Random Cardinal Stats

Earlier Is Still Better Than Later

With one out in last night’s ninth inning, it started again. Nolan Arenado slapped a single up the middle. One out later, Albert Pujols guided a single into right. After going quietly for eight innings on only 3 hits, the Cards were trying, once again, to mount a ninth-inning rally.

Fans who have been following the recent fortunes of this club won’t be surprised to know that the Cards lead all the major leagues in ninth-inning runs scored. Their 72 is 3 more than the Brewers. They also lead all of baseball in ninth-inning batting average (.262) and on base percentage (.359). They are third in slugging percentage (.469), and second in OPS (their .828 trailing Milwaukee by one point).

It hasn’t always been this way. They hit the All-Star Break batting just .240 with 22 runs scored in that inning. But things changed dramatically once the calendar flipped to August. In 29 August games, St Louis scored 24 ninth-inning runs, hitting .342/.478/.616 in that inning. September has seen very little difference. The ninth-inning Cards are hitting .375/.436/.604. Going into last night’s ninth inning, the Cards had scored 15 ninth-inning runs in their last 9 ninth-innings.

In September alone, they rallied for 5 runs to overcome a 5-1 deficit to beat Washington, 6-5 (Sept 7), broke a 4-4 tie with 3 in the ninth to beat Pittsburgh 7-5 (September 10), and scored 4 more in the ninth the next night to turn what had been a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead into a 4-3 win (September 11).

Yeah, But . . .

The heroics are all fine and well, but they serve mostly to underline the ongoing struggles this offense has had in scoring runs, essentially in any other inning, but specifically before the eighth inning rolls around. September began very much like most of the months before, as the Cards rolled over the Cubs 8-0 and 8-4. But, beginning with Marcus Stroman’s September 4 start – a game the Cards won 2-0 with their runs coming in the eighth inning – the early offense has mostly vanished.

Six times in the last 16 games, the Cards have been held scoreless through seven innings. In three other games, they were held under 3 runs through 7 innings. Over the last 16 games – during which the Cards have averaged just 3.31 runs total – they have averaged just 2.06 through the first seven. They are batting .195 (79 for 405) in the first 7 innings of their last 16 games.

St Louis has only been required to bat 11 times in the ninth inning in their last 16 games, so their ninth innings represent only 7.8% of their innings over these last 16 games. Yet the Cards have 16.4% of their hits, 16.3% of their extra-base hits (including 14.3% of their home runs) and 28.3% of their runs scored in those 11 innings.

The rally last night fizzled, (as have the last three ninth innings) when Alec Burleson ended the game with a ground out. It would have needed to be quite the rally, as the Cards entered that inning trailing by 5 in what would eventually be a 5-0 loss to San Diego (box score). The Cards have not driven in a run in three straight games. Since Yadier Molina helped them to a 5-0 lead over Cincinnati in the first game of the September 17 double-header, Cardinal batters – in all innings except the ninth – are 14 for 102 (.137) with 1 extra-base hit.

And while that ninth-inning number is a nice thing, it’s not something I would count on too much this week and once the playoffs start. Of their 72 ninth-inning runs, only 26 have come in “game situations,” meaning either with the score tied, or with the Cards trailing by less than four runs.

Of those 26, only 6 have come at the expense of a winning team. On May 10, Brendan Donovan drilled a ninth-inning home run off of Baltimore’s Dillon Tate, trimming a 5-2 deficit to the 5-3 final score. They got the Mets twice in three days later on in May, scoring a ninth-inning run off of Joely Rodriguez to earn a 4-3 win on May 17, and then pushed home a run against Edwin Diaz on May 19 to forge a 5-5 tie (the Cards would eventually lose 7-6 in 10).

Arenado jumped Philadelphia’s Seranthony Dominguez with a ninth-inning homer on July 2 that gave St Louis a 7-6 win. Perhaps their best moment was an August 27 rally against Kenley Jansen, when they scored two runs against the Atlanta closer to reverse a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 win.

