As Matt Carpenter spent several days in Memphis rehabbing on his way back to the Cardinals, he had a chance to watch two young hitters also trying to work their way back to the majors. Watching Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II, both sent back to Triple A after getting off to slow starts this season, Carpenter had one recurring thought. Thirteen years ago, he was a young hitter, trying to make the transition to the majors. “I think there's always been a gap between Triple A and the big leagues, but I think the gap is bigger now than it's ever been,” Carpenter said.
The St. Louis Cardinals lineup has been the biggest issue for the club all season and is the main reason why they're sitting comfortably in last place in the National League Central. Following the loss of Wilson Contreras to injury, superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado is the only healthy player who has not struggled at the plate this season -- even he is not quite performing to his career standards. The difficulties at the plate got so bad for rising star Jordan Walker that he was demoted to Triple-A Memphis. Walker finally spoke out about his struggles to kick off the season.
After beginning the season with a 3-0 record and a 2.10 ERA across his first five starts, Cardinals prospect Tink Hence looked like he'd protect that perfect record on Tuesday as he kept Northwest Arkansas scoreless through his first four frames. Then came the fifth inning. With one out in the fifth and a 1-0 lead afforded to him, Hence three singles and a walk to the first four batters he faced led to a run. It also signaled the end of his outing after 4 1/3 innings of work on 83 pitches (50 strikes).
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
64 | P | |
65 | P | |
44 | P | |
54 | P | |
56 | P | |
47 | P | |
27 | P | |
62 | P | |
52 | P | |
31 | P | |
32 | P | |
93 | P | |
39 | P | |
55 | P | |
29 | P | |
38 | P | |
59 | P | |
58 | P |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
40 | C | |
48 | C | |
43 | C |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
28 | 3B | |
35 | SS | |
19 | SS | |
46 | 1B | |
16 | 2B | |
0 | SS |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
41 | RF | |
3 | CF | |
33 | LF | |
21 | RF | |
63 | CF | |
18 | RF |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
13 | DH |