The St. Louis Cardinals arguably have the most momentum of any team that did not have a game in the past week as the second half of the season begins today. With Jordan Walker stealing national headlines after putting on a show at the Home Run Derby, more eyes could be on the Cardinals than expected for a rebuilding team.
The start of the final 77 games will be at Chase Field in Arizona as the Diamondbacks will host the Cardinals for a three-game series that, to Paul Sewald’s pleasure, will have little to no chance of being delayed at the covered desert stadium. With two weeks until the trade deadline, the Cardinals have the opportunity to make conversations around the roster more interesting, but we could be nearing the end of a few St. Louis tenures.
Even with Jordan Walker winning the Home Run Derby in dramatic fashion, there will be plenty watching his second half waiting for his demise so they can pass the blame to the exhibition event. Cardinals are playing with house money sitting at five games over and a solid chance to move past their win total from each of the previous two seasons. The season has already been a major win overall, but there is plenty of baseball left to make headlines one way or another.
The pitching plans for the Cardinals line up for Michael McGreevy to kick things off, followed by Dustin May and Andre Pallante. The two teams begin the second half outside of where they set their preseason expectations, but for the Cardinals, that is a good thing. The pitching matchups may cause some frustrations for hitters, especially on Sunday as each team brings their de facto ace to the bump.
In game two, Dustin May looks to continue bolstering his trade value and help the Cardinals out with a win before potentially getting shipped out in a couple weeks. Brandon Pfaadt will take the mound for the D’Backs as he tries to stay hot since returning to the Arizona rotation. In the final game, 10-game winner Andre Pallante will take on southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, who has had a great bounceback season after back-to-back down years.
The Diamondbacks couldn’t have scripted a better ending before the All-Star break. Four consecutive victories, a statement sweep of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, and 23 runs scored over three games gave Arizona exactly what it needed, which was belief. As the Diamondbacks open the second half at Chase Field against the St. Louis Cardinals, the biggest question isn’t whether Arizona can keep up its offensive consistency; it’s whether this time off helped fuel that fire or tamed the flame.
Arizona returns home with confidence after its lineup looked relentless, creating pressure throughout games that forces defensive miscues. That’s the formula successful postseason teams often follow, with consistent traffic on the bases combined with timely power. Veteran Merrill Kelly will try to help Arizona build on its recent success against Cardinals right-hander Michael McGreevy, whose steady season has made him one of St. Louis’ reliable starters.
The matchup places equal importance on execution, as both clubs enter the series separated by only a handful of games in the standings. For Diamondbacks fans, this series is an opportunity to see whether the offensive rhythm displayed in Los Angeles can survive the emotional reset that accompanies the All-Star break.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming out of the All-Star break with both a sense of confidence and urgency. Coming off a three-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles entering the break, they must now make a dash towards NL Wild Card contention prior to the August 3 trade deadline and convince their General Manager Mike Hazen to be a buyer. The anticipation to get started again and remain hot was palpable talking to manager Torey Lovullo and the players Thursday afternoon.
One of the hot topics was how the manager would handle playing time following yet more roster moves. It was revealed on Tuesday that outfielder Tommy Troy was going onto the injured list with sprained AC joint. First baseman Tyler Locklear was recalled from Triple-A Reno to take his roster spot. Speaking of the plan for Locklear, Lovullo said, “He’s going to get a little bit of time. He’s going to play first base, his primary position. There might be DH options for him.”
First base has been a revolving door for the Diamondbacks this year, a position from which they’ve received historically low production. That seemed to have potentially changed when Tim Tawa exploded over the weekend at Dodger Stadium. Manning first base all three games following Pavin Smith’s removal from the roster, Tawa went 7-for-13 with two doubles, two homers, and seven RBI. Now with the injury to Troy and the return of Locklear, Tawa will return to mostly outfield play.
Lovullo said he’s going to continue to ride the hot hand when making out his lineups. He first introduced the phrase “King of the Court” two weeks ago to express the concept of hot players getting more playing time. “I know that I’ve talked about King of the Court. I’ll continue to just flow it and be fluid with the matchups and who’s swinging the bat well. It seems to have worked and motivated a couple guys. It’s not my style, but I don’t disagree with it. You’ve got to go out there and perform to get plenty of time.”