Other than these six runs, it has been mostly beating the shaky late-inning relief in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Counting on beating the league’s top closers on the league’s best teams in the ninth inning isn’t exactly a well-constructed game plan.

It’ll be better if they start hitting earlier rather than later.

Tales of Albert

They were “only” singles, but Pujols was the only Cardinal hitter to manage two hits last night. Albert has come back to earth a bit in recent games, but he is still hitting .315 (40 for 127) since the Break.

Albert’s flare for the dramatic has sharpened in September. With his ninth-inning single last night, Pujols is now 5 for 13 (.385) this month in the eighth or ninth inning. The hits include a double and 2 home runs – a .923 slugging percentage to go with 7 runs batted in. Three of those have either tied the score or put the Cards ahead, and two have been game-winners.

Donovan

Donovan drew a walk last night, but was 0-for-3 otherwise. He is hitless in his last 11 at bats.

Edman

The game’s second batter, Tommy Edman grounded to second for the game’s second out. Tommy has been one of the team’s more consistent hitters – in every inning but the first. In 99 first-inning plate appearances this year, Tommy has 14 singles (3 of them of the infield variety), 2 doubles, 1 home run, 14 runs scored, 6 walks, and 26 strikeouts – a .183/.232/.237 batting line.

Dickerson

Corey Dickerson had been riding an eight-game hitting streak when manager Oliver Marmol gave him the day off for the first game of the Cincinnati series. Corey did find himself at the plate to make the final out of that game, initiating a 1 for 17 tumble.

Nootbaar

The Cards are still waiting for Lars Nootbaar to find his swing again. Lars was 0-for-2 last night and is just 3 for 38 (.079) during the last 16 games.

Issues with Waino

One thing I absolutely love about Adam Wainwright is his willingness to tell the media and fans what’s going on with him. If his delivery stinks, he’ll announce that to the press. And now, he’s been fighting through a “dead arm” period. In four September starts, Waino has managed just 21 innings with a 5.57 ERA and a .360 batting average allowed. Swings-and-misses are down to just 11% of the swings against him.

In discussing this with the press, Adam expressed some surprise. This was the kind of thing that never happened to him in September – historically his best month. Adam is 41 years old now. This is about the time of life that things that never happened before start happening. Call it foreshadowing.

NoteBook

As the Cards have been shutout in their last two games, of necessity their opponents (Cincinnati and San Diego) would have scored the first runs of the game. St Louis has scored first just twice in their last 11 games.

St Louis has now dropped the first game in 5 straight series.

Goldy Advances on Career Bests (13 Games to Go)

September has seen Paul Goldschmidt cool some, but Paul is still within sight of some career highs. Last night’s double was hit number 169 for the season. He needs 13 more to tie his career high, and his 314 total bases bring him within 18 of that mark.

Goldschmidt’s average (.322) and OPS (1.008) are still slightly higher than his current career highs (.321 and 1.005 in 2015). He is comfortably ahead of his career high in slugging percentage. His current best is the .570 he slugged (also in 2015). He is currently at .598.

In 2017, Goldschmidt struck home runs in 5.4% of his plate appearances – his career best, so far. He has been at 5.7% so far this season.

Baseball

Very Random Stats with 14 Games Left

A few deep factoids to ponder at the beginning of the big road trip:

Saturday was the perfect day for the Cards to play that double-header against Cincinnati. After winning both games, they are 4-0 this month on Saturday, 8-2 on that day since the Break, and 20-6 (.769) for the season. The Cards are a .600 ballclub on 4 of the 7 days of the week. In addition to Saturday, they are playing .667 ball on Monday (8-4); .632 ball on Wednesday (12-7); and .609 on Friday (14-9).

They are below .500 on only one day. They are 8-12 (.400) on Thursday.

