Star catcher Yadier Molina returns to Cardinals' dugout as temporary coach
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout this weekend for the first time since his 19-year playing career ended in 2022. The 43-year-old former catcher will be in uniform as a coach for games Friday night and Saturday evening against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. 'I think it will be a good time,' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 'It's 48 hours, but even the short period, I mean, we just spent a little bit of time together, but even that in itself was just fun, and for the other guys, too.' Molina didn't hesitate to accept Marmol's invitation to join him on the bench. 'It was great news when Oli invited me,' Molina said. 'I was like, why not go over there, watch some baseball and try to help the team get better? We've got some young guys that really need some experience I can bring and show them. I'm happy to help.' Molina rejoined the organization as a special assistant to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak on Dec. 6, 2023, but had not been at Busch Stadium since attending longtime teammate Adam Wainwright's retirement ceremony at the end of the 2023 season. Molina will manage Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but said it will be at least a year after that before he considers taking a full-time position as a big league coach. 'That's the plan,' Molina said. 'I'm finished with my son. He's a (high school) senior right now. After he finishes school, that's probably when I start coaching in the major leagues.' With a potential coaching career on the horizon, the 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner is staying focused on the present. He will spend a portion of his 48-hour stay in St. Louis working with the team's catchers. 'When I signed with the Cardinals, I always wanted to meet him,' catcher Yohel Pozo said. 'He's my favorite player since I was young, but now that I have him here, it's like, oh my God. It's like a dream come true. Having him here, I talked to him a little bit and the way he talks, the way he expresses is really nice.' The Cardinals have gone 212-228 without qualifying for postseason play since Molina retired, but the longtime catcher believes the future looks bright. 'You've got to go game by game,' Molina said. 'We are in a position we don't like right now. Obviously, we have to play better baseball, but I think we're there. We've got the talent. I'm a fan of this team. I feel that we play the small game really good. We're running the bases really good. The pitchers need to be more stable, but anything can happen. It happened before. We're eight games back. That's nothing.' ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Former All-Star catcher Yadier Molina returns to Cardinals' dugout as temporary coach
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout this weekend for the first time since his 19-year playing career ended in 2022. The 43-year-old former catcher will be in uniform as a coach for games Friday night and Saturday evening against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. 'I think it will be a good time,' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 'It's 48 hours, but even the short period, I mean, we just spent a little bit of time together, but even that in itself was just fun, and for the other guys, too.' Molina didn't hesitate to accept Marmol's invitation to join him on the bench. 'It was great news when Oli invited me,' Molina said. 'I was like, why not go over there, watch some baseball and try to help the team get better? We've got some young guys that really need some experience I can bring and show them. I'm happy to help.' Molina rejoined the organization as a special assistant to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak on Dec. 6, 2023, but had not been at Busch Stadium since attending longtime teammate Adam Wainwright's retirement ceremony at the end of the 2023 season. Molina will manage Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but said it will be at least a year after that before he considers taking a full-time position as a big league coach. 'That's the plan,' Molina said. 'I'm finished with my son. He's a (high school) senior right now. After he finishes school, that's probably when I start coaching in the major leagues.' With a potential coaching career on the horizon, the 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner is staying focused on the present. He will spend a portion of his 48-hour stay in St. Louis working with the team's catchers. 'When I signed with the Cardinals, I always wanted to meet him,' catcher Yohel Pozo said. 'He's my favorite player since I was young, but now that I have him here, it's like, oh my God. It's like a dream come true. Having him here, I talked to him a little bit and the way he talks, the way he expresses is really nice.' The Cardinals have gone 212-228 without qualifying for postseason play since Molina retired, but the longtime catcher believes the future looks bright. 'You've got to go game by game,' Molina said. 'We are in a position we don't like right now. Obviously, we have to play better baseball, but I think we're there. We've got the talent. I'm a fan of this team. I feel that we play the small game really good. We're running the bases really good. The pitchers need to be more stable, but anything can happen. It happened before. We're eight games back. That's nothing.' ___ AP MLB:
Reuters
4 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Yadier Molina to make guest coaching appearance for Cardinals
August 8 - Cardinals legend Yadier Molina will be wearing his familiar No. 4 when he serves Friday and Saturday as a guest coach for St. Louis in a home series against the rival Chicago Cubs. He is doing so at the invitation of manager Oliver Marmol, who extended the offer to Molina when the 10-time All-Star catcher told him he'd be in town for an event and wanted to be involved in some way. Molina, 43, hasn't worn a Cardinals uniform since he retired at the end of the 2022 season. "It's the right thing to do for our players, our staff, and for our fan base," Marmol told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday. "I want to have him around. I love the fact that he'll be in the dugout for two days. I think it will be awesome for players and for fans, for all of it, to have him here." Molina played his entire 19-year career with St. Louis and won nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves and two World Series championships. The experience he gets over two days at Busch Stadium can help him prepare for his job as the manager of Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic next spring. He also was the manager in 2023, and he has said his goal is to manage in the big leagues. Molina appeared in 2,224 games from 2004-22, with 2,184 of them at the catcher position. He hit over .300 five times and ended with a career .277 batting average, 2,168 hits, 176 homers and 1,022 RBIs. He hit .273 in 104 playoff games with four homers and 36 RBIs. On defense, he had a stellar career .995 fielding percentage behind the plate and threw out 40.3 percent of players attempting to steal a base. "I'm looking forward to having him back in uniform. There's a deep respect there, not just for how he sees the game, but for the way he carries himself," Marmol told The Athletic. "Even in just a short window, I know he can leave a lasting impact on our players," he added. "He leads by example, and in his own powerful way, he shows these young guys what's possible when you pour everything you have into the game. That kind of presence, it stays with you." --Field Level Media
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn's confident take on post All-Star break play
The post Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn's confident take on post All-Star break play appeared first on ClutchPoints. St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn is in his second full season in the Majors, and while he still has work left to do to reach his potential, fans have seen glimpses of long-term potential. After flashing some leather in the Cardinals' series over the weekend against the San Diego Padres, the 23-year-old reflected on his status as part of one of baseball's most storied franchises. 'Offensively, I'm still working on some things, but defensively, I feel like I'm that guy and I love that my teammates and staff think that about me,' Winn said, via John Denton of 'I want to be here for a long time, and making a play like that [on Saturday] is going to allow that to happen.' In 100 games this season, Winn is hitting a respectable .270 with an OPS+ just a tick under the league average at 99. He also has a strikeout rate of only 17.3 percent, well below the league average, and an encouraging sign for a young hitter. On the bases, he ranks in the 78th percentile in sprint speed, though it hasn't helped his lofty stolen base goals just yet. But as Winn noted, he's still working on the offensive part of his game. Defensively, he shines, grading as a shortstop with elite range and one of the best arms in the game at his position, per Baseball Savant His manager, Oliver Marmol, seemed enamored with his young shortstop. 'He's an electric player, and he can beat you in a lot of different ways,' he said. 'This is a guy who can hit for power and beat you, use the whole field and beat you, and beat you on the bases. And he can definitely beat you defensively. That's the style of player you can build around, and he's continuing to grow. His overall mindset is that he's going to give you everything he's got.' Related: Cardinals' top prospect catching fire, on verge of call up Related: Cardinals rumors: 3 players who refused to waive no-trade clause at deadline
