"The birds on the bat need to get stronger" - A Cardinals Franchise

[iMunenoriKawasaki]

Cardinals Month in Review - April

A tough month is finally over for the Cardinals, as they started off 2016 going a less that respectful 10-14. This season does not look bright for St Louis. They made a trade early to aquire Ramon Flores and Alex Presley for Ruben Tejada who would of lost playing time with the rise of Aledmys Diaz. They also threw in Jonathan Rodriguez in the deal. As for the stats, the team doesnt look all that bad.

Cardinals 2016 Stats as of April.

Pitching-

Adam Wainwright 1-3 29.1 IP 26 SO 5.16 ERA 1.25 WHIP
Jaime Garcia 1-4 31.0 IP 29 SO 4.35 ERA 0.94 WHIP
Carlos Martinez 4-0 39.0 IP 52 SO 0.92 ERA 0.54 WHIP
Michael Wacha 2-2 30.1 IP 33 SO 2.67 ERA 0.76 WHIP
Mike Leake 0-2 26.0 IP 22 SO 3.81 ERA 1.04 WHIP
Tyler Lyons 1-0 10.2 IP 15 SO 0.84 ERA 0.38 WHIP
Jonathan Broxton 0-1 9.2 IP 10 SO 0.93 ERA 0.62 WHIP
Jordan Walden 0-1 8.0 IP 12 SO 2.25 ERA 1.00 WHIP
Matt Bowman 0-0 4.0 IP 4 SO 2.25 0.75 WHIP
Seung-Hwan Oh 0-0 7.0 IP 7 SO 1.29 ERA 0.29 WHIP
Kevin Siegrist 1-0 5.2 IP 7 SO 0.00 ERA 0.35 WHIP
Trevor Rosenthal 0-0 5.0 IP 10 SO 0.00 ERA 0.20 WHIP 5 Saves

Position Players-
Matt Carpenter 99 AB 1 HR 6 RBI .283 AVG
Stephen Piscotty 87 AB 1 HR 6 RBI .253 AVG
Randal Grichuk 79 AB 1 HR 5 RBI .241 AVG
Matt Holliday 87 AB 2 HR 9 RBI .241 AVG
Matt Adams 65 AB 1 HR 5 RBI .262 AVG
Kolten Wong 83 AB 5 HR 16 RBi .446 AVG
Yadier Molina 76 AB 0 HR 7 RBI .316 AVG
Aledmys Diaz 67 AB 1 HR 6 RBi .269 AVG
Brandon Moss 30 AB 2 HR 5 RBI .167 AVG
Ramon Flores 71 AB 2 HR 10 RBI .211 AVG
Eric Fryer 15 AB 0 HR 2 RBI .250 AVG
Jedd Gyorko 18 AB 0 HR 1 RBI .167 AVG
Jeremy Hazelbaker 43 AB 1 HR 3 RBI .395 AVG

[iMunenoriKawasaki]

Trying to make this more appealing.

[iMunenoriKawasaki]

MLB Standings as of April.

AL East

Rays 14-10
Blue Jays 12-13 2.5 GB
Red Sox 11-14 3.5 GB
Orioles 10-15 4.5 GB
Yankees 7-16 6.5 GB

AL Central
Twins 10-14
Tigers 13-11 1.0 GB
Indians 12-11 1.5 GB
White Sox 13-13 2.0 GB
Royals 11-12 2.5 GB

AL West
Astros 15-9
Athletics 14-11 1.5 GB
Rangers 14-11 1.5 GB
Mariners 12-11 2.5 GB
Angels 10-14 5.0 GB

NL East
Mets 17-5
Nationals 16-8 2.0 GB
Marlins 11-13 7.0 GB
Braves 8-16 10.0 GB
Phillies 7-17 11.0 GB

NL Central
Cubs 19-5
Pirates 14-11 5.5 GB
Brewers 10-14 9.0 GB
Cardinals 10-14 9.0 GB
Reds 8-16 11.0 GB

NL West
Giants 15-10
Dodgers 14-11 1.0 GB
Diamondbacks 13-13 2.5 GB
Rockies 11-13 3.5 GB
Padres 8-16 6.5 GB

[iMunenoriKawasaki]

Before the start of today's game, the Cardinals vowed to option down newly acquired outfielder Ramon Flores to the Triple-A. This move was said to be due to the fact that many of the Cardinals outfielders were desperate of a day off, and the Cards didn't have enough players to replace them in the lineup. To replace Flores, 24 year old Utility man Breyvic Valera will come up for a few games. He is batting .283 with Memphis this year. More than likely Flores will be back in a week or so.