St Louis has lost the first game in 4 of the 5 series they’ve started this month, but have then gone 5-0 in the second game, and 4-0 in the third. Since the Break, they are 13-4 (.765) in the second games of series, and 13-2 (.867) in game three. The game two magic has been there all season. The Cards are 34-11 (.756) in those games.

Because of the strangeness of the schedule, the Cards have played 13 series that have extended to at least four games (three of those have gone to five games). They are only 5-8 in game fours this year.

Since the All-Star Break, the Cards are 13-0 when a left-hander starts against them. They are 23-9 (.719) overall when a lefty opposes them. You would think that eventually teams would stop doing this.

The Cards scored five or more runs 25 times in the first 37 games since the Break (67.6%). They have done so just 7 times in 17 games this month (41.2%).

The Cards have won four 1-0 games this season – three of them coming since August 6. They beat Kansas City on May 2; the Yankees on August 6; the Cubs on August 22, and Cincinnati in 11 innings on September 17. The most runs they have scored in a loss this year is 7. On May 7, they were beaten 13-7 in San Francisco.

Highlighted by 8 shutouts, Cardinal pitching has held opponents under 4 runs in 30 of the 54 games since the Break (55.6%).

St Louis has lost just one 1-0 game this season (on July 9 to Kyle Gibson and the Philadelphia Phillies).

The most runs they’ve allowed in a victory is 9. On August 9 they outslugged the Yankees 12-9.

They have scored ten runs or more 14 times this season (with a high of 18). They have allowed ten runs or more 7 times, with a high of 16.

St Louis is a combined 15-3 (.833) in starts by Jose Quintana (8-1) and Jordan Montgomery (7-2) – the two starters acquired at the trading deadline.

Eleven times in the 17 games played so far this month, the Cards have failed to score first. They have, nonetheless, come back to win 6 of those games. Since the Break, they 15-10 (a .600 winning percentage) when they allow the first run of the game.

St Louis has trailed at some point in 7 of their 11 wins this month, while losing just two games in September where they held a lead at some point. Since the break, they have 19 come-from-behind wins, and only 8 come from ahead losses.

For the season, they have come from behind to win 37 times – the largest came on June 13 against Pittsburgh. This was Zack Thompson’s only start of the season, and he turned in 4 decent innings, going into the fifth trailing just 1-0. But, in the fifth, singles by Yu Chang and Bryan Reynolds set the table for a run-scoring single from Ke’Bryan Hayes, and a three-run homer from Michael Chavis. And just like that, it was a 5-0 Pirate lead.

The Cards began their comeback in the sixth with a leadoff double from Paul Goldschmidt and a one-out singe from Tyler O’Neill that put Cardinal runners on the corners. At that point, Anthony Banda replaced Mitch Keller, and the results were less than the Pirates hoped. In the space of three batters, Banda gave a two-run double to Brendan Donovan, a bloop single to Juan Yepez, and a game-tying, three-run home run off the bat of Dylan Carlson.

St Louis then took the lead in the seventh when Goldschmidt drilled the go-ahead home run (off of then-Pirate Chris Stratton). They added an insurance run in the eighth to complete the 7-5 win (box score).

They have also lost 23 games in which they held a lead at one point. The largest lead that St Louis has spit up was a six-run lead that they held against the Dodgers on July 13.

Their onslaught against Tony Gonsolin that day began in the third, when Goldschmidt drove in the first two runs with a single, and Nolan Arenado doubled the lead with a home run. An RBI double from Andrew Knizner made it 5-0 in the fourth, and Lars Nootbaar added the sixth run with a single in the sixth.

After good early work by starter Adam Wainwright and Packy Naughton, Drew VerHagen entered the game in the seventh, and the Dodger offense sprung to life. Will Smith hit the two-run homer that put the Dodgers on the board. Genesis Cabrera then put a couple of runners on base in the eighth that the Dodgers brought home when Junior Fernandez replaced him. Mookie Betts drove in one with a double, and Trea Turner made it a 6-5 game with a two-run single.

The Dodgers completed their comeback in the ninth against Giovanny Gallegos. A leadoff double from Justin Turner and a Cody Bellinger single set things in motion. A flyball from Max Muncy tied the score, and two batters later the immortal Hanser Alberto delivered the single that provided the final 7-6 score (box score).

This was the ninth time this century that St Louis lost a game they led at one point by at least six runs, and only the second time this has happened to them since 2010. On August 26 of last year they lost an 11-7 decision in Pittsburgh in a game where they held a six-run lead (Mitch Keller, by the way, was the Pirate starer in that one as well).

The biggest lead St Louis has squandered this century is 7 runs in a 12-9 loss in Colorado on July 6, 2010.

Seventy-eight different umpires have worked the plate during Cardinal games so far this season. Thirty-five of them we have seen only once. Of the others, 13 have called three or more games for the Cards.

St Louis is 19-0 if the home plate umpire is either of Chad Whitson (4 games), Erich Bacchus (3), Edwin Moscoso (3), Mark Ripperger (3), Clint Vondrak (3) or Hunter Wendelstedt (3).

They are just 7-16 if the umpire is either of Chris Conroy (1-2), Pat Hoberg (1-2), Ron Kulpa (1-2), Alan Porter (1-2), Chris Segal (1-2 – no surprise here), Dan Iassogna (1-3) or Jeremy Riggs (1-3).

Baseball

Positives From the Cincinnati Series

By the time the first game of the Saturday double-header rolled around, the Cardinals and Reds had split the first two games of the five-game series. The first game had been an annoying 3-2 loss (box score). Against Chase Anderson – who hadn’t won a game this season to that point – the Cardinal offensive juggernaut was limited to 3 hits. Friday night, for five more innings against a tag-team relay of lightly regarded pitchers, the feared Cardinal lineup was stymied again. They went into the bottom of the sixth, trailing 4-1.

At that point, the sleeping giant erupted. They scored 5 runs over the next two innings (highlighted by Albert Pujols’ 698^th career home run) to rally for a 6-5 win (box score). Now, it was the Saturday double-header, and in the first game the Cardinal batters were absolutely making Cincy lefty Mike Minor pay for their earlier indignities.

In just the third inning – after Yadier Molina scorched a two-run homer into the seats in the left-field corner – the Birds were already up 5-0. And everyone could exhale. The offense was back. The brownout was over.

At least, that was what we thought then.

The Talk of the Town

The Molina home run turned out to be the last gasp of offense for the weekend. In an offensive dry spell that everyone in St Louis (including me, apparently) is discussing, the Cards followed Yadi’s home run with a 25-inning stretch in which they managed one run – unearned. It didn’t matter too much in that first game – the Cards sailed on to a 5-1 win (box score). It became something of a sore spot when the second game of the twin bill went scoreless into the bottom of the eleventh. They won that game, 1-0, in the bottom of the eleventh as the gift runner that begins each extra inning on second base (Andrew Knizner, in this instance) scored when the throw from center-fielder Nick Senzel – now playing third base in a five-man infield – hit him in the back as he came home on a ground ball off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt (box score).

The series wrapped up on Sunday with a 3-0 Cincinnati win (box score). The Birds head to San Diego on the heels of managing two hits (both singles) against Luis Cessa and a host of relievers.

For the series, the Cards hit .178 (27 for 152) with only 8 extra-base hits. They slugged but .257 and scored only 14 runs in five games – with 10 of those runs coming in a six-inning span from the end of game two to the beginning of game three. From the moment that Molina’s foot touched home plate until the end of the series, Cardinal hitters were a combined 11 for 81 (.136). All of the hits were singles, including 2 infield hits and 2 other bunt singles.

Forgive the Padres if they aren’t necessarily shaking in their boots.