[iMunenoriKawasaki]

Cards lose another tough one, final 4-2

The Cardinals take the loss of the game and the series. Mike Leake pitched a decent game, going 6 innings, allowing only 2 runs. He has been really solid this season, but hasn't had the run support to support him. The Nationals runs came from two home runs, a 2 run homer by Bryce Harper, and a 2 run home run by Stephen Drew. As for the Cardinals runs, Matt Carpenter had a pinch-hit home run in the 9th, and the other coming from an RBI by Matt Adams in the 4th which scored Breyvic Valera. Valera also had his first major league hit in this one. Jonathan Papelbon also got his 10th save of the year in this one. Stephen Piscotty also left the game in the 7th, but is expected to be fine with no DL time.

Scores from around the league

Blue Jays 7
Rays 5

Giants 3
Mets 1

White Sox 2
Orioles 0

Reds 1
Pirates 6

Tigers 7
Twins 11

Marlins 2
Brewers 3

Braves 4
Cubs 6

Indians 6
Phillies 3

Angels 2
Rangers 3

Rockies 4
Diamondbacks 2

Astros 2
Athletics 3

Royals 4
Mariners 2

Padres 2
Dodgers 1

Yankees 3
Red Sox 4

Nationals 4
Cardinals 2

Cardinals minor league scores

Redbirds 6
Zephrys 4

Travelers 9
Cardinals 5

Transactions

Diamondbacks-
Placed RP Evan Marshall on the 15-Day DL (Shoulder Separation)
Purchased the contract RP Dominic Leone from Triple-A Reno

Cardinals-
Optioned OF Ramon Flores to Triple-A Memphis (as noted)
Recalled 2B Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Memphis (as noted)

Astros-
Activated SP Dallas Keuchal from the DL

Marlins-
Activated OF Cole Gillespie from the DL
Optioned LF Xavier Scruggs to Triple-A New Orleans

Next for the Cardinals:
4 Game series vs Phillies

5/2 RHP Adam Wainwright vs RHP Aaron Nola
5/3 LHP Jaime Garcia vs RHP Jeremy Hellickson
5/4 RHP Carlos Martinez vs RHP Vince Velasquez
5/5 RHP Michael Wacha vs RHP Charlie Morton

[iMunenoriKawasaki]

Cards snap losing streak; win 1-0

A well played, well pitched game by the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright pitched a full 9 innings, and allowed only 3 hits. The Cardinals lone RBI came from Breyvic Valera, his first career RBI. The one loss of the game was that Jeremy Hazelbaker exited with a concussion in the 2nd. He will be out for 2-3 weeks, and Ramon Flores will come join the big club.

Scores around the league

Cubs 5
Pirates 4

Rangers 11
Blue Jays 6

Braves 3
Mets 4

Giants 4
Reds 3

Angels 0
Brewers 3

Twins 3
Astros 5

Nationals 0
Royals 1

Mariners 2
Athletics 4

Rockies 7
Padres 2

Phillies 0
Cardinals 1

Cardinals minor league scores

Storm Chasers 7
Redbirds 9

Travelers 1
Cardinals 3

Transactions

Mariners-
Placed Chris Iannetta on the 15-Day DL (Fractured Hand)
Purchased the contract of C Rob Brantly from Tripla-A Tacoma
Recalled C Rob Brantly from Tripla-A Tacoma

Rockies-
Placed SP Jorge De La Rosa on the 15-Day DL (Head Concussion)
Purchased the contract of SP David Hale from Triple-A Albuquerque
Recalled SP David Hale from Triple-A Albuquerque

Cardinals-
Placed OF Jeremy Hazelbaker on the 15-Day DL (Head Contusion)
Recalled OF Ramon Flores from Triple-A Memphis