For his part, manager Oliver Marmol isn’t over-reacting. Over the course of the long season, teams will have their moments when they all hit at the same time, and other times when they’ll all go cold at the same time. It’s part of the randomness of baseball.

Where Are the Two-Out Hits?

Let’s look, for example, at two-out hits. The major league average with two-out in an inning is .237. In August, St Louis hit .287 with two-out – much of the reason they scored 5.97 runs per game that month. Fully 40.5% of their RBIs that month came with two outs.

But, like the six-runs-a-game average, it’s not a pace that’s sustainable. At some point, you regress – at least a little bit – to the mean.

September has seen the run scoring drop to 4.06 per game, and the average with two out is down to .205. Now, the two-out RBIs account for just 29.9% of the team RBIs this month. In the just concluded Cincinnati series, Cardinal hitters hit .152 (7 for 46) with two outs. For the season – even with the recent downturn – the Cards rank third in all of major league baseball in two-out RBIs. They have 266. They had 3 in 5 games against the Reds.

Some Perspective

A couple points have gotten lost in the worrying over the missing offense. First, more credit should go to the Cincinnati pitching staff. The fact that these guys aren’t household names doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of tossing a gem every now and then. They were part of the equation, too.

Even more, everyone has been so concerned over offensive worries that most have neglected to notice the spectacular turn-around by the pitching staff in general, and the beleaguered bullpen in particular.

Last Wednesday (September 14), Adam Wainwright and Molina set the much-anticipated record for starts between battery-mates. With Waino leading the way, a pitching staff that had yielded 40 runs over its previous 6 games (a devilish 6.66 runs per game), suddenly became nearly airtight.

Over the last 6 games, Cardinal pitchers hold a 1.93 ERA. An excellent 2.65 from the starters, and a tremendous 0.48 from the pen that has allowed just 1 run over its last 18.2 innings.

Upcoming, now, is a defining 8-game road trip into San Diego, Los Angeles and Milwaukee. If the up-and-down bullpen has finally figured itself out, then this would be an optimal time to show it. If the offensive downturn is just a temporary pause, this trip would be a great time for them to show up again.

One of my immutable axioms in baseball is that it’s always early until its not. It’s late now. Time to see what these guys are made of.

Edman

After the end of his 14-game hitting streak, Tommy Edman fell into a bit of a tailspin. He went 0-for-11 over his next three games, but resurfaced with a vengeance, getting three hits in each of the last two Cincinnati games that he played in. Tommy is hitting .390 (23 for 59) this month.

Tommy has been one of the team’s best two-out hitters all season (he’s hitting .347 with two out). He was 3 for 6 against the Reds, and is 8 for 16 this month. Since the Break, Edman is 17 for 46 (.370) with 10 RBIs with two outs.

Betting on Yadi

Before the month started, Marmol expressed his confidence in Molina, saying that he would bet on Yadi in September. To this point, it looks like a good bet. Playing in 3 of the Cincinnati games, Molina was the only other Cardinal hitter to have a productive series. He was 3 for 10 with that home run. Yadi is a .326 hitter in September (14 for 43) with 6 extra-base hits. Three of the 5 home runs he’s hit this season have come in September. Yadi has 10 RBIs in 12 September games, and a .605 slugging percentage.

Nootbaar

It has now been quite a while since Lars Nootbaar was one of the team’s hottest hitters. Lars was 1 for 10 against the Reds, and is 7 for 60 (.117) over his last 22 games. In September, Lars is just 4 for 42 (.095).

Nootbaar was 0-for-4 with two-outs over the long weekend, and is now 0-for-13 with two outs this month.

Dickerson

Corey Dickerson’s second-half rebound hit a stumbling block against Cincy. He had 1 hit (a single ) in 13 at bats – an .077 average.

Pujols

Add Albert to the list of suddenly cold hitters. The dramatic home run referred to earlier was his only hit in 14 at bats against the Reds (.071).

It seemed that Albert was always coming up with two outs during the series. He was 0-for-5 with 1 walk and 1 hit-by-pitch in 7 two-out plate appearances.

Gorman

Rookie Nolan Gorman hasn’t seen the field a whole lot lately, and hasn’t helped his cause with his bat when he has cracked the lineup. Nolan played in 2 of the Cincinnati games, going 0-for-5. He’s played in just 6 of the last 12, starting just 5 – but has responded to the opportunity by going 1 for 17 (.059) with 8 strikeouts.

Gorman has played in just 10 of the 17 September games (starting just 9). He is a .138 hitter (4 for 29) in September.

Since the Break, Nolan is a .158 hitter (6 for 38) with two outs. He was 0-for-3 in those opportunities against Cincy.

Quintana

Jose Quintana came up with his best start as a Cardinal in the second Saturday game, as he shut Cincinnati out on 2 hits over 8 innings. In 3 September starts, Jose is 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA over 18.2 innings.

Gallegos

While Ryan Helsley has gotten most of the attention, Giovanny Gallegos has been (arguably) the team’s best reliever in the second half. He made two appearances against the Reds, throwing a perfect inning each time. He has set down 12 consecutive batters, and now has a 1.86 ERA over 19.1 innings since the Break, with hitters managing just a .136/.171/.227 line against him.

Pallante

Andre Pallante also made two appearances in the series, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings. Andre is finishing strong in his rookie season. He has a 2.70 ERA in 33.1 innings since the Break.

Stratton

Chris Stratton gave up some hits and some runs during his first few Cardinal outings. In recent weeks, though, he has established himself as one of the bullpen stalwarts. Over his last 12 games (covering 13.2 innings), Chris holds a 1.32 ERA, giving just 2 runs on 5 hits. His Cardinal ERA is now down to 2.95 in 18.1 innings.

Woodford

Jake Woodford ate up 4.1 of the 14.2 innings the bullpen worked in the series. He gave no runs, and holds a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings since the Break.

Recent Scoring Changes – For Those of You Scoring at Home

Leading off in the bottom of the second inning in the September 4 contest against Chicago, Dickerson chopped a ball off the plate that hopped over the mound. Third baseman Christopher Morel (playing more-or-less where the shortstop would normally play) swooped in, only to see the ball roll under his glove. He was originally charged with an error. On reconsideration, the scorer has decided that Dickerson would have been safe, even if the ball had been cleanly handled. Credit Dickerson with an additional hit, and remove an error for Morel.

NoteBook

When St Louis opened up a five-run lead in the first game of the Saturday double-header, it was the first time they had managed a lead of more than three runs since September 3, when they beat the Cubs 8-4.

The first game of that double-header also interrupted a streak of 7 straight games in which they had allowed the first run of the game to score against them.

Until that first game, the Cards had trailed at some point in 11 straight games.

When Brendan Donovan made the start in left for the Thursday game, it ended Dickerson’s streak of ten consecutive starts in left field. It was, at the time, the team’s longest streak of consecutive games at the same position.

The Cincinnati Reds aren’t usually a major draw, but with the Cards charging towards the playoffs, and a certain slugger approaching a historically interesting home run number, even the Reds are drawing the crowds. The Saturday night audience of 48,299 for the second game was the largest house since 48,581 turned out for the Saturday night game when the Yankees were in town (August 6).

The five games drew average crowds of 46,981. This was also the most since that Yankee series, which drew average crowds of 47,331. The total attendance of the series (234,905) lifted the season’s home attendance over three million (3,180,474), and their total attendance to 5,050,238. The average home attendance is up to 40,775.3. There will only be three more home dates in the regular season.

Cardinal road games draw an average of 27,098 per date.

Instead of creeping down as summer is on the verge of surrendering to fall, the temperatures have, instead, started to inch their way back up – as if to let St Louis know that the summer has some unfinished business. The Sunday afternoon game was played in 87-degree temps – the highest for a Cardinal game since August 27. They beat Atlanta that night, 6-5, in 90-degree heat.

The three games averaged 83.4 degrees, making it the hottest series the Cards have played since they visited Colorado (August 9-11). Those three games averaged 92 degrees. The last home series played in these kinds of temperatures was the series just before that Colorado set – the three games against the Yankees (August 5-9). That series also averaged 92 degrees.

Even though it feels like a loss, since the expectation was higher, St Louis did win the series 3-2. They are 15-4-6 in their 25 home series, sporting a 51-27 record on their home field.

The Cincinnati series was the twenty-third time this season the Cards have lost the first game of a series. They have gone on to lose only 10 of the 23, as they have now come back to win 5 times, while splitting the other 8.

Cincinnati was also the eighteenth team to play St Louis after having lost its previous series. The Cards have won 10 of those series, losing 6 and splitting the other two. Their record against teams that had lost the series before is now 35-23.

Nolan Arenado’s game-winning double on Friday night was his thirteenth GWRBI of the season. He re-takes the team lead from Tyler O’Neill, who has 12. Goldschmidt is third with 11. Behind them are Pujols and Dylan Carlson with 6 each, and then Gorman, Paul DeJong and Edman with 5 each. Tommy had the GWRBI in the first game of the Saturday double-header.

Both Goldschmidt and Arenado were credited with late-game-changing hits in the Friday night comeback. Paul tied the game in that seventh inning before Nolan drove home the winner. For both, it was their fifth RBI in the seventh inning or later that either tied the game or gave the Cardinals the lead. They are both tied for third on the club behind Pujols (7) and O’Neill (6).

After the fine series by the pitching staff, the team ERA has finally dropped below 4.00 since the Break. In the series against the Reds, the team’s second-half ERA dropped from 4.03 to 3.84.

Players Gaining on Career Highs (and Lows) 14 Games Left

The start by Miles Mikolas on Friday was his thirtieth of the season. He made 32 starts in both 2019 and 2018. With the 6 innings pitched, Miles is up to 187.1. He is just 13.1 away from his career high in that category.

Miles struck out just 3 batters, and has only fanned 138 on the season. His career high, however, is only the 146 he got in 2018.

Jordan Montgomery’s Sunday start was his thirtieth of the year – tying the career high he set last year. The 7 hits he gave up bring him to 148 allowed this year, just two short of his career high.

Jordan struck out 9 batters, leaving him 12 behind the 162 that he whiffed last year.

Montgomery has a solid shot at finishing the season with the best ERA (currently 3.26) of his young career. In 2018 he finished at 3.62. In addition, his opponents’ batting average (.233), on base percentage (.280) and OPS (.649) are all on pace to be his career bests. Currently his career bests in these measures were set in his rookie year (2017) when opponents hit .236 against him, with a .297 on base percentage and a .684 OPS.

With 4 hits in the series, Goldschmidt is up to 168 on the season. He needs 14 more to tie his career high. He is up to 312 total bases for the season – now just 20 away from the 332 he accounted for in 2013.

Arenado stole his fifth base of the season on Friday. He had never stolen more than 3 in any previous season.

Nolan also tagged his fortieth double of the season. He needs 3 more to tie a career high.

Playing in his twenty-second season, Albert Pujols on Friday night achieved a milestone he has reached only one other time in his career. He was hit by a pitch for the tenth time this season, tying the career high he set in 2003.

Even after his single and home run in the first Saturday game, Yadier Molina is still below his career lows in on base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. In 2006 he finished with a .274 on base, a .321 slugging percentage and a .595 OPS. With 14 games left in this season – not all of which he will play in – Yadi’s on base percentage sits at .243, his slugging percentage at .315, and his OPS at .558.

He is still walking a career-worst 2.0% of the time, and is still looking for that first sacrifice fly. He has hit at least one in every year of his career so far.